Hello from Normandy

[RonDubber]

Hello from France,

My wife and I have retired to France, Normandy (it's too hot down south).

We have been going back and forth for some years waiting to sell our house in Wales. We finally sold and moved here permanently in Feb 2019.

All is good and no regrets.

I don't know if it was a good idea but we found the perfect house with an acre of land and 360 deg views over wonderful country side which needed renovating. No big deal as such but I am not as young as I used to be. Most is done and looking good. I do have some issues I need help with, but the rewards, well, wonderful.

So, i will be asking for a little help. Please keep an eye out. 

[ProDave]

Hi and welcome.

 

Bear in mind French regs will differ from UK regs so we may not know all the answers.

[SteamyTea]

I seem to remember that in France it is the Town Mayor that has all the powers on planning and building.  But many years since I lived there.

 

I like Normandy, Calvo was my drink of choice, but could never remember what it tasted like.

[epsilonGreedy]

3 hours ago, RonDubber said:

So, i will be asking for a little help. Please keep an eye out. 

 

 

Is your property is one of those centuries old Norman timber frame black and white structures?  That would be a Q&A challenge for the forum. I lived near Honfleur for a summer and have sailed that coast.

 

 

[SuperJohnG]

Welcome, and congrats on living the dream. 

 

I holiday in France (not this year!) Over the other side though where all the people with big boats go, albeit we are staying in Caravans and not suleryachts. 

 

Never been to the West Coast fancy at one point. 

[epsilonGreedy]

23 hours ago, SuperJohnG said:

Never been to the West Coast fancy at one point. 

 

 

I cycled it north to south in 1999. It is a varied coast, disappointingly familiar to the mundane parts of the UK coast in places.

[SuperJohnG]

22 hours ago, epsilonGreedy said:

 

I cycled it north to south in 1999. It is a varied coast, disappointingly familiar to the mundane parts of the UK coast in places.

Must have been a good journey. 

[epsilonGreedy]

16 minutes ago, SuperJohnG said:

Must have been a good journey. 

 

 

It was a crazy journey done on a whim with little prep. I finished a contract, bought a 3 wheel recumbent trike and peddled off the St Malo ferry 2 weeks later in early September. I kept just ahead of the campsite season close down as I headed south and boarded the Bilbao ferry a month later.

 

Swmbo and I returned to one leg of that journey a few years ago. Arcachon is a distinctive part of West Coast France overlooked by most British tourists. There are better parts, La Rochelle is a favourite.

 

To get a flavour of that part of France I'd recommend the video travel blog published by Yacht Ruby Rose on YouTube. Hip middle aged London dentist and his Aussie girlfriend reveal some choice bits of France as they traverse the Canal Du Midi from the Med to Biscay in 2019. This year they covered my stretch from La Rochelle to SW Brittany, you can fast forward through the boaty bits. 

 

http://yachtrubyrose.com/category/videos/sailing-and-travel-videos-blogs/france/

[Redoctober]

On 17/12/2020 at 21:36, SteamyTea said:

I seem to remember that in France it is the Town Mayor that has all the powers on planning and building.  But many years since I lived there.

 

Yes, this was certainly the case in Le Ger's region, albeit some 10 - 12 years ago when we were frequent visitors to the MIL's who had renovated an old watermill in the area.