12. Soulac Dimanche Along with the occasional hogs, we were struck by the many surprises this region of France presents. Our assistant at the church in Soulac was a well-known personality in the Medoc, earning her the sobriquet “La Reine du Medoc.” A single woman in her early seventies, effervescent, an infectious smile, she had…

11. Sanglier One of the things I did not know about Elizabeth before we got married was that she is an inveterate collector. She had a gorgeous small house in the “M Streets” neighborhood of Dallas, known for arts and crafts bungalows. It was full of French antiques and classy art on the walls and…

10. Noël 2015 We had arrived at our new home in France just before Christmas. How exciting. No duties for me this year! Fire roaring in the fireplace. Elizabeth cozy and happy, living her dream. We are getting to know Patrick and his wife and family who live a stone’s throw away in another Chateau…

9. La Serre I think one of the reasons a place like Le Moulin has such a deep, calming resonance is that it is fresh, has nothing familiar about it, is free of the goods of our accumulating lives. Elizabeth, me, three suitcases, the jackets we wore leaving Dallas and anticipating winter in France. The…

8. Pierres d’Histoire We knew that it would take a good six weeks to do all the work on the house. As it turned out, the Chateau was soon to be the home of a business venture associated with Pierres d’Histoire (“stones of history”). They are particularly active in the Isle de France area around…

7. Rue du Petit Paris Elizabeth and I moved to France full-time in late 2015. We married later in life, both of us single and for the first-time. The odds of that are hard to believe. I was mid-fifties, she ten years younger. On the other hand, we had led busy professional lives, were independent,…

6. Ruisseau Montbrun We slept well. When it is so quiet, it almost feels like a sleep blanket has descended. We dressed and headed down for the petit dejeuner. Our appointment at the kennel was for 9.30. The drive would take us 15 minutes to reach her home. Madame bustled about and saw to our…

4. La Halte du Temps We had moved into our new house in the village of Courances. Our goods from the US had arrived. The house had been painted and a new kitchen put in. My office in one of the out-buildings, soon to follow. Elizabeth’s gardening passion re-commenced. The Angelus rang in our mornings….

3. Le Camino “The Camino” refers, of course, to the famous pilgrimage trail, walked by countless pilgrims each year, to Santiago de Compostela, close to the Atlantic coast of Northern Spain. It is held to be the burial place of St. James the Apostle. Its distance away from normal paths of life probably helps lend…