Year two at the Little House

For those of you who have followed our journeys and adventures in France, you know we purchased une petite maison in Salignac-Eyvigues near Sarlat in the Perigord in Southwestern France in February 2015.

Since then we have stayed there five different times at various times of the year, including after Christmas. We knew we loved our Little House, but for me one of the unexpected joys has been sharing it with those who have rented it for a vacation rental through www.cheznous.com

Some of the renters have stayed in the house before,  having rented it from the previous owners. Most were from England since flights are frequent and cheap from the UK. But our current couple is from  near our home in Maryland,  and although they had been to Europe before, they had not been to the Perigord.  So the fun for me has been in giving them dozens of recommendations about travel arrangements, restaurant choices, village markets to visit, shops to frequent, and favorite day trips to castles, orchid walks, river cruises, and prehistoric caves nearby.

The house is in the Golden Triangle where most of the castles and prehistoric caves (including Lascaux, Rouffignac, and Font-de-Gaume) are located. It is bordered by the two great rivers, The Dordogne going east and finally west to Bordeaux and the Vezere going north and south.

 

There is the some amazing resources on the internet, but I have been truly stunned by the videos created using drones for France 3 Aquitaine of the region around our house, narrated brilliantly by Eric Perrin. You can view some of them here. http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/aquitaine/emissions/cap-sud-ouest/actu-0?page=1

Also here is a link to 10 great reasons to visit our region of the Dordogne, from the Huffington Post - UK version. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/jessica-brown1/dordogne-daydreaming_b_7911962.html

Finally I can't forget to thank Martin Walker and his Bruno books for introducing us to the Perigord in the first place. Here's an interview with Martin. https://www.francetoday.com/learn/interviews/an_interview_with_martin_walker_author_of_bruno_chief_of_police/

If you decide the time has come to see the real France, especially our little 13th century cottage, let me know at info@mysterylovescompanycom

À bientôt , Kathy

Beginnings at the Little House

In February 2015 we became the owners of a sweet 13th century "cottage" in the Dordogne, called the Little House or La Petite Maison. Our view from the patio is of a 13th century chateau still owned by the family who built it, and of a Knights Templar cloister.


The house is set in the Golden Triangle, an area of 13th century castles, bastides, prehistoric caves full of paintings, river cruises in gabarres down the Dordogne and Vézère, and markets and restaurants full of truffles, walnut cakes, and lots of duck and goose.


We had discovered the area through the delightful Bruno Chief of Police mystery books of British author Martin Walker. www.brunochiefofpolice.com . On the cover of Martin's first mystery BRUNO CHIEF OF POLICE is a medieval Sarlat street scene which is 19 km from the house. Martin, without you, we wouldn't have our precious house.


We stayed in The Little House  in October 2014, and discovered that it was for sale. We made an offer, it was accepted, and we settled in early February 2015.



Of course it wasn't quite so simple, but the pieces of the puzzle fell into place remarkably quickly. None of it would have happened if we hadn't had an English previous owner, a fabulous bi-lingual real estate agent, and a bi-lingual Notaire to settle our property.



Then, since it was our hope that the property would remain a holiday rental for part of the year, we made two perfect connections, an English property manager who would do the changeovers, cleaning and watch over the house, and an English man-of-all-work who we could call for plumbing and electrical repairs.


All of that being in place, we had only to set up a listing agent online who could advertise the house. We chose www.cheznous.com and VRBO/ Homeaway at www.homeaway.com


You can share our Little House in France with us. The Chez Nous link is now live. Just type in our number 267001 and you can see the Little House and book it through us.


I will be using this blog to share thoughts, pictures, history and travel links to the region.
I hope you'll follow our journey.


As we say in France, merci and bonne journée


Kathy