Blanche Neige
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Posts posted by Blanche Neige
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"I wouldn't bet on the jam getting back OK in handbaggage, he might not be so lucky next time."
Quite right Stefan
Last time I flew to France I overheard a French lady bemoaning the fact that her expensive jam from Harrods had been confiscated. If she had waited and bought it in the Harrods in departure lounge at LGW then she would have been allowed to take it onboard.
As you say, you need to understand the system and obey orders.
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You could do the booking by phone with Rail Europe and get advice from a "real" person
Update:
I have just looked at sncf website and the booking looks straightforward, with trains at approximately two hourly intervals. The latest train on a Saturday seems to leave Bordeaux at 18.18 so hopefully your flight will arrive in plenty of time to catch that one. I seem to remember that buses from the airport leave every 45 minutes for Bordeaux station.
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Hi everyone, we've bought our dream property and now we are trying to decide when the time is right to make the final connection............................................We are looking forward to moving and really do not want to leave it until we are 60+.
Before you make a permanent move.
If you are in a position to keep both properties for a while then why not try visits of 4 weeks or more at a time in France trying various seasons and see whether the life there is really as appealing
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Saintes is not a huge station so it shouldn't be difficult to change trains there and find the connection. You could do the booking by phone with Rail Europe and get advice from a "real" person.
"Never travelled via train in France before, I don't speak much French. "
It's not that difficult but remember that you have to get your ticket stamped / validated in the (orange) machine on the platform (or station concourse) before you board the train.
I would think there would be taxis outside Royan station but if not maybe the station staff would call one for you.
Bonne chance
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Lisa
".................the fact that she died before it could be finished makes the direction of the plots in the finished volumes and her plans for the characters in the final, unwritten volumes really fascinating."
You have made a good point I think it is essential to know the background and also to realise how she wrote the story in secret in a tiny book and how it finally came to light years later.
For me it was one of those books that I couldn't stop reading yet I didn't want it to end.
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[quote user="Tresco"]
I didn't mean to imply it wasn't a very good book, Blanche N; just that due to the circumstances it got a massive amount of publicity.
It was the best (by a long shot) of the books I picked up last time I went to England.
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ah, now I am with you Tresco. I heard a revue on BBC radio 4 and reviewers were critical of the translation and thought expressions etc. were too modern day.
Think I might buy it for my sister.
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"My wife likes the type of coloured enamel finish, as opposed to the black cast iron."
For more unusual stoves another make to look at is Oliger (I think that's the name) lovely tiled stoves but they certainly come at a price. [:(]
Google Castelmonte as well.
Good luck, IMHO you just can't beat the comfort of a good stove.
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Tresco
I agree with your comments about the characters in Suite Francaise, I think the author gave a good insight to life as it really was during the occupation.
BTW I don't think the book was hyped but each to his own.................I read it in the original French and felt it was one of the best I had read for a long time.
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I have not visited this area but from the gite and letting point of view I think your clients would have easy access to both Bordeaux and Bergerac airports and for those travelling by car and ferry the A10 autoroute is a good link to channel ports
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Aitch
You could Google Godin or Jotul, look at what they have to offer and see where your local stockists are. It pays to get the stockist you buy from to also do the installation and then you are likely to get both stove and installation work at 5,5% TVA.
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[quote user="Russethouse"]
I ordered this at the weekend and went to collect it yesterday - out of stock, having to be reprinted !
I think Blanche Neige read it in hardback - anyone else ? Is it good ?
(LOL the young lady doing the 'search' for it had entered Sweet Francias [:)] on the system!)
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RH did a) get you copy and b) have you read the book?
I noticed today that our local Waterstones have it in the window.[:)]
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Nicos
It's worth looking in Fly and Atlas if these stores are near you.
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To the O.P .
If you like James Herriot you might enjoy "C'est La Folie" by Michael Wright. His articles about his life in rural Limousin have appeared in The Telegraph.
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Re. "Never tell your name"
One thing niggled me and that was all the American phrases in the English version however the writer has lived in the U.S. for most of her life so I suppose I should have expected this. Otherwise an interesting read and I especially liked the last few chapters where she describes how she adapted to life after the war.
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You could try your local tourist office and ask for their help.
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There are quite a few on here who do exactly this.
As you say, you will need some good support services but there are agencies in many areas who will provide this sort of management service, at a price of course.
If you can spend time at the property and get to know the local community especially close neighbours it all helps.
Income, well this depends on what you have to offer, where you advertise and probably the most important thing...............location. There is a lot of holiday rental property around and competition is stiff.
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[quote user="Alane"]
"Regs state that all new builds and renovations must have a seperate wc" - Does this mean that the shower in Blanche Neige's example should be in a separate room? I'm just about to install a shower, WHB and WC and want to be sure that the shower doesn't have to be separate. I probably have the space but only have one window and don't personally like rooms without a window.
I'm also not sure whether to go for a full VMC or just an extractor. I don't think I'm really clear as to the advantages of a VMC and while I can see that one extraction unit for Kitchen and all bathrooms and WC's might be useful they do seem to be a lot more expensive than separate extractors.
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reply
Our shower and WHB were separate but now all three items i.e. W.C / WHB / shower are in the same room.
Having not had a VMC before I would strongly recommend having one but then we have no window in the downstairs shower room. We have another shower room / WC etc. upstairs so no problem with queuing for the loo [8-|].
All our work was done by local registered Fr. artisans all of whom are well aware of the rules and regs..
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" (my sister-in-law certainly doesn't want the French tax authorities to think that she lives in France) "
You can (should) still declare your gite income on a Fr. tax form if you live in the U.K.
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[quote user="wilks"]
Regs state that all new builds and renovations must have a seperate wc, Bathrooms and toilets cannot open directly into a kitchen or food prep area and must be mechanicaly ventilated. This info was given to us by Batiment de France (Limoges) in a 3 hour meeting regarding regulations for various projects we are working on
Hope this info is of help
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Ours has a lobby area complete with doors between the kitchen and the now combined W.C. / shower room complete with WHB and there's a new VMC, so no problem. Sorry, I didn't mean to mislead anyone.
I think the original poster wanted to know whether the W.C. and WHB could be in the same room / compartment, don't know where this is in relation to their kitchen area.
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Immokolee said
"...............it was the owner who told us. I've been busy beavering away today and have had a reply from an immobilier I met some months ago. She doesn't have an active interest in this as it is an owner sale. She tells me as far as she is aware it is a temporary site for mainly Eastern European workers to hook up to toilets and shower. I have to say the site did look clean and litter free. Washing on the line but no people about."
Of course the present owner is going to tell you that all is O.K. and there are no problems, he wants to sell the barn! The immobilier has nothing to lose either.
Ultimately you have to think of the re-sale potential, buying this now for your own use may be all well and good but the day may / will come when you could want to leave and find it hard to sell.
edit;
I realise I have echoed P's posting above.
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Spg
Sue
there should be no problem at all with the changes you want to make. We did exactly that last year.
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"........ and of course the other thing to consider is when you wanted to sell the house on, how would it impact on the sale prospect?"
Gemini man has made an extremely valid point.
Location, location, location.
Charente Maritime Flag
in West (Bretagne, Pays de la Loire, Poitou-Charente)
Posted
LOL
all I got was
SERVICE UNAVAILABLE
!![8-)]