A Cariad Life

We’ve been in France for a week and half…so much has happened, and we are learning so much about France (a realization of our previous misconceptions included).

First, a quick update on our progress with setting up the B&B business. In order to work in France, we had to have approved visas, specifically for us as newcomers starting (and continuing a business) a Talent Passport. This type of visa requires a certain education/experience level and a significant monetary investment (which we have met). Thankfully, two days after we arrived we got approval from the French government that our business was approved. This approval was then sent to the French Consulate in Washington DC who then approved our visas, Talent passports, early this past week. We do, however, need to return to DC to obtain the visas. Normally, this process can take days, but the representative from the consulate office, Caroline, has offered to make an exception for us–allowing us to fly into DC, visit the consulate and get our visa on one day, and then fly back the next day. We are doing that on January 17–it will be a quick trip with A LOT of travel. What this means is that when we return to France on January 19–we are legally able to work in France! Our first guests can stay with us on Friday, January 20, and we already have a booking for that time.

Some of you have asked details about our accommodations and how to book. We have four guest rooms (accommodating 2 guests each, with the exception of one room that has an additional day bed/trundle in an adjoining room and can host two children). All rooms have an ensuite bath/shower or ensuite shower. We also have a loft apartment, with a full kitchen and living room that can accommodate 4 guests. The loft apartment will be listed on AirBnB in starting in January for summer bookings (we have a tenant there now). Guest rooms can be booked now on booking.com (see Repos a Riberac in Riberac, France) for bookings beginning on January 20. We will soon add the rooms to AirBnB as well. We are still trying to get Booking.com moved over to my control–for now the previous innkeepers have access and are monitoring it for us. We hope to get this resolved very soon (before Christmas) , but because I don’t have access yet, I can’t provide specificity just yet if the rooms are open on a particular date. If you book on booking.com though you should see if your desired date is open.

Then, there is the marketing…Darrell and I are currently revising the website, the Facebook, and Instragram sites–they will be fully revised by the beginning of the year and will showcase the “freshening up” we have done with the B&B. I shared our living, dining, and kitchen photos in the last post, but I am providing you all with a sneak peak of each of the rooms below. More changes are on the way, but the rooms are ready for guests now. Also, we are preparing various itineraries showcasing the special events, sites, and activities of the area–we will add those to the website, and as we approach the summer we’ll market the special events at the B&B on our social media sites.

So…this week, beyond the visas, we have finalized all utilities–including a French mobile number (which is the key to the kingdom, you all–you seriously cannot do anything here without a French mobile number!) We also think we may have found a car–though it will be another week until that is secured. Our final package from the US arrived, and our furnishings for the owner’s bedroom are on their way. Darrell is a great partner helping me move furniture, put up pictures and shelves, and interestingly, his French is developing better than mine. We’ve also been cleaning like mad (the days are so short when there is so much to do)–taking down and washing all the glass in the light fixtures, banishing all cob webs, scrubbing all the grout in the bathrooms, sweeping, mopping, dusting…..

Though our new place has been cleaned regularly and the French places I have visited are clean, I’ve realized that my tried and trusted cleaning products and tools have different names, don’t exist, and don’t work the same here. A perfect example is a broom; it appears the French use “push brooms”–the kind that is wide with short bristles and they push the dirt forward with it. I can’t find a “US” broom anywhere–the kind with the long bristles. So, when we go to DC guess what is going in my suitcase for my return to France? Yes, a broom (not the handle, just the bristle part). Also, I can’t find Clorox wipes yet. They may have them, but I haven’t seen them. I don’t think I realized how often I used them in the US. Also, no swiffers. I like a clean house (which I am sure my guests will appreciate), so this has all left me a bit disoriented. Oh well, another thing to adjust to, right?

One final item I have learned since here–which is actually quite pleasant when you get used to it–all businesses, with few exceptions, close for 2 hours at lunch (except for the restaurants serving lunch), every day except for Sunday, when everything is closed all day. No joke you all–nothing is open on Sunday. I had always heard that the French know how to rest, but to see it in action every day is amazing. It may not be this way in cities like Paris and Bordeaux, but in smaller villages like ours it is very much how things are done. Several times, we have pulled up to a store or the post office only to see a sign that says, “overt au 1400 heures.”

It’s also neat to see all the school kids walking into town or home for lunch too. Darrell and I are trying to live this way too; yesterday, in the midst of cleaning, we stopped heated up a quiche lorraine, poured a chilled Burgundy Aligote, and had lunch like the French—you know with real plates, glasses, and napkins. We put away our devices and talked at the table–in the middle of the day! One more thing while on the subject of food and eating together, we have noticed that there is no shortage of frozen or ready made meals here–they are actually quite abundant. They are, however, made with minimal or no preservatives and taste very good! It seems the French also find their lives very busy and need to take “shortcuts,” but there doesn’t seem to be sacrifice of quality and there is always time to sit and eat together. What else are you going to do from noon to 2pm everyday?

Montravel Room with en-suite shower on courtyard side