The gîte is ready for the final time, despite a last-minute request for extra sheets which meant a Christmas Day trip to the laundrette. Strangely, there was no queue. I won’t miss hauling around heavy, wet sheets or tackling mountains of ironing. Now a relaxed cup of tea while we wait for their arrival.
15 years; it doesn’t seem so long that we were welcoming our very first guests, in a complete state of panic—and certainly with no time for cups of tea. Luckily, they were lovely people, as the vast majority of our visitors have been. We were still racing to finish the renovation for their Christmas Eve arrival, and the staircase to the top-floor bedroom had yet to be installed. It arrived early that morning, just as promised, but despite our burly maçons, it was 10 cm too short and simply wouldn’t fit.
Plan B involved lowering beds out of the top-floor windows to create an extra ground-floor bedroom, while our amused neighbours prepared their réveillon.
Our guests then had a merry Christmas and became the first of many happy visitors. Now, as we prepare to leave, we feel proud that so many people over the years have enjoyed what we created. And hope that our final family have an equally good time.
