I’ll have three bidets, s'il vous plait

We are finally settled into our permanent home here in France, and we even received our household goods from the U.S.   It took me about a week to unpack, and I didn’t realize how sentimental I would get opening up boxes of our things, even inexpensive little stuffed animals that I knew my girls would be so happy to see again.  I was especially happy to find my cheese grater of all things.

This house is exactly how you would imagine a French villa in the French countryside, and I mean exactly.  It has an old-world feel and smells sort of musty unless you open the windows.  It is certainly not a big home based on American standards, but it is more spacious than I expected, and my kitchen has pretty much every modern convenience except a garbage disposal.  I’m embarrassed to say it’s better than I expected, mostly because I feel embarrassed to admit that a part of me thought France would be somewhat uncivilized compared to America—that I might see donkeys pulling vegetable carts, or experience lapses in electricity and running water (I blame these misconceptions on my mission to the D.R.).  Our landlord looked at me so funny when I asked him of it was safe to drink the water out of the tap.  He told me that of course it is safe.  The only really annoying thing about our living situation is that we have to drive our own garbage to dumpsters just down the street rather than take it just outside the house, but that’s no big deal anymore.  I’m used to it now.

This is a view of the house from the back with all the shutters closed

This home has real shutters that aren’t just for looks; I actually open them every day to let in light and use the windows to control the temperature rather than a thermostat.  We have grape leaves growing over most of the house.  The leaves are now turning red in the fall—so pretty.  The yard is big and has beautiful landscaping, which gives the home lots of privacy, a commodity the French seem to demand in even the smallest of homes. 

Here is the view out of Maisy’s bedroom into the front yard.  I love the terra cotta roof and majesty of the large shrubbery.

The furnishings inside the home are very modest, and almost all the furniture came with the house.  I think 99% of it came from IKEA.  One piece that is certainly not from IKEA is my favorite item in the home.  It’s a large antique wardrobe that Jason uses for his clothes.  It looks like it would transport all of us to Narnia if we got inside.  

A stereotype about Europeans that has turned out to be true so far is their love affair with the bidet.  We don’t use them much in the US, and I’ve certainly never owned a home with one bidet, let alone three.  That’s right, our house has three bidets!

Whoever built this home actually traded counter space and drawers for a bidet in the master bathroom.    Unreal. 

My girls took one look at the bidet when we moved in and said, “I love the little sink they put in for us, Mommy.  That will make it so easy to brush our teeth!”  So, yes, all three of my girls use the bidet in their upstairs bathroom as a sink to brush their teeth rather than for its intended purpose.