Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ellie got her first tooth complete with vomiting and fevers. Our apartment didn't have a
washing machine so Myriam offered me the use of theirs. In the evenings when the tem-
perature eased we revelled in the warmth, sitting at our outdoor table eating picnics and
waving at Bernard's ancient uncle feeding their sheep. Each day we got another brick of
our new lives in place. On our moving-in day Myriam kindly offered to take Sophia, Ellie
and me to our new home while Sean collected newly purchased furniture from Bergerac.
We had formed a bondover the ten days, discovering that they had had a similar experience
when Élodie was born to the one we had with Sophia. They were generous and big-hearted.
Myriam loaded us up with gifts, hand-me-down toys for Sophia and bottles of fig jam. We
arrived at Château Haut Garrigue and hauled our luggage inside.
'Bon courage,'
called Myriam as she left. I felt mine fail.
The dark, shuttered house didn't feel like home. It felt empty and rundown. There was dirt
everywhere. The shower hadn't been cleaned in decades. It had black fungus centimetres
deep down the back corners and up the sides. Opening the shutters to let in the sun and air
helped immediately. Ellie, settled in her bouncy chair, watched Sophia buzz around settling
her baby dolls from Myriam into their new place.
I started cleaning the kitchen. The sink had brown gunk ingrained into the supposedly
stainless steel. After an hour the sink was stainless and I was feeling better. The view out
of the kitchen window offered much needed succour, raised as it was above vineyards
plunging down towards the Dordogne valley: a picture postcard of green vines, golden sun-
light and a village in the distance with a classic French church spire and beautiful tones of
local stone. Just as the dirt was starting to drag me down, my hero, Sean, looking like a
happy cowboy in his leather Stetson, drove into the courtyard in a large truck hired for the
half-day. We heaved our newly acquired double bed, fridge-freezer, washing machine and
dishwasher inside and Sean left to return the truck. An hour later he was back installing the
equipment.
By the end of our first day we were exhausted but we had a makeshift table and chairs,
beds made with fresh linen, cupboards clean enough for our new crockery and a working
washing machine, dishwasher and fridge. Sophia fell asleep instantly but Ellie, despite my
efforts with her new travel cot, would not settle. She had been sleeping in her bouncy chair
instead of a cot since this life-changing purchase started. I moved her into the chair and her
little leg started kicking, offering her the soothing bounce that helped ease the tumultuous
change. Minutes later she was asleep.
Relieved, Sean and I sat down and drank a toast to our new home with a bottle of our
Château Haut Garrigue red. It tasted great. Thank God, since we'd bought 4,000 bottles of
it with the property.
We had done it. Tired as we were, we took a few moments to soak in the atmosphere of
the 300-year-old room with its enormous beams and metre-thick walls, to appreciate the si-
lence of our new surroundings, and to enjoy a selection of fine cheeses that were becoming
