I am not exactly sitting comfortably but I am eating comfortably. I just bought an almond cake in Costa (very nice, kind of like a posh bakewell tart) to inspire me and energise me, and am now ready to sit and write up about all the happenings of late.
Here goes:
Friday: House Hunting
First of all I drove all the way to Valbonne (that's 50km there and another 50km back and it all went FINE! Woohoo!!). I found the car park we'd arranged to meet in and I found an easy space to park in. I was meeting a new agent from a previously used agency, she is also the first female agent I have met and let's just say she's been pretty proactive.
So, on to house Number 1: First impressions - lovely! But on closer inspection there were a number of problems.
1) No toilet in the master ensuite (despite them having a whole 60m2 to put it in!!)
2) Wrought iron stairs that were very narrow, steep and winding and not very practical, made by "De Tonge".
3) Lay out of living room was all wrong, too narrow and cramped. They should have used the Master suite instead?
BUT: The outdoor area was fantastic. Big pool, lots of lounging area and a Summer kitchen and bar. It almost felt like a hotel!!
House Number 2: In a nutshell - NO! NO! NO! This property was in a fantastic location BUT the guy who renovated it had zero taste so although it was newly done it felt like you'd stepped into an 80's show flat. What a waste of time and money!
I wonder if it will sell especially as most people would definitely change the newly fitted interior in a flash!!
House Number 3: Great family home interior. Enough bathrooms and toilets. AMAZING, seriously AMAZING views going all the way to the sea BUT the garden was terraced and very, very rugged and there was not much you could do to it because of the soil type. Also the pool area wasn't particularly inviting but the interior and the view were great. Oh, and they had a to die for bath in the Master suite - it was like a huge egg shell. I could picture my self soaking in that and sipping a glass of champagne...
House Number 4: Way, way, way out of our league. A complete show room. Again lots of "De Tonge" finishes and furniture, a huge living area, a heavenly garden and a pool that was the most inviting I ever saw. The lay out was great except for the usual problem of lack of toilets!! In a house like this, for a price like this and with all the attention to detail given you'd think someone would have thought of more than one toilet between three bedrooms!!
House Number 5: Interior lay out was very homely and cosy and lovely. I could easily see myself moving in the next day but I'm not sure how close it was to the village. Of all the houses I'd seen this one ticked all the boxes for the interior, exterior and number of toilets(!) BUT location wise it probably wasn't near enough to the village. Amazingly it was also the cheapest I'd seen that day.
Overall, Friday was a good day for houses. Apart from house No.2 all of them had things I loved and I know I'd be able to overlook their shortcomings if Husband had his heart set on one. However I doubt this would be the case as all were slightly or very overbudget, so we'd need to seriously negotiate.
Saturday: Ticking all the Boxes?
On Saturday I arranged to see a house that was not very flash but somehow managed to meet most of our criteria - four bedrooms, three bathrooms, 4 toilets (yeah!), huge living space, big kitchen, flat garden and good location. It's drawbacks were: no pool, no view and no garage. I don't know if we can compromise on these three things and it's something husband and I are thinking about at the moment... The pool and garage can be resolved - at a huge cost of both time and money. But the view? Hmmm...
I will keep you posted.
Saturday Night: Sass Cafe
It was a friend's birthday on Saturday night so I had the perfect excuse to dress up and totter around in ridiculous heels. My kind of night... The evening was fun but pretty predictable. At Sass there is a tried and tested formula and even though there are no surprises you always end up having fun.
As soon as we arrived the wine started flowing (they wasted no time in getting the wine list to the table) and they kept all the glasses topped up. The food was fine. Nothing amazing but all good. The place was busy and the conversation was flowing as easily as the wine. However, at 23h00 the live music started and then it all got a bit too loud especially as we hadn't quite finished dessert (birthday cake with sparklers) but the music made conversation impossible. Somewhere along the evening, I'm not quite sure how it happens the restaurant turns into a club and you suddenly feel the need to dance. The place is pack but it's very handy having your own booth for drinks (more champagne and bottles of vodka) and tables to dance on. The DJ comes on, you dance, you drink, you dance bare footed on the sofas and suddenly it's the early hours of the morning, your feet ache and your bed is calling you. That's how it was on Saturday night, that's how it's been every other visit to Sass and that's how any future visits will be too. It works.
Sunday: Recovery day.
Monday: Nothing day.
Tuesday: Dinner Party.
Husband and I aren't really into entertaining. We love it when we do it but we don't feel the need to do it very often despite this. Yesterday I spent most of the day cleaning, tidying and trying to make the flat presentable.
I'd gone to Carrefour the day before and bought most of the ingredients for our Thai night. I'd decided to do a fruit salad for dessert - a healthy course amidst all the calories. On my way home from the gym I stopped in Beausoleil market and bought two pineapples and three Granny Smith apples. The cost? €26!!! I was so shocked I emptied my purse and paid up but €26 was definitely not the price I had in mind. Then I was kicking myself all day for paying up when I should have just left them, like any sane person would have done. Needless to say fruit salad was off the menu, now we'd just be savouring the world's most expensive pineapples!!!
The evening was a great success. The food went down a treat and we drank a civilised amount. The pineapple was OK, half of the second was was very sweet but the rest was mediocre. Still, I won't allow a silly purchase to take away from a very enjoyable evening.
And for now I think that's all. I finished the cake whilst writing up Friday so I've done well to carry on this far!!
Tomorrow I'll be back for more... Have a good evening!
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