LIVING THE DREAM

We’ve all done it! On vacation soaking up the local culture, sun and food and turned to our partner saying: “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could live here or at least have somewhere to come on holiday and call our own?”

Well, Paul and Sandra were no different.
Paul is English and semi-retired but continues to work in the field of blood cancers. He is a co-founder of a clinical research charity and the medical director of a small global biotech company developing new cancer treatments. Sandra, who is Swiss, is an artist with a studio and gallery in Yverdon-Les-Bains, a town located 5 minutes by car from their home in Switzerland. Her passion is sculpture and clay modelling.

Now, Paul’s ideas of a holiday home focused on somewhere by the sea or in the Dordogne. Sandra was a little more pragmatic and saw Burgundy as an ideal location with easy access to Switzerland, and limiting travel time for those all-important short weekend breaks.

At the end of the day, Sandra’s practicality won. They began their search in earnest during the summer of 2020, but this was a bit of a false start because of the COVID pandemic and the restrictions on cross-border travel. But as things eased their visits increased and they began to fall in love with the region around Beaune. And then it happened, in July 2021 they found the ideal property in Aluze, just 25 minutes’ drive from Beaune and with easy access to some of the finest vineyards and their appellations in France.

Its location, overlooking open countryside was ideal. They knew that there was work to do to make it an ideal home, but when you are in love, well everything else just falls into place!
“We wanted somewhere where we could spend time with friends and family in a location that gave us a change from our permanent home in Switzerland,” says Sandra, “so we made an offer and completed the purchase a few months later.”
The couple bought a secondhand caravan to keep at the property, so they had somewhere to stay while the refurbishment work was done.
“Of course, there was a lot of organizing to do and once we met some local artisans and builders, things began to get exciting. They all knew each other and would readily work together as a team” comments Paul.
The work began in January 2022 and by the summer was completed, much to the delight of Paul and Sandra.
“We had a new kitchen, remodelling of two bathrooms and a complete repaint throughout and, of course, rewiring and plumbing to bring the house up to modern standards and specification” adds Paul, “there was also some work done to improve the accessibility of the grounds and garden.”

As many will know, the kitchen is the heart of a French home and this is especially true for Paul and Sandra. You see, Paul loves to cook and nearly always prepares the daily meals. The renovation of the kitchen was therefore really important to him and he was able to redesign it to be the kitchen of his dreams and make it both a friendly and open functional space.

The couple has already made several friends in the local area and visit their dream home as often as they can. With so many people now working from home after the pandemic, visiting is a lot easier because they can work effectively from Switzerland or their home in Burgundy! It’s a win-win and one that the couple encourages others to consider.

Now that most of the work has been completed in the house, the couple is looking forward to visiting more vineyards and stocking the cellar! Adds Sandra enthusiastically: “we already have some favourites, notably Domaine Mouton and Domaine Francois Lumpp in Givry and Domaine Ninot in Rully.” (Ed: I like these two, they are talking my language!!)