I don't believe I have a proper excuse. I had to go back to France to see to the house and that was a problem, a hurdle that seemed to grow larger with each day that passed. In the event, it wasn't as distressing as I expected, I think because the house has happy memories going back all the 10 years since we first looked at the ruin it then was and decided it was our dream home.
French inheritance laws are a nightmare so I set off with every certificate I have ever owned up to and including the cat's vaccination certificates. I'm not sure why those came too, because he didn't accompany me on this trip, but you just never know. However it all became unnecessary when we discovered that the notaire (lawyer) who drew up the original purchase documents decided, I assume, he's help me out by giving ownership to our sons. How he managed to do this without feeling the need to let us know, I'm not at all sure.
So there I am, over there to put the house up for sale and it turns out I have no house to sell. This has required a massive rethink.
The indecision hasn't been helped by the beautiful warm sunny spring weather we had over there. The garden and river looked especially good.
Can I really leave all that behind?
Though driving through Paris on the way home could have changed all those thoughts. First the traffic jams (of a continuous nature):
and then the startling sight of a shanty town on the city's outskirts.
They don't advertise the "bidonvilles" in the tourist guides. Seeing this make me count my blessings.
Hi A. --
ReplyDeleteWhat a shocker that legal decision re the house must have been! Hope it means you'll get to do what you want with the house anyway though...
For my part, I was shocked to see the photo of the "bidonville". And yeah, it most certainly is not an image I associate with France... :S
Thanks for the pictures. I especially liked the ones of the river and the garden. I know everything will come together in the end, in your favor.
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures! Quite a difficult trip I suspect, but French lawyers can be helpful -until you see the bill!
ReplyDeleteYour decision will be helped by the son's thoughts, and as the house is theirs they pay the bills!