Destination: Sarlat

We said farewell to Mum and Dad on Saturday, January 11th and then had 24 hours to ourselves before Thomas headed to Houston for work. It was a tough time for all of us as it was the first time Thomas had gone travelling for his job (unfortunately the first of many, but it is in his job description) and it was a very long week.

It used to be me who received souvenirs when Thomas went travelling!

On a much happier note, we spent the last 10 days of February in the Dordogne region - specifically Sarlat - which is a beautiful medieval town. We decided it would be more convenient to drive through Spain and the Pyrenees than fly because we would need a car when we got there, plus it's a hassle to bring all of Margaux's equipment on a plane.

 This is the main square... gorgeous, huh?

As you may be aware, Thomas and I have been doing some relatively long-term planning regarding our lives beyond the corporate rat-race, specifically when it comes to the environment in which we wish to raise our kids. We (mostly he at this stage, if I'm honest) have been looking at land that is arable, that can support a house plus an extra accommodation building, suitable to apply Permaculture principles, and with access to gas/ water/ electricity... plus be close enough to the town that I can get there by bike. Yes, an electric bike is very much on the agenda!

Incredibly, we (he) found a place that generally fits that bill, so we went there to scope it and other potential places out. The long story to the tale of why we didn't end up buying this piece of land can be summed up as being issues with the seller, more than anything else. It's really unfortunate, but we learned a lot along the way.

Thomas' parents joined us there (apparently they've never left home to go on a road trip earlier than this one... they had a rather large reward in the shape of Margaux waiting at the end!) and we spent 5 very cosy nights in a B&B that had a total of 2 bedrooms...

I should point out that at this stage she was sleeping through the night. Yes, she was under 3 months old. What a champion!

This was a very significant time for Thomas: apart from viewing the land, he was breaking the news to his Mum about the plan to quit the corporate (and financially secure) job he has to live a more sustainable life with me and our kids. This was received with mixed emotions, but we are ploughing on ahead.

The plans change all the time depending on many factors, but frequently it's the land itself... The rough outline at the moment is to have agricultural land for the growing of organic veggies to be sold in a farmers' market and/or through a veggie box scheme, plus for our own subsistence. I'm very keen on chickens, but we're still negotiating.

The other part will be a separate building that can be used as accommodation and as a space for workshops or retreats. This idea is frequently in flux... should it be a B&B as well? Should it be a B&B exclusively? Could it be a place for after-school care? Or a crèche? What kind of workshops would it attract? These plus other ideas roll around in our heads... Expect to hear updates on that one. :)

Margaux had just started to practice rolling her r's, which delighted Rita immensely. It's very cute.

Thomas celebrated his birthday there, which the B&B owners (the husband of whom is a retired pastry chef) marked by making him a St. Honore cake - depicted in the collage above. It is named after the French patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs (of course) and is essentially an entire cake of profiteroles and whipped cream. Good Lord.

All in all we had a very enjoyable visit, which was concluded by a 2-day drive back to the land of pasteis de nata and port.