By Cyn Terese    My French Fixer Upper Part One

I know some of you have asked why France? Others have asked why I chose this house?

The answers to those questions are complicated, to say the least. But the truth is that it all started with a late afternoon phone call from my Doctor informing me that the test results indicated I had lung cancer. Since I hadn’t smoked anything since I was a teenager, I thought this was a rather cruel twist of fate. Ironically, I always told myself that if I was ever diagnosed with cancer, the first thing I’d do is smoke a cigarette. Well lung cancer ruled that out, didn’t it? After many, many biopsies, cancer was ruled out and I thanked the heavens I was able to start focusing on my bucket list.

Number 1: Forget about smoking, period! EVER, period!

Number 2: Go shopping for real estate. Some women go shopping for clothes, or jewelry as therapy. I prefer a fixer upper that I can demo (great way to get all my frustration, aggression, and excess energy out) and then build it back up. Why give money to a therapist when I can pour my money into a therapy that also serves as an investment that will give me maximum return?

Number 3: Look for property that will get me closer to all my favorite places around the world before those idiots (you know who I mean) destroy it all.

Number 4: It must have stone walls, a wood burning fireplace, a formal dining room, carved woodwork like my father would have created, oak floors, room for an art studio, room for a woodworking workshop, a garage to store my junk, stone fences (like those in Ireland I fell in love with), and a garden to grow my own food.

Number 5: Live to realize it all. See? I told you it was complicated.

Number one was easy to do, no question about that.

Number two wasn’t so easy as I began searching for real estate In Ireland. A few years ago, my sister Syl and I visited Ireland and while she fell in love with the men for their polite manners and their brogue, I fell in love with the land of endless rocks like the Burren and the many miles of stone fences. The majestic green pastures also stole my heart, but the rainy weather put a damper (no pun intended) on my dream of owning a home there.

Next, I searched in Spain. Being fluent in Spanish, this country would’ve been ideal, but the summer heat was too much to handle and the architecture, while magnificent in its ancient beauty, reminded me too much of Mexico – Acapulco and Mexico City to be precise. So why go all the way to Spain to buy what I could buy close to the US for pennies on the dollar?

Next, I searched in Italy. Since I’ve been fortunate enough to have visited Italy multiple times throughout my life and have a good grasp of the language, this country seemed like a strong possibility until I realized how long it would take to fly back to Ireland, the UK, France, and Spain.

The purpose of owning a home in Europe was for the proximity to all my favorite places. France was the place that fit that requirement. And so, the search for real estate in France began. If you’re interested in finding out why I chose this house, please come back for Part Two of My French Fixer Upper.

Until then…       

Au revoir!