Nick is a 55 year old ex. builder who having spent most of his life on building sites in Britain decided to swap that way of life for an easier one on the ocean, his first love being boats. However life has a way of throwing  a curved ball and when Nick and  I (Hazel) came through France on our way to Greece we fell in love with the area and the people.  We 'discovered' an old ruin of a barn and decided that we would purchase it and renovate it into a one bedroom property for a base home for us and our pussycat 'Cleo' who travelled with us from Edinburgh.  We will also  build a two bedroom gite that we will rent out and put our plans for a floating home on hold for the time being.  There is still the opportunity for some excellent sailing being so close to the Mediterranean (20 minutes drive).

The renovation has not been as simple and straightforward as we hoped as the existing walls were too fragile to start knocking about so we are effectively building as house within a house!  The task of getting mains electricity and water into the property was fraught and time consuming as was the planning process as we had to engage a French architect to draw up plans and submit them.  However it was worth the wait as we now have planning permission and we have made some progress on our project, digging foundations and building walls to support the beams for the new floors.  Stripping off the roof tiles was interesting & we still have internal walls to demolish before we can complete the floors and then get the roof back on!!  Check out the photo gallery.   

Nick and I have settled into our new life and have embraced the French way of living.  We have made a lot of new friends both French and British and we are now part of the local scene.  There are a lot of British people in this region of France and the social life can be quite hectic, especially in the summer with holiday makers and the people who have holiday homes in the area.  It is great fun catching up with old and new friends and we look forward to a busy summer.

Speaking French can be difficult  and we are trying hard to learn as it is extremely important to integrate into the local community.  We practice speaking to our French friends at every opportunity. It's amazing how even an old brain can pick it up and as I was once told "if a three year old can do it" well so can we. 

There is so much to do and see in this part of France.  From local vineyards to beautiful countryside, the world heritage site of the Canal du Midi with lots of boats and canal side bistros.  Wonderful local markets selling fresh produce and craft goods and the many historic small villages such as Capestang & St Chinian as well as the larger towns of Narbonne, Bezier, Perpignan and Carcassonne which are easily reached by car.  A car is essential if you want to explore the area and the Mediterranean is only 20 minutes drive from us.  There are some wonderful restaurants at Valras Plage, the beach is so clean and the sea is very inviting in the summer.

If you are interested in life in France then check out Living France magazine and website forum for a lot more information and a chance to chat to like minded people.  There is a lot of information on the Languedoc on the web so check it out through our google search engine.

We will keep you up to date with our progress and we welcome your comments....................................