Feb 2008 - I had a two week trip to view one house!! Mad I know, I should have booked a load of viewing appointments before leaving. As I'm still curious about other areas in France, it did no harm in seeing yet other towns, villages and rivers. I took no notes at all on this trip and most of my photos were of properties - I saw three in the end - and so came back with a few more travel pics and not much else to show for it yet.
I did post about it on my other blog after I got home, but had not uploaded any photos, which is what this blog is really for, along with other articles and information about France. Also Photobucket had changed their website while I was away - adding more bells and whistles, and requiring software to be downloaded
to re-size the pics (which took ages as I'm on dial-up and it didn't work for me anyway) - which meant I couldn't re-size the photos like I had in the past - it took over a month of emails to get them to re-instate the old re-size function. Luckily they did and I'm still impressed with their customer service, because at least they listen. Still, I digress. I'll put up the photos in chronological order, and cut and paste most of what I wrote on the other blog entry to avoid having it down twice.
I flew to Toulouse and had pretty much decided that it would be best to be not far by train from this airport as there are plenty of cheap flights to and from London, plus Toulouse is a big town so convenient for doing some 'proper shopping' (most towns in France being more like villages to me). The town itself didn't really impress me much and there wasn't much to see either, but there WERE plenty of shops. I decided that I wouldn't stay overnight here as I'd much prefer a more attractive small town/ village environment, so I just bought a phone card to top up my French mobile before buying a train ticket to travel the 40 minute journey to Gaillac, north-east of Toulouse.
River Tarn at Gaillac
Didn't have a clue what was in Gaillac, or indeed any of the places I buy train tickets to, but at least I would also be that much nearer to where I was going to view the house in a few days time. Gaillac was handy for day trips to a lot of other nearby places as well, and Toulouse just seemed like a big grimy town with nothing much to offer me personally.
Gaillac is on the River Tarn - I do love it when I discover another river. In fact my room looked out over it, from a bed and breakfast place opposite the church. My wind-up clock had stopped and I never wear a watch anyway (they don't work on me) so it was handy having the church clock chime out the hour every hour (luckily not throughout the night) as I couldn't actually see the clock itself from the windows. The owner, Madame Pinon, had said I could have breakfast at whatever time I like, which is unusual, and as I hadn't slept at all the night before (staying up in order to catch an early flight) I emerged at nearly 11.00am for my breakfast of croissants, bread and jam. She has the only B&B in town, although there are a number of hotels too. I think it was 45 euros per night, which seems to be about the average for standard accommodation around France.
I'd originally checked out another accommodation which I'd heard was incredibly cheap, but as the proprietor wasn't at home I gave up on that one. Just as well, because it reminded me of a cross between a youth hostel and a prison. The B&B I loved, so was happy to stay there for the few days in Gaillac while I traipsed around the estate agents to see what was available in the general area. Anything too near Toulouse seemed very expensive anyway (and mainly apartments) but I wanted to be on the train line to Toulouse so that gave me lots of options now that I had the train timetables for the area. I just wish there was a way of getting hold of the timetables or routes BEFORE flying out there, as although there is the online SNCF website, you have to know the name of the station in order to check the trains. It would be good to have a list of the stations in advance so I could plan my journey in advance - I may type out a few train routes on my blog sometime and suggest some stations worth stopping at. May be useful for if I ever lose all those tiny timetables.
While in Gaillac I saw one house with an agent who spoke no English at all. The house had plenty of land, but on such a steep slope behind the house I could never have mowed it and would have to keep sheep to keep the wilderness in check. When I pointed out that the rainwater from the slope would run straight towards the house, he showed me where the house had been already re-inforced via the foundations and the beams, plus the crack in the wall, he said, the government would give me a free grant to fix. Oh sure, which is why the present owners haven’t fixed it yet. The interior walls had been papered directly over the breezeblocks, so the whole place needed plastering also. It was at that stage that I felt I didn’t really want a house made of cement however much land it had. It had also been advertised as an ancient house when it was actually recent, plus the best bit of land in front of the house (flat) he said the owner's wanted to sell separately, which could have meant the lovely view could be obliterated if someone else built a house on it. Still, at least I was getting to see some houses this time as well as practising my French.
On the way home he asked if I was staying at Mme Pinon's. How did you know that? I asked. He laughed and said that they were friends, and also that her place is the best place to stay.
Had a couple of meals in a restaurant owned by an English man, who said he was selling up and moving out of France after five years of living and working there. Although lunchtimes were often busy the restaurant was dead at night because the locals don’t have the disposable income to eat out in the evenings, so he wasn’t really making a profit after paying all the French taxes, social charges, employee wages etc. That evening was particularly quiet anyway as everyone was home watching a rugby match between England and France. I told him he was very brave putting an England flag on the balcony of his restaurant. “Oh, they are used to me by now”, he said, “I even did that during the World Cup. Someone climbed up and took it down during the match. I was really upset. A couple of days later they posted it to me saying they couldn’t have that up during the match, but well done anyway.”
It wasn't very encouraging every time I heard someone who was self-employed tell me how hard it was to make a decent living in France. And this man had run a big restaurant in London in the past so he was no novice. I musn't let these comments put me off, although I haven't seen anywhere yet where it would feel right for me to live permanently.
"You're staying at Madame Pinon's aren't you?" he asked.
I smiled to myself thinking I wouldn't be able to stay anonymous like in London in a French small town, but maybe that's a novelty I don't mind experiencing for a while.
I did post about it on my other blog after I got home, but had not uploaded any photos, which is what this blog is really for, along with other articles and information about France. Also Photobucket had changed their website while I was away - adding more bells and whistles, and requiring software to be downloaded
to re-size the pics (which took ages as I'm on dial-up and it didn't work for me anyway) - which meant I couldn't re-size the photos like I had in the past - it took over a month of emails to get them to re-instate the old re-size function. Luckily they did and I'm still impressed with their customer service, because at least they listen. Still, I digress. I'll put up the photos in chronological order, and cut and paste most of what I wrote on the other blog entry to avoid having it down twice.
I flew to Toulouse and had pretty much decided that it would be best to be not far by train from this airport as there are plenty of cheap flights to and from London, plus Toulouse is a big town so convenient for doing some 'proper shopping' (most towns in France being more like villages to me). The town itself didn't really impress me much and there wasn't much to see either, but there WERE plenty of shops. I decided that I wouldn't stay overnight here as I'd much prefer a more attractive small town/ village environment, so I just bought a phone card to top up my French mobile before buying a train ticket to travel the 40 minute journey to Gaillac, north-east of Toulouse.
River Tarn at Gaillac
Didn't have a clue what was in Gaillac, or indeed any of the places I buy train tickets to, but at least I would also be that much nearer to where I was going to view the house in a few days time. Gaillac was handy for day trips to a lot of other nearby places as well, and Toulouse just seemed like a big grimy town with nothing much to offer me personally.
Gaillac is on the River Tarn - I do love it when I discover another river. In fact my room looked out over it, from a bed and breakfast place opposite the church. My wind-up clock had stopped and I never wear a watch anyway (they don't work on me) so it was handy having the church clock chime out the hour every hour (luckily not throughout the night) as I couldn't actually see the clock itself from the windows. The owner, Madame Pinon, had said I could have breakfast at whatever time I like, which is unusual, and as I hadn't slept at all the night before (staying up in order to catch an early flight) I emerged at nearly 11.00am for my breakfast of croissants, bread and jam. She has the only B&B in town, although there are a number of hotels too. I think it was 45 euros per night, which seems to be about the average for standard accommodation around France.
I'd originally checked out another accommodation which I'd heard was incredibly cheap, but as the proprietor wasn't at home I gave up on that one. Just as well, because it reminded me of a cross between a youth hostel and a prison. The B&B I loved, so was happy to stay there for the few days in Gaillac while I traipsed around the estate agents to see what was available in the general area. Anything too near Toulouse seemed very expensive anyway (and mainly apartments) but I wanted to be on the train line to Toulouse so that gave me lots of options now that I had the train timetables for the area. I just wish there was a way of getting hold of the timetables or routes BEFORE flying out there, as although there is the online SNCF website, you have to know the name of the station in order to check the trains. It would be good to have a list of the stations in advance so I could plan my journey in advance - I may type out a few train routes on my blog sometime and suggest some stations worth stopping at. May be useful for if I ever lose all those tiny timetables.
While in Gaillac I saw one house with an agent who spoke no English at all. The house had plenty of land, but on such a steep slope behind the house I could never have mowed it and would have to keep sheep to keep the wilderness in check. When I pointed out that the rainwater from the slope would run straight towards the house, he showed me where the house had been already re-inforced via the foundations and the beams, plus the crack in the wall, he said, the government would give me a free grant to fix. Oh sure, which is why the present owners haven’t fixed it yet. The interior walls had been papered directly over the breezeblocks, so the whole place needed plastering also. It was at that stage that I felt I didn’t really want a house made of cement however much land it had. It had also been advertised as an ancient house when it was actually recent, plus the best bit of land in front of the house (flat) he said the owner's wanted to sell separately, which could have meant the lovely view could be obliterated if someone else built a house on it. Still, at least I was getting to see some houses this time as well as practising my French.
On the way home he asked if I was staying at Mme Pinon's. How did you know that? I asked. He laughed and said that they were friends, and also that her place is the best place to stay.
Had a couple of meals in a restaurant owned by an English man, who said he was selling up and moving out of France after five years of living and working there. Although lunchtimes were often busy the restaurant was dead at night because the locals don’t have the disposable income to eat out in the evenings, so he wasn’t really making a profit after paying all the French taxes, social charges, employee wages etc. That evening was particularly quiet anyway as everyone was home watching a rugby match between England and France. I told him he was very brave putting an England flag on the balcony of his restaurant. “Oh, they are used to me by now”, he said, “I even did that during the World Cup. Someone climbed up and took it down during the match. I was really upset. A couple of days later they posted it to me saying they couldn’t have that up during the match, but well done anyway.”
It wasn't very encouraging every time I heard someone who was self-employed tell me how hard it was to make a decent living in France. And this man had run a big restaurant in London in the past so he was no novice. I musn't let these comments put me off, although I haven't seen anywhere yet where it would feel right for me to live permanently.
"You're staying at Madame Pinon's aren't you?" he asked.
I smiled to myself thinking I wouldn't be able to stay anonymous like in London in a French small town, but maybe that's a novelty I don't mind experiencing for a while.
0 comments:
Post a Comment