Not a proper Chateau ..
It's not a proper Chateau is it ? I mean where are the turrets ? where are the vineyards ?
So ....I usually ignore all that and patiently explain that it is in fact a maison de Maitre (house of the village) called The Chateau since it was built around 1810 and everyone in the village refers to it as The Chateau which is why when people visiting get lost (which they usually do) because we are so beautifully discreet (which was the attraction in the first place,) apart from the stunning views of the pyrenees, and the fact that most of the original features were intact
Drifting up the wide Louis Philippe style staircase I was in a dream, was it the shafts of the July evening sun filtering through the half light onto the most striking floor tiles that made my heart rule my head and ignoring all sensible and practical thoughts made an offer on the spot for the full asking price.
Four years later I often wonder why I did it. When I look through the initial pictures it makes me shudder and all sorts of ghastly memories keep floating back. There's nothing but nothing more boring than people offering up their "before" and "after" pictures so you can tell them how clever they are as they smile smugly and knowingly pitying those without the "hindsight and vision" to create such a garden of Eden. No such books are thrust upon people here.
NO, DON'T DO IT ! why knowingly shorten your life ? become a bore overnight ? never have any clean decent clothes to wear ? become involved deeply in your builders/plumbers/electricians love life problems and have your brand new cooker used daily for bacon butties, non-stop "pop music" day in day out, = lose all your interesting friends FAST. Join the band of "boring Brits"
UNTIL that is you are making noises that it is habitable and you are running a chambre d'hote, bed and breakfast, gite rental , = all your friends (interesting or not) return fast.
But I digress.. my beautiful wonderful chateau that breaks my heart on a daily basis, requires constant loving and tlc, but would I swop the fun of it all and miss meeting all the wonderful people who come and stay with us ? Absolutely not !
Catch me on www.chateaulasserre.com if you want to come and stay !
So ....I usually ignore all that and patiently explain that it is in fact a maison de Maitre (house of the village) called The Chateau since it was built around 1810 and everyone in the village refers to it as The Chateau which is why when people visiting get lost (which they usually do) because we are so beautifully discreet (which was the attraction in the first place,) apart from the stunning views of the pyrenees, and the fact that most of the original features were intact
Drifting up the wide Louis Philippe style staircase I was in a dream, was it the shafts of the July evening sun filtering through the half light onto the most striking floor tiles that made my heart rule my head and ignoring all sensible and practical thoughts made an offer on the spot for the full asking price.
Four years later I often wonder why I did it. When I look through the initial pictures it makes me shudder and all sorts of ghastly memories keep floating back. There's nothing but nothing more boring than people offering up their "before" and "after" pictures so you can tell them how clever they are as they smile smugly and knowingly pitying those without the "hindsight and vision" to create such a garden of Eden. No such books are thrust upon people here.
NO, DON'T DO IT ! why knowingly shorten your life ? become a bore overnight ? never have any clean decent clothes to wear ? become involved deeply in your builders/plumbers/electricians love life problems and have your brand new cooker used daily for bacon butties, non-stop "pop music" day in day out, = lose all your interesting friends FAST. Join the band of "boring Brits"
UNTIL that is you are making noises that it is habitable and you are running a chambre d'hote, bed and breakfast, gite rental , = all your friends (interesting or not) return fast.
But I digress.. my beautiful wonderful chateau that breaks my heart on a daily basis, requires constant loving and tlc, but would I swop the fun of it all and miss meeting all the wonderful people who come and stay with us ? Absolutely not !
Catch me on www.chateaulasserre.com if you want to come and stay !
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