Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
We were in limbo. The combination of the anxiety about the vineyard and broken nights
created by a newborn guaranteed insomnia. I called Jacky, our pharmacist, to ask for sleep-
ing pills I could take while breastfeeding. She sent me a homeopathic lifesaver that arrived
the morning Patrick called back.
'Caro, you were right. You can make an offer. It's all on again.'
I was beginning to understand that in France, nothing was a straight line, neither the walls
of our potential new home nor the negotiations to get there.
'So what do we need to do?'
Patrickstartedwithalong'Well'inhissignatureGallic style.'Youneedtosendinasigned
promesse d'achat
andabusinessplanlayingoutallthedetails:finance,experience,strategy
and anything else you feel will make your proposition a viable one. It should be in French
and they need it by Monday.'
In my sleep-deprived state this sounded insurmountable; my French wasn't good enough
to write a business document. I felt like crying.
'Why do they need all of that? They should only be interested in whether we can pay.'
'Usually, yes, but this is an agricultural property in liquidation so the mandatory liquidator
will look at all the angles. He will compare the price offered, financing and viability before
choosing the buyer. It could take a few weeks. I'll check over the French for you.'
Patrickhadreadmymind.SeanandIspenttheweekenddiscussingthecostsandpotential
revenues. We knew horrifyingly little of what we needed. The Internet was a great source
of information but how realistic American state extension office vineyard costs and reven-
ues were for France was anybody's guess. By the end of the weekend we knew that this
venture was a massive risk. It would be hard to make ends meet. We should have stopped
right there but our journey had already taken us beyond the bounds of logic.
I contacted an accountant who specialised in vineyards for a sense check on our plan. He
increased many of our costs but thought the revenue seemed reasonable. We submitted our
plan and signed offer.
The next week flew by in a blur as we prepared to sell our house. In two weeks the nebu-
lous idea of changing our lives had become high-definition reality and homeopathic sleep-
ing pills had become my best friend.
Sean arranged to go to France for a two-week intensive French course. If this property
came through he would need some language skills
tout de suite
. The day he left I went to
the O'Briens', our closest friends, for lunch. This was the first time I'd been able to talk to
them about our move. I was excited but nervous.
