Our tiny house is coming together! (note: curtains in most of the windows), and as you will see below, on our last visit to Lonlay l'Abbaye we had the opportunity to visit a beautifully renovated chateau where we got together with some very nice people.
Fabulous barn conversion!
Rear of Chateau St. Cyr
We were delighted to receive a surprise invitation from Americans Wendy and Ashley Lane, the owners of Chateau St. Cyr. Their charming home away from home is located in St. Cyr du Bailleul, a village about 20 minutes from Lonlay. Wendy and Ashley Lane operate a full service vacation getaway with curated side trips from their lovingly restored 19th century manor house. chateaustcyr.com Self-described "Franco-fanatics," the Lanes are from New Orleans, where they have a home in the French Quarter (of course!).
We were invited for aperitifs in their restored barn along with several other blogger/expats from the surrounding area. (Sadly, I did not take photos of the gathering. The photo of the amazing barn with its long table is from their attractive Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ChateauStCyr/.) When we were there, the ancient fireplace was lit and provided a cozy corner for all of us to gather and talk while cider and wine were poured. Delicious appetizers grilled on the open fire as we enjoyed the lively conversation. Ideal.
The photo above is a quick shot of the back of the chateau taken on our way out. You'll have to go to their websites to see the gorgeous interior restoration work they did and the perfect rose garden they lovingly brought back to life.
Ashley and Wendy are wonderful hosts, and we fully enjoyed meeting the other bloggers, Dawne and Dean from www.instagram.com/french.blessings/, and Julie and her friend from www.thefrenchmanoir.net.
Dawne and Dean are talented professional photographers and teachers. In 2014 they starred in a House Hunters International episode about the search for their home in the Perche region of Normandy.
Julie is from South Korea originally, lived in Melbourne, but has now moved semi-permanently to France with her Scottish husband. A very impressive person - English is her third language after Korean and Japanese, and now she is learning French, of course. She just had a book about her French manor house published in Korea.
We were invited for aperitifs in their restored barn along with several other blogger/expats from the surrounding area. (Sadly, I did not take photos of the gathering. The photo of the amazing barn with its long table is from their attractive Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ChateauStCyr/.) When we were there, the ancient fireplace was lit and provided a cozy corner for all of us to gather and talk while cider and wine were poured. Delicious appetizers grilled on the open fire as we enjoyed the lively conversation. Ideal.
The photo above is a quick shot of the back of the chateau taken on our way out. You'll have to go to their websites to see the gorgeous interior restoration work they did and the perfect rose garden they lovingly brought back to life.
Ashley and Wendy are wonderful hosts, and we fully enjoyed meeting the other bloggers, Dawne and Dean from www.instagram.com/french.blessings/, and Julie and her friend from www.thefrenchmanoir.net.
Dawne and Dean are talented professional photographers and teachers. In 2014 they starred in a House Hunters International episode about the search for their home in the Perche region of Normandy.
Julie is from South Korea originally, lived in Melbourne, but has now moved semi-permanently to France with her Scottish husband. A very impressive person - English is her third language after Korean and Japanese, and now she is learning French, of course. She just had a book about her French manor house published in Korea.
Back in Lonlay l'Abbaye, Joseph and I had lunch with some new American friends, Deborah and Rand. The couple had looked at many properties in Normandy and are now in the process of buying "Katie's house" across the square from us. While they do want to remodel and redecorate a bit, the house is basically already good to go as it has been an AirBnB rental. We hope they will have many happy days each year in Lonlay, though they may still spend much of the year on the Oregon coast.
Coincidentally, Katie's house was where I first stayed when I came to Lonlay l'Abbaye in September 2015 to complete our house purchase. The wonderful view above is from the top bedroom in Katie's house. Two months later, in mid-November 2015, Joseph and I were staying there when we learned of the horrible terrorist attacks in Paris. We were so grateful to be able to stay an extra night before we had to return to the city. Lonlay was a haven.
Speaking of havens, we were happy to see our new kitchen in real life...
Coincidentally, Katie's house was where I first stayed when I came to Lonlay l'Abbaye in September 2015 to complete our house purchase. The wonderful view above is from the top bedroom in Katie's house. Two months later, in mid-November 2015, Joseph and I were staying there when we learned of the horrible terrorist attacks in Paris. We were so grateful to be able to stay an extra night before we had to return to the city. Lonlay was a haven.
Speaking of havens, we were happy to see our new kitchen in real life...
We were "chuffed" (as our friends the Brits would say) to see that our tiny house is now habitable. While we did not take the time to read through all those appliance manuals and test out everything just yet, we were assured by our builders that all was in working order.
We have hot water, a functional bathroom and kitchen. They helped us label the circuit breakers for our major appliances, and showed us how to turn the electricity on and off, as well as the main water supply.
We have hot water, a functional bathroom and kitchen. They helped us label the circuit breakers for our major appliances, and showed us how to turn the electricity on and off, as well as the main water supply.
To celebrate the milestone of habitability, we even persuaded our usually camera-shy builders to let us take their picture. Here are Jim, Barry and Nicola in their work garb. Good sports.
Joseph took a few wide angle shots of the main bedroom, as well as the smaller study at the top of the stairs with the door to the bathroom. These will help us figure out furniture placement. For now, we may have to fill the study with boxes of our belongings that we want to take out of our storage space near Paris.
We plan to give ourselves time during our visits to Lonlay l'Abbaye to sort through and condense all the papers, photos and memorabilia. Maybe we should ask Marie Kondo to come and help us!
We plan to give ourselves time during our visits to Lonlay l'Abbaye to sort through and condense all the papers, photos and memorabilia. Maybe we should ask Marie Kondo to come and help us!
The new water heater has pride of place in a corner of the still precarious attic. I say precarious because there is currently no flooring over the main beams.
Top of the stairs looking into the old attic.
Our next project is to have insulation and a basic floor laid down in the attic that will make it possible for us to move around up here. The French word for attic is "combles," which makes me think of "shambles" - in its current state anyway.
We may use this level of the house for storage until we are ready to finish it off with skylights and wallboard. Eventually, it will be a second bedroom for visitors who don't need to stand upright.
We may use this level of the house for storage until we are ready to finish it off with skylights and wallboard. Eventually, it will be a second bedroom for visitors who don't need to stand upright.
The new custom-built doors seem well-fitted and sturdy. We are glad they are nearly identical to the old wooden ones we had to replace. The only difference is that the front door does not have a mail slot, so we will have to figure out how to attach a mailbox onto the solid granite next to the front door.
We do not have curtain rods yet, but Joseph devised a way to hang some lace panels inside most of the windows. I miscalculated how many we would need, so will have to order more and measure for the rods. Lace curtains are not mandatory, but they do fit the WWII era feeling of the village, and are evident in most houses.
We do not have curtain rods yet, but Joseph devised a way to hang some lace panels inside most of the windows. I miscalculated how many we would need, so will have to order more and measure for the rods. Lace curtains are not mandatory, but they do fit the WWII era feeling of the village, and are evident in most houses.
The village looked better than ever to us. Roses were blooming and the commons grass was deep green. Mayor Derouet has had great success obtaining government support for improvement projects.
The ancient abbey facade has been cleaned and its statues restored.
The most impressive restoration has been the extension wing of the abbey where the monks and priests used to live. Once vacant, it now houses the mayor's office (mairie), a media center (mediatheque - a kind of modern library), and a tech center (espace numerique). All open to the public.
With so many small villages dying in France, it is good to see that Lonlay l'Abbaye seems to be thriving and that the mayor is doing so much to make it a welcoming and prosperous place. Even the local cookie factory is expanding.
With so many small villages dying in France, it is good to see that Lonlay l'Abbaye seems to be thriving and that the mayor is doing so much to make it a welcoming and prosperous place. Even the local cookie factory is expanding.
At dusk we watched swifts and swallows flying in groups to catch the summer insects. The old mayor's office has been renovated into a new hairdresser's place with three employees. The red and yellow sign on the building reads "Lon'lay Cheveux." I think this must be a play on words of some sort, pronounced phonetically the same as "longs les cheveux," or "long hair," but that's just a guess.
Closing for now, from "cheveux" (hair) to "chevaux" (horses). While we were waiting for our ride back to the train station, three riders pulled up to the bar/tabac and bakery. Now that's the way to travel in Normandy!
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