Our previous Blog www.looping-nz-style.blogspot.com was all about our life aboard and cruising America's Great Loop....and a few years beyond. Finally we decided we needed to start a new blog (having talked about it forever!) as we begin this new chapter in our lives, more earth-bound.
Having left our rented apartment in a hurry, post-hurricane Irma, due to undermining of the 24 apartment building we lived in, we again find ourselves living full time aboard our boat. Thank goodness we had somewhere to go! Many still (6 weeks later) do not have permanent housing in this city and elsewhere along the Atlantic Coast.
We are preparing to venture to France in a couple of weeks time, to the Dordogne region in the south west, inland Bordeaux, where we will fulfill the requirements of a house and (6) cat sit for 3 1/2 weeks. This southern choice, just as Fall/Winter is beginning, is our attempt to answer this question: "Do we still like France in the Fall and Winter?" Yes, this important to us, as we make up our minds as to where we would like to call 'home' for the foreseeable future.
In the previous two years (Sept - Nov, 15/16) we spent time house sitting and work exchanging at an American owned Petite Chateau and Farm in Bretagne (Brittany), in the south west of the Morbihan Department. (You can find those blog articles in the abovementioned Blog, from the beginning of September through the beginning of November, as mentioned).
Though we would love to be returning to Bretagne, we feel we owe it to France to try living in a completely different geographical region. You can go to the Wikipedia site here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dordogne to find out more about the region.
This is what the introduction says:
Dordogne (French pronunciation: [dɔʁdɔɲ]; Occitan: Dordonha) is a department in southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. The department is located in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, and is named after the great Dordogne river that runs through it. It roughly corresponds with the ancient county of Périgord
We love this time of year in France. The colors of Fall are everywhere, the air is crisp, fog lies in the valleys in the early morning, and the light is soft and gorgeous...when it isn't grey and raining, that is.
The following photos were taken at our previous house sit in Bretagne, 2016.
Our journey this year, 2017, begins in the middle of November. We may well find that all the trees have lost their leaves, this late in the season, but we are hoping the predicted early winter warmth makes it's way to where we will be living, near the central city of Limoges.
Of course that name should be familiar to most of you. Limoges is famous for it's Porcelain. It is also well known for it's Oak Barrels, used in the production of Bordeaux wine and cognac.
Our hosts this year are Brits who have lived in France for about 17 years. The cats we will be taking care of are all rescue animals, which we are happy about.
They live on a pretty, treed property on the outskirts of a small village, just under an hour from the Capital of the Haute Vienne, Limoges.
Upon arrival in France, we will travel by the new TGV line from Paris to Bordeaux, which takes just over two hours. Fantastic! Three nights in the capital of Bordeaux are planned so that we can explore the historic city on foot, for the most part, and where necessary use the excellent public transport. A ferry ride on the Gironde River, which flows through the city, has been highly recommended by a friend whose hometown this is.
We have plenty of options for further exploration coming up in the New Year. We will be returning to this part of France for another, longer house sit: January through April.
In the meantime, we leave our home in the excellent care of our own sitter, knowing it will be spotless on our return.
We look forward to documenting our travels in the future, on this blog site. Come along with us, and we hope you enjoy it all vicariously. Mon and Waz.
