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Bonjour La France
  • Alex and Julie Beijen
  • Alex and Julie Beijen

Bonjour La France

26 years after the first attempt to get to France, we're finally on our way. A few days in Vietnam and then London on the way,... and then, "Bonjour Paris !" Läs mer
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  • Alex and Julie BeijenBonjour La FranceResenär

    Malestroit & Rochefort-en-Terre

    28 oktober 2025, Frankrike ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Slightly like a beauty pagent, both villages have been previous winners in the 'plus beau village de France' - they are both very beautiful. Malestroit though, has gone for the authentic liveable village,with locals gossiping and taking coffee at the Tabac in the square. Rochefort-en-Terre has succumbed to trying to retain her good looks with lip fillers, and botox. A wee bit touristy for our liking.
    For the curious, in the first photo I'm trying to copy the gargoyle gutter spout above.    Läs mer

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  • Alex and Julie BeijenBonjour La FranceResenär

    Buying a house in France

    28 oktober 2025, Frankrike ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    The 'actual' reason for our trip to France, was not to eat and drink way too much, but to fulfill the lifelong ambition of buying a little house as a base for annual francophile excursions.
    Amongst the overeating and drinking we have done ALOT of house hunting.

    Here is a compilation of some of the houses viewed. Some incredible, some incredibly scary,! All needing lots of work - some we loved, just too big a project, requiring too big a budget.
    After all the searching, we have made an offer, which has been accepted.    Läs mer

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  • Alex and Julie BeijenBonjour La FranceResenär

    Which House ??

    28 oktober 2025, Frankrike ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Mais bien sûr,..ça devait toujours être Fontgombault! We immediately loved the house, village and wider Le Blanc, Indre area. Situated in the parc naturel régional de la Brenne on the banks of the Creuse River. The village is next to the 10th century Abbey of Notre-Dame, Fontgombault which has a community of around 70 monks. The Abbaye is very famous for its Gregorian Chant ( YouTube link)
    The property has a 3 story house, Gite for conversion (accomodation), courtyard, a large garden which contains the ruins of an older dwelling, as well as several outbuildings which we have yet to access. It's a project, but we're very pleased with our find.
    A few images to give you the vibe.
    Source: YouTube https://share.google/EorMDKx85XvDEK9OW    Läs mer

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  • Alex and Julie BeijenBonjour La FranceResenär

    Breton history

    30 oktober 2025, Frankrike ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    The 'Oust' of France (the West) is so staunchly proud of all things Breton, dress, culture, the gloomy weather! They build'em tough here, kind of like west coasters back in NZ.
    Alex felt right at home with all the wooden clog wearing.
    Great régional museum. The Tabac opposite the Cathedral in Quiper rivals Neighbourhood of Martinborough for people-watching.    Läs mer

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  • Alex and Julie BeijenBonjour La FranceResenär

    Jersey, UK

    8 november 2025, Jersey ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    An overnight excursion to St Helier, staying in a Greek Taverna, go figure! Went to sleep to the sound of crashing waves, just like Ngawi! Pie 🥧 Mash, and mushy peas for lunch. Visited the WII German tunnels and hospital - was fascinating learning more of the occupation history.Läs mer

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  • Alex and Julie BeijenBonjour La FranceResenär

    Back home,... in the Loire Valley.

    9 november 2025, Frankrike ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Sampling the realities of Châteaux life. We are staying at the magnificent Châteaux de Saint Loup, near the village of Airvault. It is a lifetime of work for Sophie the owner. The Châteaux alone could gooble several million € just to preserve it, the grounds several million more - having said that, it is absolutely magnificent in its current 'hanging on the edge' kind of state. Sophie's most recent project is the restoration of the 16th C dovecote roof.
    Our room is in the original castle keep ( a mere 600 years old!). Dinner was microwave Pizza in the guard tower.    Läs mer

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  • Alex and Julie BeijenBonjour La FranceResenär

    Châteaux Saint-Loup-Lamaire

    10 november 2025, Frankrike ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    Today we explored the Châteaux with owner Sophie. Sophie's husband (who is sadly very ill at the moment) has a saying, which is something like," Owning a Châteaux,..the worries are great, but the rewards of restoring and protecting the history is greater still". You can see in the sympathetic way that they have done things that they love the Châteaux. It is truly beautiful. We loved having a very intimate tour of the Châteaux and learning about its history. Even the wing that is unrestored was fascinating.
    Lunch today was a first for Alex and I,Lapin à la sauce moutarde.    Läs mer

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  • Alex and Julie BeijenBonjour La FranceResenär
    1

    House update.

    15 november 2025, Frankrike ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Long-story, short,.. we withdrew our offer for Fontgombault. Today we have progressed an offer on a very different property. The house (Barn) is ancient (circa 1475) built into the town ramparts, located under the tower of the 11th C Castle, overlooking the 10th Century Cathedral! The property has two terraces, a cellar/cave/donjon. All external facades are registered as Monument Historique, so restoration is done to an exact plan approved by the Mayor and government - this buildimg has an approved plan to convert to a house that we must adhere to. So much history, and a very exciting project. Photos don't do it justice. It is impressive and has fabulous 550 year old features.Läs mer

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  • Alex and Julie BeijenBonjour La FranceResenär

    Lost Cat

    16 november 2025, Frankrike ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Turns out our cat that went missing from Shooting Butts Road in Martinborough actually just went on holiday to France and decided to stay.
    Dead ringer for Durpy firmly installed on our bed!
    Durpy lookalike is actually chief mouser at our farmhouse accomodation near the village of Obterre.Läs mer

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  • Alex and Julie BeijenBonjour La FranceResenär

    Morning Walk, Airvault

    18 november 2025, Frankrike ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

    Brisk this morning! A heavy frost coating the village, but quickly disappearing now the sun has poked its head over the hills.
    Airvault is located in a valley with surrounding hills, so lots of stairs for our morning walk and fitness,... general vibe is actually very Italian with the terracotta roof tiles, roman bridges, cobbled streets and hills - not typical of this part of France which is very agricultural and wider open landscape.Läs mer

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  • Alex and Julie BeijenBonjour La FranceResenär

    The first step

    18 november 2025, Frankrike ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    Signing the 'Compromis de Vente', and then Acte de Vente.
    Today we met with the vendor and Immobilier to sign the offer for Airvault. A great experience. Alex was awesome with his french, lots of discussion, and a very helpful current owner and realestate agent - we loved it, The deal was sealed with wine,... quite a bit of it,... at 11.00am in the morning!
    Bonus, Jean Français (the vendor) is a truffle hunter so I have a source of fresh truffle.    Läs mer

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  • Alex and Julie BeijenBonjour La FranceResenär
    1

    Châteaux de Oiron, Airvault

    19 november 2025, Frankrike ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    If you want to keep favour with the King, build a swanky house, commission paintings depicting victory, and cover his rooms in gold, and invite him for parties. Châteaux Oiron is very impressive, quite different from others we've visited. Now owned by the State it is used as a contemporary art gallery. 10 minutes down the road from our wee barn.Läs mer

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  • Alex and Julie BeijenBonjour La FranceResenär

    Tours

    20 november 2025, Frankrike ⋅ 🌙 2 °C

    Visited Tours today. Large university campus and lots of young people makes for an ancient city that is still vibrant and lived in. 'Karen' our navigation system took us the scenic route, so spent a lot of time on single lane roads getting there!
    Our lady Joan of Arc spent a lot of time here - martyred at age 19 - its kind of fitting that this is a young student kind of place.
    Staying at a cute Gite near Orion Châteaux.    Läs mer

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