Give me my daily café and croissant

The smiliest bakers in the Midi-Pyrenees in Salies du Salat

If I had a Euro for every time someone has explained to me that what they would really like is a house on the edge of a village or small town, within walking distance of a boulangerie and café, I would be able to retire. I keep thinking that I should be setting up a chain of boulangeries with attached cafés all over South West France, as there is clearly a huge demand.

This is part of the dream of living in France for many of us; the morning stroll for coffee and croissants in the sunshine. France, like everywhere, has lost many small, family run businesses that did indeed used to provide exactly this service in practically every village in the country; all down to changing lifestyles, more families where both partners work away from where they live and lack of customers thanks to the ease of just popping into a supermarket on the way home from work to stock up on just about everything.

Luckily, however, in this part of France at least, it is still possible to find small towns and villages that do still have some kind of amenities - so here you can live that dream. And things have also adapted; the local boulangeries have realized that, if their clients don’t have time to come to them, they must go to their clients. So there is now, just about everywhere, a boulangerie on wheels; a van that drives around to even the remotest hamlets delivering bread at a set time most days of the week. This is why, when you are passing through villages here, you will often seen a bag or basket hanging on a gatepost or left on a front step – this means that the owner is out at work and requires the daily bread delivery. It is a very similar system to the milkman in the UK but, in France, bread is king and the French cannot survive without a fresh baguette (or two) every day.

Hence, on my searches, uppermost in my mind is always how far my clients are going to have to travel for their daily bread, croissants and local café (they say once you have found your café, you have found your home) and the closer the better. There is a lot to be said for living in a village community where you get to meet your neighbours everyday in the bakery and also a huge advantage in being able to walk to get basic supplies. This is why places such as Aurignac, Castelnau Magnoac, St Lizier, Salies du Salat, Bagnères de Luchon, Aspet, Arbas, Castillon, Cassagnabere, Betchat, Monleon Magnoac and many others, nearly always make it to the short-list for my clients; location really is vital. And I am very pleased to say that one of my favourite villages has just announced the opening of a new village bakery/shop. This makes me think that perhaps, with the ever-increasing cost of driving and the rising number of people working from home, perhaps the tide is turning and that we are about to see the rise and rise of the village bakery, store and, of course café. I really hope that is the case.

In the meantime, I will continue to ensure that my clients are as close as possible to a place where they can enjoy a coffee, croissant and chat; spending time in the local café and boulangerie is, after all, the first and probably most important step to integrating into the local community here in the Midi-Pyrenees.

That loving feeling

I am often asked what I like best about this job and actually there are many things but one of the best aspects of being a property finder is getting to look at so many beautiful and often historic properties. I love houses, I love buildings and I love architecture so combine that with stunning scenery everywhere I cover, including the majestic peaks of the Pyrenees on the horizon as well as the chance to work with so many interesting people and it really is the perfect emploi. However, there is also an inherent danger in this; I keep falling in love with the properties I am researching for my clients. There are just so many beautiful properties in this region and most of my clients have impeccable taste in houses (of course) so I get to see some real stunners – as well of course some real horrors but that does keep things in perspective.

At present I have some really interesting ongoing searches and yesterday I saw a house that I would happily have moved into there and then. It had everything that would put it in the bracket of dream French property; hundreds of years of history, built from beautiful stone, immaculately restored, outbuildings still in their original state, south facing, numerous terraces including a roof terrace, a stunning view of the mountains, lovely garden, completely private but at the edge of a village . It even had an office in the tower exactly my size (read, small).

In such a situation I allow myself five minutes of fantasy and then step back again to become the eyes of my clients. Happily, this one ticked every box for a current search brief and, although over their budget, I have some insider information which means I know that there is a deal to be done. It is a great feeling finding the perfect house for a client, especially as this is just one of a list of eight houses meeting all their criteria that I can now show them on their imminent viewing trip.