June 15 - 25, 2022
On June 15 we drove west to a new base near Cannes.
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| An exclusive town by the water |
The village of Théoule Sur Mer sits on the Bay of Cannes and is sandwiched between the Massif de l’Esterel and the Mediterranean Sea. Here, the mountains come right down to the sea. Shapely volcanic rock formations, bright orange in color, jut out along the coast and small beaches hide in-between. Because much of the forested mountain slopes are protected within national parks, there are hiking trails accessed right from town.
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| Stunning coast with shapely rocks |
Théoule first entered our awareness in the winter when the idea of moving to France began to solidify. Daryl became entranced by a house that he was sure was his dream house. It was an old stone house, with plenty of countryside charm and appeared secluded despite its location within the village. A forested natural park was just across the street. This house, the “cemetery” house (it was near a cemetery), checked many of my boxes too. The town center was within walking distance, as were the beaches and the train station. It had been on the market for a year, priced a million dollars.
A house at that price point in this exclusive town raised questions. How ‘rustic’ was it? Would it need extensive work and renovation? What would the upkeep be like? We’d expected to find out the answers to all these questions in the summer. But, as fate would have it, the house sold in the spring and that was that. However, Théoule Sur Mer was firmly on our list of potential locations for our new home.
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| View of Massif de l'Esterel from Théoule |
The town’s abundance of natural beauty had an immediate impact on us when we arrived on a pleasant summer afternoon. For Daryl it felt weird to see in real life the streets and coastline and landmarks – natural and human built – that he’d encountered on his numerous virtual visits. As we ambled along the coastal path we were immersed in an atmosphere of elegance. Works of sculpture and inviting benches along the way compelled stops to enjoy the views of remarkable coastline and the sparkling bay. Cafes and restaurants arranged tables right on the sand, at the water’s edge, for that total sensory enjoyment. Surely we could live here!
We trekked up to the “cemetery house” on our second day in town. A private lane prevented a close look so we had to contend with glimpses. We saw enough to conclude that this house would not have worked after all! And it wasn’t a case of sour grapes. The plot dropped steeply which meant the garden wouldn’t have given us much joy. The village lies right in the Massif de l’Esteral which sweeps down to the sea. Most of the houses, way out of our price range, were situated either high up on ridges or built on terraced slopes. They were magnificent, surrounded by forest, and endowed with majestic views. This wealthy enclave could not work for us.
We drove west along the coast toward Frejus, where the mountains were more prominent with deep orange rock walls. The beaches were wider and sandier. This was the Var region where the climate and vegetation differed from the Alpes-Maritime. The infamous mistral turned me off, but also we’d be further away from an urban center offering cultural events.
Once we accepted that Théoule had to be crossed off our list we started to consider towns a bit inland from Cannes and Nice. We drove to Mougins and wandered through the elegant old town full of art galleries and fine restaurants. Surrounding the town was a forested landscape. There wasn’t a train station, but bus connections looked good and Cannes and Antibes were a short distance away by car or bus. This town deserved serious consideration.
Daryl had the idea of looking at train stops on the Grasse to Nice train line and that alerted us to Mouans Sartoux, which was only a short distance from Mougins. On the drive there we were uplifted by the heavily wooded landscape and signs pointing to nature parks. We parked at a huge free parking lot between the train station and the old town of Mouans Sartoux, and then followed a tree lined path to the center. We were excited to find a lively and attractive center with an assortment of unpretentious, bustling restaurants and bakeries. Old stone buildings lent charm and cobbled lanes led into residential parts. We wandered over to the Old Fort, an interesting historic building set in a park studded with massive, mature trees. We saw posters advertising live outdoor summer concerts in the park. And we quickly concluded that this town was in play too.
On the drive back to Théoule we spotted a bustling food store not too far from Mougins. We pulled into the crowded parking lot. Inside the Grand Frais Market we gasped at the selection of produce and all manner of food items. The prices were even more surprising. Basil at €1 a bunch, a pack of about a dozen zucchini blossoms for €3, heirloom tomatoes half the price we pay in California. The dollar’s current strength was a factor, of course. When we saw the big selection of vegetarian products we could tell that we’d fit right in with the locals.
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| Fine meal of stuffed zucchini blossoms prepared after market visit |
On a social media group I requested insights from American expats in the area. All the responses I received were enthusiastic. A real estate agent invited me to call her and she’d be happy to answer my questions with no strings attached. I took her up on the offer. From her I learned that the Mougins area was sophisticated, with lots of English speaking expats. High tech was big, largely concentrated in an area called Sophia Antipolis. She suggested another town in the area called Valbonne.
We explored Valbonne’s charming medieval center. We drove around the area to get a feel for the landscape and roads and traffic. We did online research. We learned that many of the residents worked at Sophia Antipolis which was close to this town. It was a year round town with residents from all over Europe and other parts of the world. English was commonly spoken here. There were international schools for kids in the area. We could imagine living here and being happy. Here, we’d be able to find a house with a garden on a level plot.
I contacted the agent who had told us about Valbonne and asked about current listings in our price range. We arranged for her to show us two houses, both located closer to Mougins. Daryl pursued an online listing and we arranged to view that one, located in Valbonne, as well. House 1 in Mougins had many appealing features. The architecture, layout and views were stunning. The huge garden full of fruit trees was breathtaking too. But the house had too many structural issues and it felt way too big.
House 2 was luxurious, but lacked rustic charm. The garden was small and the asking price was above our budget. House 3, the one in Valbonne, sent our hearts aflutter. It was a new iteration of an old stone villa comprised of 3 separate buildings. The place was perfect, with high end features and a stunning garden and pool area. It had been updated fairly recently and maintained in excellent condition. Did we just find our dream house? We would be a year ahead of schedule!
We were about to fly out to the UK where significant distractions would force us to delay any important decision making.
