Reflecting on our Twelve Years in Brittany
You may know that recently I spent time at my second home in Brittany, France and if you follow my blog or social channels, you'll know it's been some time since I was there due to Covid travel restrictions imposed by the Australian Government.
I spent time with friends, worked hard cleaning and doing jobs around the house and garden, as well as a good amount of antique furniture shopping and I visited some charming little villages not previously explored by our family. While there I also reflected on what the last twelve years in France has meant to our family and how it has changed our lives. I thought I'd share my reflections with you all.
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Becoming 'Frenchified'
Our family is Australian, living in Newcastle, New South Wales and almost twelve years ago we started our French journey by buying a holiday home in the Côtes-d’Armor region of Brittany.
Since then we have spent many school holidays in France and tried to assimilate ourselves into our village farming community. With each passing year we have managed to spend just that little bit longer in our second ‘homeland’ (except for the Covid two year break) and can now say we feel a little ‘Frenchified’!
What Has Changed in the Village?
So, what has changed? Well, the village has not really changed, other than three houses changing ownership over the twelve years, the large pine tree in the church yard has had a big trim (see photo above taken in March 2022) and the school has a new classroom and playground.
Not strictly a change for our village, but there is now a new baguette vending machine in the main street of our neighbouring village. This machine was installed during Covid restrictions and it seems to still be very popular. I bought warm fresh baguettes a few times from the machine on my way home after long days exploring the Finistère's seaside towns - and they were delicious.
Our village is normally sleepy and slow. The exception of course is harvest time, when the energy of the farmers and their families astounds me. Farm children drive tractors during their spare time and on weekends, and adults work well into the night – and for most nights! With their flashing lights the tractors and gigantic harvesters look almost alien as they trundle noisily down the narrow village streets in the late-night mist.
Taking Care of Our Cottage
Our cottage, fondly referred to as our ‘girl’ by the children, has gone through periods of intensive maintenance and minor building and lack of maintenance during the last twelve years. When in residence we have oiled all wooden structures, laid a concrete slab, painted fences, planted a garden, built a garage, renovated the attic and maintained bathroom fittings, as well as the usual 'spring time' style cleans.
This is contrasted with the sometimes lack of love while we are absent. Over the years we have employed gardeners and housekeepers but sometimes she is left to her own devices and the weeds keep her company till we arrive again. Covid and the ban of all international travel from Australia really separated us. For more than two years we were unable to visit our friends, stay at our home, do any gardening or enjoy our French life.
A Growing Family
Our family has grown up from three young children to one happily married daughter, a tertiary adult student who has embarked on university life and a hardworking adult. Family holidays started to revolve around school and then tertiary semesters before Covid, albeit without our daughter, and most recently I travelled on my own while everyone else went about their adult independent lives. My daughter's love affair with France has continued with her own adventures through France and stays at the house now with her husband.
Experiencing life together whether squished into our car taking long drives to random places of interest, playing board games in front of our fireplace when it snows, or sharing our house with loads of guests during the holidays, over the last twelve years has developed deep and long-lasting family memories.
After twelve years we can proudly fill our trolley and purchase groceries, get our car serviced, hire a truck, order building materials, get haircuts, arrange a new phone and internet connection, get the chimney fixed (after it caught fire) and work our way through the mountainous bureaucratic paperwork like the next Frenchman or Frenchwoman. We feel we’re officially part-time expats.
What Does the Future Look Like?
What does the next decade look like for our family and our life in France? As our boys continue to become more independent, my husband and I expect to spend more time in France working remotely whilst exploring areas of France not yet discovered. One plan is to participate in the Anjou Vélo Vintage bicycle touring event through the Loire Valley. We have vintage bikes already organised for us by friends who regularly take part in the annual event and costumes are on our agenda to get ready too. Walking the Camino de Santiago (also known as the Way of St James), is on my 'bucket list' as well as repainting the entire interior of the house.
Here's some pics of little corners and cosy spots of our home
Lessons Learnt
Life lessons include embracing a slower pace of life, eating only seasonal fruit and vegetables for a healthier body, letting unimportant stuff go with a shoulder shrug (just as the French do) and learning to be resilient and flexible with the challenges life throws at us.
We know the next decade will bring good things for our family as our love affair with France and her people gets even stronger.
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