Wow what a weekend, after the panic of the passports we drove through France on Friday night arriving home in the early hours of Saturday morning. It was a long journey - left London at 2pm and arrived in Herault at 3.45am, not helped by delays on the A16 into Paris which was closed due to 2 lorries colliding badly. We have learnt not to take the detours off the autoroute as they basically shove you off and then there are no diversions or gendarmes in sight and you are on your own stuck on the outskirts of Paris with a satnav desperately trying to get you back on said closed motorway. Whilst you navigate away from motorway with driver getting very stressed, you can feel your blood pressure shooting up past the Eiffel tower...no we didn't entertain that - we sat for about an hour which wasn't long at all for such a significant smash. Always makes you shudder when you pass something like that, which inevitably you always do on a 13 hour drive.
All was smooth down to Lodeve when at 3.15am we came winding down the mountainside narrowly avoiding a scattering of cars stopped to help a less fortunate driver who had somehow ended upside down, standing in the verge bonnet on the floor wheels in the air. No emergency services had yet arrived, fellow drivers were desperately waving torches to warn other drivers but its a very windy road and we were lucky.
Having safely arrived home we put the girls to bed & woke up to a flurry of messages from keen immobiliers wanting viewings on our house that very weekend. So we left all our stuff in the car, cheerily welcomed in the potential buyers to our immaculately tidy home.
Monday, we get another message - can the lady who viewed yesterday morning please come round again to do a contre-visite? Yes of course - but Monday was when our kids bunkbeds and toys were being delivered from London...so we hastily piled it all in the garage and again welcomed her into our tidy home.
Tuesday, another message - can Monsieur Immo please come round that evening to see us both? err ok but he'll have to see the kids too...oh and all the boxes etc as we can hold off the unpacking no longer. The pleas for various toys and clothes are getting too much. So with boxes and bubble wrap all over, in comes Monsieur with an offer.
We reject and a counter offer is made...
Wednesday - in comes Monsieur Immo with the counter offer agreed and a new mandat to sign, copy of the promise to buy and a promise to sell form. Everything is initialled and signed in triplicate...it's hard to really understand what is actually happening and all at the same time as 3 Disney princesses are doing their best dance impression to Gangnam Style.
Thursday - phew - grateful to have no visitors today...but now Izzy has chicken pox. No pharmacy open so I've asked a friend what to put on to help heal her open blisters and been given Eosine. Izzy is now completely covered in Red dye which she thinks is hilarious and I have lovely red hands to match. I'm not sure if this stuff is effective or not at stopping the itching, but it certainly shows which kids in the village you need to avoid like the plague. We are now home bound and loving it!
@ Mark - ah the secret I'm afraid is to lose money! We spent a small fortune doing our house up to a high standard as we never foresaw we would ever sell it. Originally it was a second home for a couple with no plans for kids in the future. 5 years later we had moved to France and started a family. My husband always wanted another renovation project before he was 40 but we always thought it would be UK, then after moving here we started looking in our village and found a perfect next family home...the rest is history. But the moral of the story is...anything will sell at a realistic price. Our house is giving the new owner an absolute bargain. For us...the pleasure of living here, the experience of renovating in France, the lifestyle we've chosen because of living in our village/home (i.e. deciding to have kids) all soften the financial blow. Anyway it's swings and roundabouts - we profited on the back of UK prices rising back in the mid 2000's and have lost on our French one as we have renovated it beyond it's market price in all fairness. Totally honest about that but you can't get more than someone is prepared to pay. We have listened to the agents advice and now it has sold. We are happy and our buyer I am sure will be very happy.
You missed out the most important, Suzanne! A75, Exit 38 (Antrenas, Marvejols). At that point you're one kilometre from our house. Honk the horn next time! And you know what to do if you're ever in need of a break or just fancy saying hello.
I love it when we see the sign for Montpellier on the a71 makes me feel like we are almost there even though we still have km to go. The bridge at Millau is another milestone I look forward too.
There is no better sensation and view than exiting that last tunnel, starting to descend towards Lodeve and seeing vineyards become the order of the day.
Ha today I am sure the buyers would have run away terrified, izzy is pink all over...apparently eosine is usually used for les fesses not all over top to toe! Well she loves her pink hair!
Hi Suzanne ! So come on tell us your secret when everyone is desperately trying to sell you come along and seem to sell with no problem at all ! What is your secret !!?? Best wishes Mark
Ah I am sure No 3 will have it soon. She has a little spot on her tummy...I'm expecting more tomorrow! Will let you know when we are all clear and the red dye has faded....hopefully!
Oh good. I hope this works out. Maybe don't unpack too much? Or certainly keep the boxes! Hope you're getting a night's sleep. Is that two out of three with chicken pox? Third princess will no doubt develop symptoms any day now, and then you are finished with it.
We are busy with guest here for week's painting course, and the Marché des Artisans et Producteurs is on here next Sunday (10 to 6), so am busy with crochet, knitting, etc. Give me a shout when you are settled and finished with the pox!
Delighted you have arrived safely. Does your second-last para mean you are "sale agreed". I'm crossing fingers as I type these words (difficult I know but I am a woman of many talents), in order not to jinx anything!