So, you wanna Buy a Piece of Property in France??? Well, you better write a book!!

The Village of my Dreams, the Idea of my Dreams. Oh dear!  I need to sell a book!!!

Okay, this is the deal.  We traveled again this weekend  to another village.   But this one hit me like a brick hits a wall, only it was  my  head, and my heart at the same time that were “struck”.   It’s VENTEBREN.  An odd name, I know,  But Vent in French means WIND and I am sure that this place, once the MISTRAL comes through is just darn windy beyond belief.

That didn’t deter me one bit.

It was love at first sight.

My husband and I have been in France now for 1 year and 2 months.  We have lived in Paris and now we are outside of Marseille.  We thank God everyday that we are here and that we have jobs, so that we can stay here for time being and that someone wants to rent our home back in Saint Louis.  It’s all a huge huge huge blessing. (Did I say HUGE?)

But, something’s been eating at me and I didn’t know what.  The What turned out that when our “stint” is over and we’re just NOT sure when that is, we might have to go home.  I love home. I love Saint Louis and ESPECIALLY my children and my (mes les enfants) – grands –  my KIDS – – – but I don’t want to really ever leave France.  We love it here.  Like I said, we don’t know when it’s OVER  because my husband has been given a “CDI status” and for those that don’t know what the heck that is, – this is a very exclusive “Permenent Working Status” in France.  This means, you ‘d just about have to KILL someone in order to be fired.  This is good, because my husband David is past retirement age……well , we both are, but we don’t intend to retire, because we like to work. In AMERICA, where we have both been made “redundant” this is not so nice.   So, like I said, we like to work.  I know.  Go figure.   Suppose we won the lottery – would we still WANT to WORK?   Well, probably, but more volunteer, I would think.  You know, Help the world out – in any way you can.

Okay, so , this village comes into sight today and it’s beautiful.  It’s old.  The first houses here were from 920-940 AD.   But , get this, from my research, I found  (actually DAVID found) out that the first recorded human habitation in this village of VENTEBREN, was from 8000 BC!!!!!!   Can you just fathom that?

Oh whew, it is very hard for me to as this is way way way before the Egyptians.

Well, it’s a dream.  But I do have one thing going for me.  Even though I have no large (or small)  inheritance ever coming to me;  my chances of winning the lottery are slim to none and my financial portfolio is deeply depressing…….I do have some 79,151 words that I have written on my blog since I started this dream of living in France.   I do have some followers and that is mind blowing……..but I do love to write about just about everything and anything and that is what it is because “a hodge podge”  comes to mind – basically.  I see people doing funny things – and I write about it.  I  discover the most magnifcent red leather boots in the Marais around Christmastime – and I write about that!  (Thank you hubby!!!)  – “The Top 10 Things I’ve learned while living in France” – not from me, but my special friend and ULTIMATE BLOGGER of an AMERICAN in PARIS, Michael Bell – I add his stuff…….. You need to read him!!!  (http://jeparleamericain.com)  You won’t be sorry!!!  He’s so awesome.        I write about The French Bureaucracy because they ADORE paperwork.  I kid you not.   The “Ironing Board Size Kitchen” of mine, okay, okay, a European size ironing board, still the same, it IS  S M A L L !!!!!!!   Walking along St Germaine one day I see a mouse in a restaurant and I film it and write about it;   I go visit some obscure village and do research until I’m sick because it’s so incredibly interesting.  I see SHOES on the METRO in Paris, taking pictures very unobtrusively   and write about that and add the (unobtrusive photos)  I write about Mary Magdalene, because I visit where her HEAD is buried, as she LIVED not far from us here in South of France  – and Okay, that’s not published yet, but it’s in the works……..  ………I write about everything.

If I could somehow, someway get this published into a book, and people would buy this book, WE might have a chance to buy a home in this little village of VENTEBREN, north east of Marseille and just west of Aix in Provence, high up in the hills (les collines)  –  one of the most loveliest places in the south of France.

That is my story today.  And I’m stickin’ to it.

I say to myself……….Bon Courage!!!!!!  Cause I’m really gonna need it.

Now, to think of a title………………………………………