First day in Mailhac-sur-Benaize

Well! Here I am -- in a tiny village in the "Haute Vienne" department of the Limousin region, which has recently been renamed Nouvelle Aquitaine and includes Bordeaux (though it's a three-hour drive from there to here). The Village of Mailhac-sur-Benaize is generously called "calm" by the French, which

Barn door -- I just like the picture!

Buildings on main street corner

Eglise (church) St Protais St Germain (in front of my house; named for two saints, but no regular services.

Road directional signs are excellent in France (though drivers are very fast and pull up on your tail.
St. Sulpice les Feuilles is the bigger village, about 5 minutes from Maiilhac.  Both are referred to as "le bourg", or
as we might say in Pennsylvania, "the burg".

View from my parking area up rue St Protais St Gervais (church on left) to main street.

Front of series of cottages. Mine is right door of set of three, with the brick trim.  My landlords, Linda and Sam,
live to the left, as you look at the house.  That's my VERY smart, brand-new Peugeot (leased)!

Okay, here's a closer view.  My door is the one with the brickword around it, the
shutters (one on the right is on the stairs landing, the other the bathroom), and the
bench and flowers in front.

Just one of umpteen country scenes I'll be posting!

Street sign (on church)

Corner house -- not mine, just typical construciton and materials of rural France.
means absolutely nothing is happening here. My accommodations are great, and my landlady really went out of her way to make sure I felt welcome and comfortable. I have some pictures that I took today, my first full day here (yesterday was travel and a huge mix-up with my car, but all is well and my brand-new Peugeot is smarter than I am!) -- but I have a new camera and don't remember how to download...so photos still to come.
I slept about 11 hours last night, and today put away my stuff (3 suitcases + 3 boxes I'd sent ahead at an exorbitant cost!). Today was beautifully warm; I sat outside with my yard/patio, drank my coffee and felt the sun on my face, listened to the birds and weed wacker, and looked around at the verdant countryside in this beautiful, rural area.
Walk around the village took me all of five minutes (and that included introducing myself to Bernadette, who works at the mairie -- or, town hall office, which doubles here as the post office). I then drove five minutes to the only slightly larger neighboring town of St Sulpice Les Feuilles, where I had a "creme" (coffee with milk, comes small and large) at the local bar. I was starting to feel disappointed that there was no place where I could have a morning coffee and croissant (or pain au chocolat), until I stopped into the "Presse", where newspapers are sold. The proprietor, Pierrette (name I've never heard; "Paulette" is quite common!), is a charming woman with whom I chatted and laughed in French, AND she serves drinks, AND I can bring in my croissant or whatever I may purchase from the boulangerie (bread store) next door, and drink my coffee and read a newspaper there. So, I'm set.
There's a large British population in this region (they buy VERY affordable property to restore), but not all stay, particularly because of the pending Brexit, which leaves the satus they enjoyed as fellow members of the EU dicey. However, as a result, there are many English-speaking ex-pats; I'm trying to speak French as much as possible, of course.

A la prochaine (until next time)!
Paulette

Comments

  1. Maybe I'll learn a bit of French while you are there! Kathie J

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  2. I like the way you walk us through your adventure. I hope you'll do more posts! I moved to France in 1994 and have stayed through the death of a husband and the emptying of the nest. I'm a painter. I speak French now - that took a few years, but I got there. It's rewarding to be integrated and to fully experience this new world.

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