We're back in St Remy de Provence, France lunching in the square (Place Favier) where we first fell in love with this charming town. Tim looks happy but truth be told, this is a very sad time for us both.
With heavy hearts we say “adieu" to our beloved house, “Maison Magnolia". We felt we had no choice but to sell it because a selfish hotelier from Paris, despite contravening several City Bylaws, was given approval by the Mayor of St Remy (shame on you Hervé Chérubini!) to build a three-storey wing of a hotel right up to the edge of our property line which would loom large over our small backyard and negatively impact our quality of life and property value.
We hired a boundary specialist and tried hard to get the Mayor to honour and obey the law but he didn't, and in the end we couldn't afford the ongoing legal fees it would take to continue the case at the higher level Prefecture in Marseille. If we kept the house we had no guarantee of winning our case (which could take up to a year or longer to resolve) and, as well as a significant decrease in our property value, we'd risk an increase in noise and pollution, loss of light, air circulation, privacy and our pretty view of the town church, the life of our trees, and our plans to install a pool. In the end we sold to the selfish hotelier himself who wanted and needed our property to rectify the Bylaws he was violating.
Maison Magnolia was our dream house and our dream for retirement in St Remy de Provence. We'll miss the sweet lily pad stepping stones that led to the guest house.
We'll miss the stunning purple irises in the garden and all the creatures who, like us, called this their home.
We'll miss Tawny the owl, who sat high in the pine tree in exactly the same spot every day watching over us.
We'll miss the African mask beetles who scuttled busily about on the stone walls and steps.
We'll miss the delicate roses hanging heavy in abundance, their sweet fragrance gently perfuming the air.
We'll miss the beautiful interiors of our (c.1860) house and views of the magnificent 300-year old magnolia tree in the front yard.
We'll miss the historic town and its church renowned for its organ, just a 5-minute walk from our house and we'll deeply miss all the friends we made.
We'll miss the irresistible confections at every turn, luring us into the pâtisseries and boulangeries.
We'll miss the ice cream at Le Roma and pondering the age-old question of how the French stay so slim. Just look at those portion sizes!
We'll miss Glanum and Les Antiques, a 10-minute walk from our house. The triumphal arch (dating to the first century) and mausoleum (30-20 B.C.) are amongst the best architectural examples of Roman civilization in France. The ruins of Glanum, founded by Celto-Ligurians in the 3rd century B.C. (well before the Romans under Julius Caesar conquered the region) make up one of the oldest and largest archaeological sites in Europe.
We'll miss the bucolic walks in the Alpilles.
We'll miss the pretty church square where the locals play boules and where we looked forward to joining them.
We'll miss the dreamy light so loved by Vincent van Gogh and us.
We'll miss the Wednesday market, one of the best in Provence.
We'll miss colourful Place Jules-Pellissier.
We'll miss the easy day-trips to the Mediterranean Sea such as the modestly charming port of Carry-le-Rouet where one can savour the exquisite taste of sea urchins.
Take care of St Remy de Provence and its people Jesus.
Farewell Maison Magnolia. We only had you a short time but loved you well. As always, we trust God is in control, guiding and protecting us, and we look forward to His future plans for us.
Despite our unfortunate experience in purchasing a home in France, we still love it and St Remy as much as ever and hope to return again some day soon. For now, we're moving on and continuing our travels and the wonderful journey of life.
