Pardon My French, Chapter 1: To Limoges We Will Go

Getting up at 4:45am on a Sunday is not my idea of a good time. However, sacrifices must be made, so silly o'clock it is. Not that it much mattered as I barely slept a wink.


The taxi arrived out front a few minutes late, but there's not much traffic between Denham and Uxbridge at 5:45 on a Sunday morning. Plus the driver drove like the proverbial bat out of, um, a really hot place with sulfur and stuff. We arrived in Uxbridge in plenty of time to catch the bus to Hillingdon Station.


6:25 still felt like the middle of the night, but I was wide awake as we clambered abroad the 90X express bus into London. It was a comfy cozy sort of bus with nice thickly padded seats and individual reading lights and air flow. Unfortunately, the "next stop" button was right next to the light button and I kept pressing it on accident. I think the driver was a hair's breadth from throwing me off the bus.




We arrived in London and walked quickly over to Baker Street. OK. Fine. We staggered over to Baker Street lugging our suitcases behind us and hoping we were going the right direction. We were. And we managed to catch the coach to Stansted Airport just in time. Unfortunately, the coach was not nearly as nice as the express buss. I'm pretty sure the shocks went out years ago and the driver was training for Formula 1 (That's the European equivalent of the Indy 500, for those of you not into your racing sports.).



Finally we were at the airport, in the plane, and flying over the English countryside on our way to Limoges! (Pronounced li-mohzh)





After many fits and starts in our rental car and the realization that France has not only discovered the roundabout, but gone positively mad with the things, we finally made it to Les Pins (Pronounced something like lay pahn). It's an unbelievably charming little town. And exercise in Cute Frenchness with it's red tiled stone cottages complete with colourful shutters (blue seems the most popular), narrow streets, and complete lack of anything remotely resembling a traffic light (or street signs for that matter).

But we are not to stop in Les Pins. It is only the closest village Le Puy is our final stop. It's not so much a "village" as a collection of farmhouses and barns with a single road running through it. It gives the term "one horse town" a whole new meaning. Except out here it's more like a one cow town, and no less charming than it's big sister.

As we pass through Le Puy and wind through the houses, our final destination comes in sight: the farmhouse of Jimbo's cousin, Sue. Except it isn't a farmhouse, it's a converted barn! How cool is that!

It's surrounded by fields (naturally) and the doors and windows are great stone arches. The walls are thick stone, maybe 2' deep, and there are heavy wood beams throughout. Though still in the midst of renovation, it is quite possible the most charming place I've ever seen. I can definitely picture how amazing it will be when it's finished!

Ah, so let me introduce to you the players. First of there's Jimbo, my mate (mate means friend or pal in British). We've been pen pals for something like 7 years, but only met in person after I moved over here. He and his mom opened their home to me when I needed to get away during the holidays last year when things were not so great.

Then there's Mick, Jimbo's dad. Mick is 73 and full of p*ss and vinegar, as they say. Quite the ladies man, is Mick, and full of stories of his misspent youth. He retired and moved out to France with Colin and Sue a year ago.

Sue is Mick's niece, and therefore Jimbo's cousin. She and her husband Colin moved to France one year ago for a change of pace and a better life. Two of their six kids still live with them: Jay (16) and Jake (14).

Sue grows all her own veg and fruit in her gorgeous garden. She'd never done it before moving to France, but the results speak for themselves! The carrots are beyond sweet and crunchy! The cauliflower divine, and the French green beans full of flavour. Even the potatoes are gorgeous and I'm not much of a potato eater.

They've also got geese (Jake's project), pigs, chickens, and turkeys. Sue wants a cow, too. Their plan is to be self-sufficient and to cut down on utilities almost completely by using solar power and so on. In the meantime, Colin is refurbing the house, turning it into their dream home.

16 year old Jay kindly lent me her room for the week. It was a lovely little room with white plastered walls, big rough wood beams in the ceiling, and a Persian rug for flooring ( it's all cement floors right now ). It was lovely to sleep in a real bed for once!

One thing to note about France, on Sunday everything is closed, and I mean EVERYTHING. Petrol stations, grocery stores, you name it. It's all closed. But it allowed us a chance to sit back and relax before beginning our adventures in FRANCE!

Next up... Gorgeous Angouleme and a fabulous chateau!