1. The untouched countryside - safe and tranquil following the seasons which don't appear to all blend into one and just end up as either dark, cold and damp (a British Winter) or vaguely hot (a British Summer). Here the Seasons are very definite.
2. How safe it is here for children, they can wander at leisure and you just know that there are some nosy French shutters twitching and keeping an eye on "les anglais enfants"!
3. The Brocantes - especially from March through to September - a choice of several at the weekends, loaded with treats and other peoples "tout" that is just too irresistable to not buy.
4. The people - Our village consists of a tiny public school and a boulangerie (alas our bar closed several years ago now). Our neighbours are enthusiastic, quirky, old, fanatical, knowledgeable, great with their veg, kind, funny, generous and last but by no means least - very FRENCH! Once you (and them) get over the shock of no-one understanding a word that you say we have all seemed to have jogged alongside one another over the last 5 years just fine. I have found that a bottle of Whiskey or Pastis has always helped the language barrier - funny how more fluent you get, the more that you drink!
5. Our House - despite it being a freezing and expensive Monster to heat in the Winter - this house is our "forever" house or until the girls grow up and move on. It is a fantastic family house with a garden and field that wraps around it with a great view across the Vienne valley. Perfect for parties and BBQ's. Something that would have cost over £1 million for a similar size in the area we lived in before in the UK but only cost us the price of a garage in Mayfair, London. It will never get finished, I know that now unless we have a Lottery win. Its like painting the Forth Bridge, you get to the end and have to start all over again. As for me getting a non fitted but totally rustic French kitchen, I will just have to dream on until our fortunes shine again. It's hashed together and kinda of works but I dream of a large (but expensive) French Dresser that reaches the ceiling and can then be crammed full with the china I have collected over the years, an Aga that will fit just right into the large and original fireplace, plus a fridge that is so big you can't reach the back of . One day......
6. Our local bar - full of friendly and eccentric characters that are so odd they actually seem to fit just right! I get kissed every morning but at least 5 strange men - but I wouldn't have it any other way!
7. The weather - even when it snows here it is always beautiful.
8. The slower pace of life - apart from queuing in La Poste (my pet hate), leisurely strolling through the local supermarket and not doing a trolley dash as I used to do in the UK at the weekends. Taking time to discuss potatoes with someone you have bumped into and that you know would have been unheard of in the UK, here I am quite happy to queue whilst the old lady in front of me at the check out discusses her menu for that evening. I've picked up quite a few tips along the way!
9. French kissing - I now expect it and like the French would be mortified if I wasn't greeted by a kiss if it is the second time I have met someone. Its always great to be acknowledged in some small way!
10. The Food - now completely obsessed with the daily buying of a baguette, I sometimes wonder how I managed before we lived here. The famous baguette is not just used for a nice crusty roll as it is in the UK, here is just placed on a table to be used throughout a meal. Used for wiping your plate clean, with cheese, with salad dressing the list is endless. And the cakes......................................... I could wax lyrical all day long about the cakes..........................
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