About Lizzie

Visitors to the house have asked me to do a page about myself, for some reason, so here it is, written in the third person, as it sounds less embarrassing that way:

Lizzie’s dream of having a house in France started when she was 12 years old. The area was recommended by a work colleague who had spent many great holidays in the Languedoc, and a fantastic agent, Marilyn Goodman, found the house. If you want someone to find you one, don’t go anywhere else: www.maisonsalacarte.com

The purchase went through in 2003. Lizzie commuted to the Languedoc from London Bridge in the UK, for eighteen months. She had looked at over 100 houses both in the north and south of France (The Orne and the Aude) before buying 8, rue de la Gloire, 11250, Aude, SW France from a chap called Alain, who did 50% of the restoration, working on a shoestring and doing it all himself. Alain now lives further up the valley in a second house, which he is, no doubt, renovating.

It was necessary to update the plumbing and wiring, and to put in new windows and doors in some places. Hopefully, however, the character of the house has been maintained. Lizzie made a promise to the neighbours not to change the way the outside of the house looks, therefore the original ‘Provencal’ paint colours have been maintained on the shutters. The neighbours believe the house dates from the sixteenth century. As someone who is looking after a piece of French history the responsibility is taken as seriously as possible.

Lizzie’s tenure started by throwing a party for the whole street, during the first few months. The neighbours are mostly French, and several of them can speak ‘Occitan’, the old language of the region. Other neighbours are Spanish, Portuguese, and there are one or two from the French ‘Dom Tom’ or colonies. Lizzie is keen to contribute to the village in any way she can, most recently through articles for UK magazines initiated via a request from the staff at the Abbey.