Whatagain in his secret lair, southern France

[whatagain]

Here i am forced to spend my holidays...
We are on the Riviera, at Cavalaire, half an hour from St Trop, one hour from Toulon.

The house was built un 1941 and has been in Mrs Whatagain's family since 1960's.

It was previously used by the half monk of her family, and has been repaired, enlarged, made comfortable in the last 20 years.

But let me show you.
Shhh. Rideau...

[whatagain]

The entrance. Actually, we turned round : the street is in front of us. 

[whatagain]

A few steps on the right of previous pic, the view from the terrace. 

The view from the side. The place we read most of the time. 

The view from the back. We have the neighbours on the left, some more land on the right. I just love that view. 

Le debordement. The sound of the water goi g over the wall is so soothing. 

[whatagain]

There we reach the far end. We refurbished a garden shed that became a lift for younger ones. Away from us. 

The left side of the terrace, with the roman road, that i created myself with the stones of the old terrace. Very handy to go to the neighbours. 

The view towards the same neighbours, from the window of the bathroom. 

The window, with Eragon. Yes the cats come with us. 

[bjd]

I can see that life is really tough for you there, Whatagain!

[kerouac2]

And the people who said that cats hate being taken on vacation were wrong.

[lugg]

Oh my - what a beautiful holiday home - not jealous at all, not at all.

[mich64]

Well this is pretty fabulous. What an amazing holiday home. Does your wife have siblings that she shares this with?

[cheerypeabrain]

My heart bleeds for you whatagain...being dragged to that hellhole...

[lagatta]

Where do you go shopping, Toulon? There must be good street markets thereabouts.

[whatagain]

My wife is an only child. Part of the explanation we ended up having 4.

Toulon is one hour away without traffic jams. So we shop there at La Bigue, the big commercial center, complete with IKEA but once every 5 years...

We found nice shops around. My wife buys most of her clothes at Marie Claire in the center of Cavalaire for example. And Mon Village keeps our cellar full 😉

Then we have a commercial area at Cogolin, 20 min away with there and on the way Carrefour, Leclerc, Lidl, Grand Frais, bed shop,garden shop (pepiniere) and more.

And a paint ball and an 'accro branches' - climbing the trees for the kids.

At Grimaud construction materials. They know us there too.

[whatagain]

Btw, there is always some wine available for most Anyporters, and within a reasonable delay, meat for the bbq.

🦴🦴🍉🍅🥕🍆🌶🥩🥩🥩🥗🍾🍷🍺🍻🍸🍹🍽

[whatagain]

Some friends came for a visit this morning.



Yrs, it frll in it ...

[whatagain]

The bay of Cavalaire has been used since greek times.
And more recently in august 44 to land US and french troops. Right thete, where we know have this recent minument.

[whatagain]

The beach is quite nice and the view towards cape Lardier superb.
The sand is fake though. The beach is one of pebbles and some gritty sand.
Each yearl hundreds of tons of sand are brought for the comfort of the tourists.

[bjd]

Hmmm, not a good idea to encourage boars in your garden. They will dig it up, not to mention that adults can be dangerous.

[casimira]

Paradise indeed!!!

I was wondering about the boars too. I would be apprehensive at best in encouraging them to roam around and as BJD said, the adults can be vicious and attack when you least expect it.

Is that your dog in the background of one of those pics?

Thanks for sharing this with us whatagain.

I'm not envious at all.

Having grown up in a resort area we were always anxious for the high season (usually all of August on through to the first week of September) to end so we could reclaim our beaches, roads, and shopping for groceries. Long, long lines of traffic, rude people, maddening.

So, what's it like in the "off season" whatagain when the tourists leave?

[bjd]

We also live in a resort and I am waiting until September when the tourists leave and I can go to the supermarket in peace, walk around without getting run down by cyclists who ride once a year on vacation.

[cheerypeabrain]

It does look idyllic. Have a lovely time...

[bixaorellana]

This is so beautiful and interesting, Whatagain! What great fortune to have that wonderful retreat to visit. It must be hard to leave it when it's time to go back to the real world. The fact that you have local shopping and a beach nearby makes it just about perfect.

I'm fascinated by the wild pigs and can certainly understand the thrill of having undomesticated creatures visiting your home ground. How do the cats react when the pigs are there? It's hard not to be attracted to something that looks more like a painting in a prehistoric cave than an animal of modern times.

Aug 1, 2021 17:14:12 GMT whatagain said:

It was previously used by the half monk of her family

"half monk" ~

[casimira]

I was wondering the same and forgot to ask.

[whatagain]

We don't see the adults anywhere.
Last year we saw a mother and, well yes, i was not that happy when i heard it do some grunting ...
Tge priblem us that they are everywhere since 2 years, nobody does anything and when you ask they say to call the hunters.

So, since they spent most of june, all of july at home, we figure they can stay some more time.

The half monk... was one of the most religious man I've ever met. Talking about God, faith all the time. And also very nice and fun.

Hecsaid several times he would have loved to live in a monastery close by. He certainly could live frugally. So i called him affectionately the monk.

But at the same he was a man attracted by women. Upon his death, his son of a family of 4 brethrens discovered they had 6 more half brothers and sisters. Since then i reduced him to half a monk 😁

[fumobici]

Looks like a first-rate getaway spot. The wild boar can be hugely damaging to yards, they will plow up the ground, destroy plantings, and turn your ankle.

[lugg]

I just saw cute piglets but yes I would also be wary of the parents . However I would risk it to be there , its gorgeous .,

PS have the piggies ever had a dip ?

[whatagain]

Aug 2, 2021 20:39:33 GMT lugg said:

I just saw cute piglets but yes I would also be wary of the parents . However I would risk it to be there , its gorgeous .,

PS have the piggies ever had a dip ?

Actually, one fell the swimming pool right after i took the pic.

[kerouac2]

And you didn't think to take another picture immediately?

[lugg]

Aug 4, 2021 18:08:13 GMT whatagain said:

Actually, one fell the swimming pool right after i took the pic.

So we all know pigs can fly .. but can they swim ?

[mickthecactus]

Aug 4, 2021 19:22:38 GMT lugg said:

Aug 4, 2021 18:08:13 GMT whatagain said:

Actually, one fell the swimming pool right after i took the pic.

So we all know pigs can fly .. but can they swim ?

They are strong swimmers. The old fishermen often had a tattoo of a pig as good luck if you fell overboard.

[whatagain]

Aug 4, 2021 18:43:17 GMT kerouac2 said:

And you didn't think to take another picture immediately?

I did but quality was not ok.
Then i switched to video but stopped to help my daughter telling the pig where to come out of the pool...

(And it worked).

[tod2]

You have a beautiful place to escape to Whatagain. When you are not there, who takes care of the property? I know the pool has to be swept and brushed etc. I see you have the heat cover for winter. Are you never bothered by intruders? There seems to be no place on earth that one can feel safe, but your house looks as if it is a little off the beaten track and so quite OK.
About those piggies. Maybe a good idea to give them a water trough so easy to drink from. Our pool has Egyptian geese swimming every morning and luckily they hop in and out quite easily!