I probably should back up a little here because I missed the two days of cleaning I undertook with my friend, Wendy before I officially moved into the house.

The first night, I still had no electricity. Luckily, knowing this, I bought a cheap Bluetooth speaker that doubled as a lantern, so it came with me everywhere as it got dark. I had bought a small wine fridge to bide me until my fridge arrived and Wendy and I set that up as a kind of cooler. It reached over 40 degrees (103 F) every day, so it wasn’t of much use, but it was something.

After the walkthrough, the scramble for acquiring basic necessities continued, but once I received the results of the meter readings I had what I thought I needed to sign up for both water service and electricity. I was able to sign up online for water service without incident.

I wish I had been writing every day from the moment I got here, to keep a record, but it’s been a whirlwind. I will try and encapsulate my first 2 weeks in France here, though I will need to break it into two parts so I don’t ramble on too long.

Only two days to go before I jump on an airplane across the world! It doesn’t seem possible!

Each day, I seem to inch closer to actually owning a French Chateau, though it feels painfully slow. I initially thought that we were due to sign the “Promesse de Vente” on June 20th. I have to say, “Promesse de Vente” sounds so much more romantic than “Purchase Agreement.”

On my first trip to France, I booked a visit to Chateau Lalande on what turned out to be their last day of guests for the season. I visited in hopes of meeting the YouTube famous Stephanie Jarvis and talk with her about the experience of owning a chateau in France as a single woman.

Gulp! I seem to be buying a chateau in France! Catch up on the crazy! Plus… pics!

A wrap-up from my trip to France to visit Chateaux.

I must thank you all for your comments on my last post, though based on the poll, not one of you selected option A to tell me this whole plan was just this side of the worst financial decision I could possibly make in my lifetime. Instead (selfishly perhaps?), almost everyone who answered the poll selected B (plan a trip to visit) or D (buy in Tuscany).

And so, I have taken your advice and gone with option B! Next week, I fly to France!

Perhaps it’s an escape, but for this 20th anniversary, I’ve been fantasizing about buying a French chateau. Right out of left field. OK, this YouTube video may have had something to do with it. I’m a little bit in love with Phillip, the humorous film-maker behind the Vlog. He reminds me a little of Arron. Escapism? Projection? Nostalgia? Insanity? All of the above.