New house and a new year

It's been a while, I know, and we are still here.

It's taken almost a year from A to Z but we are finally in our new house out in the countryside. It's a big change from a 19th century house in the centre of a busy town. Lots of frustration to look forward to with renovation work in France, as so many know. The stove and all the light fittings and curtains had been removed before our arrival - nothing new here. Regular trips back into town for replacement purchases, visits to kitchen designers and ,of course, bricos ( hardware stores). We did have to sell off/give away lots of furniture as this place is half the size of the old but we are still looking for suitable pieces for the new rooms. That's part of the fun, isn't it ?

Don't you love an avocado bathroom !

We've had our first lunch party, our first overnight visitors, lit our first fire of the season and the christmas decorations are up so we must be settling in. 

The neighbour's goats visit the field next door regularly and we've seen deer in there too. We have a little red squirrel that darts around the garden and there is always the birds. It's getting cold and the leaves have fallen from the trees and now it's time to do some pruning in the garden. Then we can make plans for spring.

We are looking forward to being in Paris for christmas and the forecast is for snow there. Will let you know how that goes.

joyeuses fêtes à tous

Bonne Année à Château Destinée

 

An unusual addition to the roof - it's an apartment with wonderful views

Winter by the river - and another chateau opposite

Hi everyone

I know it’s been a while, but not much has been happening here. We are all being good and wearing our masks and social distancing and avoiding crowd situations. Hope that you have all had a great christmas anyway.

Imagine how wonderful this would look in summer

We decided to celebrate the new year yesterday by going to lunch at a local chateau that we had not visited before. It’s called Château Destinée and is owned by australians, Linda and Peter. We were particularly interested because they offer an australian brunch menu !

The Orangerie

I adore the wallpaper

It was a beautiful winter’s day, 15° and sunny. The 17^th century chateau sits in three hectares of park like garden overlooking the Dordogne river. Linda and Peter told us they have spent a year renovating and it has all been worthwhile as the place is beautiful. It offers apartments as well as chambre d’hôtes rooms and can sleep 58 so this has been a mammoth job. Just the place for a wedding or any important celebration.

The Sydney Grill food truck, and the moles have been here too

Entrance to the party barn

We loved the food, the setting and the friendly welcome so we will definitely return.

https://www.chateaudestinee.com/

                                        Bonne année à toutes