Nothing like leaving an old historic farmhouse built in the early 1700's, driving three and one half hours south, watching the scenery change and arriving at a beach house, obviously designed by an architect and having every conceivable modern feature! For sure, Ed will not miss banging his head on the low hanging ceiling fixtures or the 'modernized" sliding door to the garden that refused to open unless you applied maximum g-force type pressure! The garden was lovely, perfect for painting en plein air, however, it seemed that every type of insect living in a ten mile radius also thought the garden flowers were very attractive and that I was a tasty morsel.
The house we now call home was completed just about a year ago and we are enjoying all its modern comforts. I'm especially happy to have a clothes dryer. It's great not to have to plan when to wash after listening to the local weather forecast. We also have 4 bathrooms which is unheard of! Plus,there is an American size frig plus a special frig for wine. Space is remarkably well utilized and the whole house is airy and open and in total contrast to the one in Locoal. The only thing I'd want for the winter, would be a fireplace.
I like the sleek lines and smell of the modern leather furniture, the light wooden floors, the comfortable throw rugs and the accent pieces that decorate the house. The color combinations are very much to my taste and so are the tile choices in the wet areas. (But, I do prefer a shower door rather than this new style of open door-less showers). To say that the house is totally unlike any other "maison" in town, would not be an exaggeration. And the outside of the house would not lead you to expect what you find when you open the front door.
We also have a large yard which is totally private and a nice sized pool. And we have a great view of the ocean from our second floor windows!.
It hasn't taken long to happily settle in and for us to enjoy long early morning walks along the beaches.
The town is called Fouras; a relatively small burg about 15 minutes from La Rochelle which has practically no beach. Fouras, on the other hand, can claim a little 17th century history and a chateau with a dungeon, but it's primarily attraction are its 5 different sandy beaches.
