It DOES come with some finality – even though we have been planning and living towards this moment for some time. The car is packed, we’ve emptied the house of all our belongings and we hand over the front door keys… We’re leaving the village!
Cotignac – and a language barrier
Cotignac has been ‘home’ for us for the past seven years. We arrived here by accident – only intending to stay for a couple of months. But the rustic charm and laid back lifestyle seduced us into putting down some far more permanent roots.
The language was the big challenge – and remains the case even now. It is a beautiful language but exceedingly complicated. Why didn’t we learn this as kids – so much easier! Beyond that, this village is very open to foreigners (which isn’t something you can say everywhere in our experience) and has over two dozen nationalities with perhaps half of the villagers being ex-pats, second-home owners or travellers that found Cotignac an agreeable environment to settle in.
Leaving our ‘home’ Are we ready?!
The Big Plan
What is the plan you ask? Well… there is no plan – as such… Let’s just drive from Holland to Greece keeping the coastline on our right-hand shoulder all the way around. And let’s see how far we get! To try and see the Europe we didn’t get to see growing up!
Leaving Pépé the bus parked up with some of our gear we headed north to do some paperwork and then hug to the coast for the months ahead… Suddenly ‘home’ is on wheels! And you’re a ‘nomad’…
You can follow our progress and take some inspiration from the various campsites we visit (if you like that sort of thing).
From the outset, Vic had poured her heart and soul into living in this picturesque Provençal village, and it was a childhood dream come true. We had a fantastic time and felt right at home. We made a success of home guardianship and as holiday rental hosts for various homeowners. And started working with Maison Mirabeau fairly soon after arriving, helping them to grow the business into a worldwide brand.
It was particularly difficult saying goodbye to friends and colleagues in Cotignac with a final drink at Brasserie La Tuf, and trying to absorb as many details as we could before leaving in a small puff of smoke that dissipates against the newly crafted camping trailer. The first stop is Serres en route to the Swiss Alps.
