And Finally...
THE BIG NEWS!
We’ve been dangling some teasers about big news here in Montpellier, and here it is: we have purchased a small apartment adjacent to our current place! This is huge, even if the apartment itself is not.
Last spring, I was combing the real estate listings for a nearby garage, studio, or storage space for sale. I was restless. I’m used to having a space I can go do my workouts, or yoga, or practice guitar without disturbing Carolyn. Our apartment is fantastic, but it doesn’t have an acoustically isolated space. Normal work, TV, and computer noises are fine while the other person is sleeping, but thumping onto the floor when I lose my balance or wailing away with a slide in open G tuning is a non-starter when Carolyn is sleeping or working. A garage/storage space wasn’t my favorite idea, and I didn’t find any listings that were tempting. I like low activation energy; I don’t want to have to walk a few blocks in the dark morning, and I don’t particularly want to practice or exercise in a cold garage with no bathroom.
Near the end of our spring 2024 visit, a neighbor approached me in the lobby of the building, asking if I was interested in buying any of his furniture.
“Maybe. Can I see it?” (said in terrible French and aided by lots of gesturing.)
Claude took me into his apartment and showed me a huge armoire, a very ornate bed, a few Windsor style chairs, lots of porcelain, and several flowery sconces formed out of thin painted metal. I didn’t want any of it.
“Je suis désolé, je préfère un style plus moderne.” Polite but discerning, the French respect that, I’m told.
“But,” I added “we’d be interested in buying the apartment if you ever want to sell it.”
It turns out he did want to sell the apartment! Claude came by later that night to talk to Carolyn and show her the space. I was cooking dinner (fresh peas and pork chops with feta) and was emphatically shooed away by Carolyn when I tried to enter Claude’s apartment as they haggled over the price. She’s a tough negotiator in French it turns out!
Carolyn and Claude reached an agreement that included a requirement that we buy a few pieces of furniture with the apartment; he is older, his health is failing, and he didn’t want to have to move things. (We have since given away or thrown out almost all the furniture that came with the apartment. As I said, we prefer a more modern style (and his “antiques” turned out to be cheap knock offs.)
After writing everything down (to avoid confusion - we still aren’t great with French numbers) we sent a letter to the Notaire we used to purchase our first apartment. We knew what to expect from the process and figured everything would be in order by the time we returned for our fall winter stay in Montpellier.
This space next door was really good luck for us - just the right size and just the right price. And no walk through the dark and cold to use an unheated garage, and we were able to get a wi-fi signal in the new space using an extender that Orange provided for free.
We imagine the new apartment will serve two functions for us:
1) Silent space for exercise and guitar practice during early/late hours.
2) Storage space for our valuables while we are in the US. We can move all of our clothing, artwork, and guitars into the new studio, making the whole original apartment available for rent (instead of the half-unit we rented out last summer). We should do better renting out a 3 bed/2 bath apartment vs. a 1 bed/1 bath place.
The closing went smoothly and, having been through the process once before, we weren’t surprised by the slow process or the need for a translator. We learned that our building is a monastery from the early 13th century, that’s old, y’all! The Tudors weren’t even ruling England in the early 13th century (Henry III, Plantagenet was king of England then). When the United States was founded, our building was already several hundred years old!
I took out the sleeping loft immediately. There wasn’t enough floor space to do yoga and kick up into handstands with the loft in place (I’m 6’3”). And if we use it as a guest room for longer-term visits, we wouldn’t want anyone climbing up and down a ladder in the dark. We haven’t gotten far with decorating—so far it has been a process of subtraction: taking out the old furniture, and the loft, disposing of the 10 year collection of antiques catalogs, giving away old pots and dishes. This past weekend we bought the first piece of furniture specifically for the new space, it’s a mid-century wardrobe, less than half the size of the armoire that came with the apartment.
We’re really excited! The new studio has already changed the way we live in this building, and Carolyn commented on how my mood has improved now that I can do my thing at 4:00am.
Let us know if you’re looking for a long term rental this spring/summer - our 3 bed/2 bath apartment will be available from early March through August 2025.
Jusqu'à la prochaine fois!
Roberto & Carolyn
So cool!
But I want to visit while you guys are there so we can meet for dinner!!
That's awesome, I get it. Space is precious.