(the misadventures of an expatriate corporate dropout)

Thursday, July 17, 2008

what about my new home, you inquire?

Well first off there is the matter of the keys. These are the keys to my new maison. I feel like the house should have come with a monk's gown complete with cowl and leather rope belt to hang the keys from. As I shuffle softly to the door! I should have put an American key side by side so you could see how massive the big keys are. Wait, there IS one at the bottom on the black fob, kind of on its side. That is a regularly sized key.

This morning I met with a potential contractor, Jean-Yves, to discuss some possible work he could do with my half-dollars. That's what I'm calling them these days. Certainly you understand why. Following our comical few hours spent gesturing and pointing, and speaking to each other in broken English and broken French, I decided to skip a restaurant lunch (ouch) and pick up some items for a picnic in the park that people come from all over the world to see.

One baguette, 2 Kanter beers (I love living in a world where beer (.70€) is cheaper than Coca-Cola (1.50€), some cheese and ham later, I spread out my picnic and relaxed. First I lay on my back and stared at the sky. Then I took a walk around the village. I've made a slide show below ... I tried uploading pictures throughout this blog, but I'm getting grey hair waiting for the upload to finish. I guess it is hard to cram that much beauty in pixellation.

I'll share some pictures of the nouvelle maison soon. Enjoy!

14 comments:

Randal Graves said...

That 'subscribe' button is lovely! You've done wonders with it. ;-)

Half-dollars. Heh heh.

Nice keys. Are you sure there isn't some Cistercian crypt hidden beneath the floorboards?

Hell with the beer and Coke, what's the price of le vin?

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

RG-did you click closed the subscribe button? or it won't go away? pahhhhhhhh.

Stacey said...

heh. The house I grew up in used skeleton keys. Dad finally changed the locks in about 1985 to modern key and deadbolt. I don't know why since half the time my mom would leave the house, and leave the doors standing wide open.

DivaJood said...

Holy guacamole, that is one honking big set of keys. You have to applaud the French, though, because they are quite lovely keys.

The slide show is amazing, truly.

Randal Graves said...

It's gone now and the show works just fine. Could've been our stupid server.

Those photos? Soupir. Can I move there, too?

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

Stacey-some folks just hate old stuff, I guess.

Diva-they are little works of art, aren't they?

RG-Wine can be had for very little and in a variety of vintages...I still have to investigate the vin de village and see if Brantome has one.

I wish I could gather all you little francobabes up in my apron and scoop you here. sigh.

B said...

Oh, these photos are great. What a beautiful place!!!
And I love these keys! I have one of these old keys for my apartment here in Paris and find it so charming. The quantity that you have... perhaps less charming? :)

So excited to see more photos, including those of ta maison!

Bises,
b

Bruce Anderson said...

ah, brantome...I so remeber walking along the river, near the abbey, seeing the first settlers homes in the caves, it's such a beautiful village. we bought a really good vin at the market day, for something like 5 euros, it was so good. I'm so happy for you, so glad you are there, so glad the kids made it and can't wait to see pictures of the house. Can wait to visit in person too.

Utah Savage said...

I'm so envious I could, well, well I could just go back to sleep and dream myself there. I's so proud to know a woman with the courage to follow her dream.

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

b-all part of the experience. keys like these connect me to the history of my home.

OJL-it will be much fun to meet here in France ... we will have a shared understanding of our experience, eh?!

U.S. - dream a little dream of me! and thank you. some days I feel brave, others not so much ... but I just keep showing up!

Hill Country Hippie said...

"Then I took a walk around the village." God, I love those words. We have moved a lot over the years, but I never really minded, because the best thing in the world is to wander the streets of one's new home, seeking out interesting little shops and good things to eat. Small towns in Texas aren't quite as picturesque as Brantome, but Austin is awfully fun to explore, and we had great adventures in Indonesia and Bahrain. I'm so happy to be able to explore this new place, through your eyes!

La Framéricaine said...

Oh, I totally love my Le Blanc house key! It looks just like your skeleton keys. I only have one so I went to the local Leclerc and had it copied half a dozen times. I also love my PTT mailbox key. Go figure...

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

HCH-yep, having the time to explore your environs...wherever they may be, is a luxury well worth pursuing!

LF-lmao...I know, its the little things, right?!

Kathleen said...

Well, I can just see you lying around in the grass... gazing up at the sky wondering how all this happened... well, I know how it happened and I'm happy to have been part of it... such a beautiful place.. can't wait to see it.

Kathleen