Wednesday, knowing that I wd be seeing some houses at La Garcilly – on the river Aff - popped in on my way to Redon and was quite taken with it. Came back with the Foret agency people to see a modern house in an estate on top of a steep hill. It was charming – and met the specifications but the hill and the estate put me off. For the second time I stalked out of a Notaire offended with their lazy arrogance (the previous time had been Pontivy) – but, on this occasion, shared with the young guy my opinion of French notaires. Like the previous one, they were simply unable to fit me in to their schedule. Pontivy had offered me an appointment a week hence – and the Garcilly guy couldn’t fit a 10 minute visit to the only house I was interested in (in the town) until some time the following week.
The morning started with another attempt to get a haircut – which is not as easy as I’ve been used to in Romania and other transition countries. In French rural areas, the hairdresser’s is a rare social phenomenon in more senses than one. No question of “come back in 10 minutes”. In Malestroit I duly accepted an appointment the next day at 11.00. Had time before my noon visit in the small town – broused in the newsagents; scanned the newspaper on a bench in front of the church in the warming sun. Spent a few minutes inside the church and thought of my parents. These old Brittanny churches with lovely stained-glass windows are solid reminders of the faith which sustained the people here – and have become an important element in my choosing this area. I’m reading Graham Robb’s The Discovery of France – which looks at how life was lived in the very different parts of France a century or so ago.
Tuesday, after the morning bike ride round the villages, I returned to Questembert for another agency which reckoned that I wd be better looking in the Redon area where the property was cheaper (further from Vannes). He put me in touch with their branch there. For me this is actually a better area – with both the confluence of river and canal and the TGV connection. And the location of the house is also great (with the exception of the traffic passing the front window). No word from Gwen of yesterday’s agency about the rest of the houses we didn’t manage to visit. Visited Rochefort-en terre – charming but a bit lifeless - frozen in time. Popped into 2 Malestroit agencies and also fixed visits.