After a quick layover at De Gaulle and a hop to Toulouse, we picked up the Ford Max and made our way through the beautiful French countryside by way of Albi and Carmaux to Combefa...not much more than a collection of houses. Not surprisingly, the "best laid plans" actually slipped away in the whirlwind of the French adventure! Our arrival in Combefa was frustrating as we had no solid idea of how to locate the house and no way to contact the family via cellphone. The GPS kept taking us to Chateaux Combefa and our attempt to ask directions in French with no address and no homeowner's name was fruitless. After driving around for more than an hour our best guess proved to be correct.
I actually recognized the garage from a picture on Home Exchange and we went to the front door, pounded loudly with no response. We then stumbled into a closeby rural property which happened to be owned by another Brit who said,
" You must be going to Bill and Jane's house." Our guess was confirmed so we went back to the previous house, Paul went around the side of the house and, behold, Idanna, PE and Lila were all there but blissfully unaware they couldn't hear the door from the downstairs kitchen area! Upon arrival, we had a tour of the enchanting and enormous "chateau" and were able to unpack and claim a bedroom. Other than the slight feeling of panic at being unable to find the house, it was an easy trip.
The house was as advertised with numerous bedrooms and baths, a massive living room ( never used by us ), a large library/den ( also not used ), modern kitchen with a table for twelve and a fireplace in which an adult could stand upright plus two beautiful outdoor areas which we utilized constantly. The adjoining property came complete with a friendly donkey and some peaceful cows.
The downside was a typically undersized refrigerator but that gave us an excuse for a daily shop. The most problematic adjustment though for some in the crowd was the lack of wifi and television.
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