My name is Bob Lilienfeld. My wife Paige and I just signed the contract to purchase our new (at least to us!) home in the medieval village of Monflanquin. We were here for a week in mid-February, 2023. The visit was full of rather pleasant surprises.
The first surprise was the weather. It was February, yet we spent an absolutely cloudless WEEK here, with the temperatures reaching up to 61 degrees F (about 16 degrees C) each day. The mild weather made it easy to get around, hike, explore, and visit.
Our second surprise was how spacious and charming the home is. It's actually two houses that were turned into one bigger home. There are bedrooms and bathrooms on all three floors, with privacy if desired.
The first floor contains the primary bed & bath, kitchen, and living/eating areas. There is a working fireplace.
The second floor includes a small library and study area, plus a second bed & bath. The indoor porch and outdoor terrace are here as well. There is plenty of room to relax, eat, and enjoy the scenery.
The basement includes the third full bathroom, with a bedroom that we're in the process of setting up.
There are also two garages, which, as you can imagine, is a rarity.
Note to those of you who don't like stairs: Both the primary and basement bedrooms/bathrooms are on street level. (Since Monflanquin is built on a rather steep hill, many homes are built on long parallel streets of differing elevations.) The primary bedroom is on the main floor on the front of the house, and the basement can be reached through the garage.
The third surprise was that the outdoor terrace faces West, which means we get beautiful sunsets overlooking the valley towards the West and North. Stunning! Late at night, when the lights go out, you can sit and see something we don't see in the American suburbs -- STARS.
The final surprise was how much we love the area and the people. After almost 25 years of visiting and doing business in Tuscany, we had always expected that Chianti, Siena or Lucca would be where we ultimately settled down. But, Nouvelle-Aquitaine rivals Tuscany for scenic beauty, weather and, of course, food. The area is renowned for its wines, fois gras, oysters, mussels, strawberries, truffles, plums, and caviar.
Plus, not a single person laughed at our rusty French, and virtually everyone we saw smiled and said "bonjour" before one of us could say hello, or "bon journée" before we could say goodbye. (There are quite a few folks from the UK around as well.)
We hope that you consider spending time at our home: Walking to the bakery each morning for fresh bread, croissants, and pastries. Shopping in the square, especially on Thursday, which is market day. Eating and drinking in the local restaurants. Sitting on our terrace and watching the sun set over the surrounding valley. And of course, enjoying all that can be seen, heard, and tasted in Nouvelle Aquitaine.
Looks like a great place to visit.