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11th October 2008

Real Life Stories from the Lot and Quercy

Real life stories from people living in the Lot, Lot et Garonne and Tarn et Garonne departments in south west france.

What's the Weather Really Like?

Does the sun always shine?
Is it really as sunny as they say in the Lot and Quercy? Take at look at some facts and figures.
Recipes from the Quercy


Doctors and Dentists

How to find medical help

How to find a Doctor
To comply with the regulations of the Ordre des Médécins we are unable to provide a list of recommended doctors, dentists or other medical professionals. To help you in your search we suggest you try the following options.

Local Restaurants

Use the links or logos below to see a searchable map of your chosen region:
Restaurants in the Lot

Restaurants in the Lot et Garonne

Restaurateurs in the Tarn et Garonne

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You are here: FrenchEntrée > Real Lives

Real Lives

Real life stories from the Lot and Quercy region

Here we present a collection of real life stories from people living in the region and feature some of our local businesses.

We are very grateful to our contributors and advertisers, without whom this page would be blank! If you have a story you would like to share, we would be delighted to hear from you. See our contributors' guide for more details.

An English Bookshop in Gourdon

Books and Company

Books and Company, English Bookshop in GourdonBooks and Company is an English bookshop in the charming town of Gourdon in the Lot. Opened in November 2005 and stocking greeting cards as well as an extensive range of books, the shop has proved to be very popular with locals and tourists alike. more...

House, Garden and Pool Cleaning - Cahors

Carroll Property Services

Carroll Property ServicesProviding a range of services in the Cahors area ranging from housekeeping, house cleaning services and pool maintenance to garden care & grounds maintenance. Carroll Property Services caring for your Home away from Home

TeenxPats - A Community for Expat Teenagers

TeenxPatsSo, you wake up one morning and find yourself in another country and your parents think it will be ‘fun’. And you think that it will not perhaps be quite as easy as that... TeenxPats...

Dog of the Month

Adorable dogs seeking new homes

Toula - Dog for re-homingToula-Three-Legs. Poor 14 month Toula had an accident when very small which accounts for her name. But, don't be fooled, Toula can run as fast and faster than most other dogs! Loving and faithful Toula is looking for a new home... Dog of the Month...

Options for Heating your House in France

A wood burning stove could be a good choice

Poele a BoisLot resident Tim Atkins shares some of his research and experiences of trying to decide the best and cheapest way to heat his French home. With tax credits of 50% now being offered on wood burning stoves, together with reduced TVA rates of 5.5% instead of the normal 19.6%, they could be an attractive option… heating options...

Reading Groups in the Lot and Quercy

The Books and Company Book Club

Books and Company, English Bookshop in GourdonWe recently caught up with Nicole Killick at Books and Company in Gourdon and she told us about their popular and expanding reading groups and the Christmas social event in the shop which has the added bonus of a 5% discount on any books purchased. Books and Company...

Running a New Business in South West France

“We wish we’d left the UK years ago” - Evolution Motorhomes

"We wish we'd left the UK years ago"This month we feature an interview with Jason and Michelle Aplin creators and owners of Evolution Motorhomes – a motorhome rental business, based in the Lot et Garonne. After two years of research and careful planning they now have a thriving family business... We should have done it years ago...

Living the Good Life in the Lot

House rentals, sheep farming and sculpture

Sheep farming in the LotHaving first written an article for FrenchEntrée-LotandQuercy two years ago, Tessa Collier gives us an update on what's has been happening recently - changes in the rental market, sheep farming and her talent for sculpture... more...

Les Amis des Chats Joins Blue Cross

The Blue Cross Animal CharityThe charity Les amis des chats, situated in Roquecor in Tarn et Garonne (82) and bordering the Lot and Garonne and the Lot, has become the fifth Companion Animal Welfare Associate for the Blue Cross Charity, and the second in Europe. Les Amis des Chats...

Training Guide Dogs for the Blind in France

Puppies in the Lot

Training Guide Dogs for the Blind in FranceHelping to train guide dogs for the blind can be a very rewarding experience. If you love dogs, bringing up a puppy to be well-behaved and good company is a pleasure. It's fascinating to see how they respond to kind, patient training... more...

The Pet Passport Scheme

What you need to know

Pet Passport SchemeThe Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) allows the entry of pets from certain countries into the UK, without passing through quarantine, using an EU Pet Passport. To obtain an EU Passport your pet must ... more...

Car Insurance in France

Are you properly covered?

Car insurance in FranceLot resident Martin Gilliam was recently involved in a car accident which resulted in him discovering what his French car insurance really covered - and what it didn't! A valuable lesson for everyone who thinks "Tous Risques" covers everything... more...

Ken Hom Selling up in Catus

Ken Hom moving from Catus in the LotChef Ken Hom is selling his 14th-century French house — lock, stock and barrel. "Gordon Ramsay would be very happy to have my kitchen,” boasts Ken Hom, television chef and one of the world’s leading authorities on Asian cookery... more...

Moving to France

Dublin to Cahors, the adventure so far...

From Dublin to CahorsIn 2004, Niall and Karri Carroll decided to give up their house, car and well-paid jobs in Dublin and head south for new adventures in France. In the first of two articles they describe the difficulties they faced in getting to the southwest and finding somewhere to live... more...

Running Your Own Business in France

Interview with Books and Company, Gourdon.

Books and Company, English Bookshop in GourdonBooks and Company is an English bookshop in the charming town of Gourdon in the Lot. Hugues Teulat and his partner Nicole Killick offer a range of Greeting Cards and Stationery as well as a wide selection of Books, Maps and Guides. We interviewed them to find out more about their experience of running their own business over the last two years... more...

Sheep and Cattle Farming in the Lot

Looking back on the last year by Tessa Collier

Our first lamb - JosephIt has now been a year since I first submitted a piece for this site . A lot has happened during the year. My father-in-law’s house, that we were trying to sell for him, finally sold to a young Dutch couple... more...

School Life in France

By Alexander, age 13

First day at school in FranceTo start with we came over and lived in the holiday house that we bought 6 years ago, and (with an estate agent) drove around aimlessly looking for a for a good house. But we were choosey and all wanted the house to have... more...

Cat Rehoming by Les Amis des Chats

Bazil's Story

BazilBelle, Buster, Bazil and Nounours arrived on 27th April 2006 from Lascabanes in the Lot department. The four kittens were just 1 week old and had been found in a field by a farmer who would have cut them to shreds had he not seen them... more...

Starting a New Life and Business in France

Setting up a Chambre d’Hôte

Starting and running a Chambre d'Hote BusinessAs our first year of starting a new life in France is complete we can look back with a sense of satisfaction. Fiona and I wondered how we would get on working as a team and living with our work day in, day out. Fortunately it has worked out very well. It is hard work and at times can be stressful... more...

Getting to Grips with the French Language

Going back to school

Learning the French LanguageLearning the language is an essential step for anyone moving permanently to France. Sarah Weston tells us about her French language lessons which resulted in her father being "expelled" from the class... more...

Les Chats du Quercy – Quercy Cats

Baboo - seeking new homeRural France is a perfect place to live but life for a country cat can be difficult. In many villages there is an over population of strays which are fed by well-intentioned residents but not managed... more...

Installing a Telephone in a French Holiday Home

How hard can it be?

French telephone connectionWe wanted to get a telephone installed in our holiday home, expecting to move there full-time one day. We selected France Telecom on the basis they have an office in Cahors where you can talk to people ... more...

Starting a Business in France

Dublin to Cahors, the adventure continues...

From Dublin to CahorsIn 2004, Niall and Karri Carroll decided to give up their house, car and well-paid jobs in Dublin and head south for new adventures in France. In the second of two articles they talk about bank accounts, car registration and starting a new business... more...

Caring for Cats and Kittens in the Tarn et Garonne

Les Amis Des Chats Charity Association

Les Amis des ChatsThe Tarn-et-Garonne based cat charity association Les Amis des Chats has launched a brand new web site in both English and French. www.les-amis-des-chats.com offers a wide range of cat health and welfare information ... more...

Buying a Dream Home in France

The pleasures and pitfalls

Chateau de LacomteMy heart pounded so loudly when we signed the “Compromis de Vente" I thought that everyone could hear it, I was excited, but so scared. We had just just signed to say that we were buying our dream home in the small village of Carlucet, 12 kms south of Rocamadour... more...

Cats of the Month

Quercy cats for adoption

Quercy cats for adoptionThese three siamese type kittens where about to be shot. They are totally delightful, adorable, cuddly 4 month old kittens, two brothers, Bobbie and Bertie, with their sister, Georgie.. more...

My life in France

By Georgina (Age 10)

Georgina by GeorginaAfter moving to France in August last year with her parents and eleven year old brother, Georgina has had to work hard to make new friends and get to grips with a new language. She tells her story... more...

Tornado Devastation in the Tarn-et-Garonne

Worst storm since records began hits the region

LightningWhen the phone rang unexpectedly at 6.30 a.m. my husband Paul answered it. I could tell that he was talking to Richard, the incumbent 'locataire' at our house near Caylus in Tarn-et-Garonne, and that there'd been some sort of problem, but I couldn't tell what... more...

The Sporting Life in France

The importance of being a good sport

The sporting life in FranceSport is something the French take very seriously. It’s not only the taking part and the strong competitive spirit, but also the whole ethos of what you’re going to wear. The ‘sporty’ Frenchman chooses his wardrobe for every sport... more...

La Belle Vie en France?

In search of the good life

Barn at Grezes with roof removedWhen David Low and Lindsay Nixon bought a semi-derelict barn in the Lot during the summer of 2003, they had visions of sunny days spent gradually renovating their dream home. Eighteen months on and despite several setbacks they are now hard at work turning the dream into reality. more...

Running a Small Business in France

A day in the life of a market trader

Market StallAfter living here in France for nearly 4 years building up our gîte business, the time had come to look for another opportunity, but what? We needed something flexible enough to fit in with the gîtes but still give us the quality of life we had come here for... more...

The Secret of our Success in France

How we turned into junkies (brocanteurs!)

Meli-Melo Brocante, CastelfrancKevin Lowe & Sandra Milne left their home in Leicester in 2001 and set off in search of adventure and a new life in France, with only a vague idea of where they were going or what they were going to do when they got there... more...

Registering a Car in France

How hard can it be?

A 46er at last - new number platesWe moved to France in August 2004, bringing our trusty VW Passat with us. It was taxed in the UK until the end of the year and knowing that we were allowed to use it in France for the first six months, re-registering was not top of the priority list... more...

Rescuing Stray Dogs in France

A waggy dog story

Sue and her dogsThere are three kinds of dogs in France. Firstly there are the upper classes, the pampered and protected pooches, coiffured within an inch of their lives that trot obediently beside their mistresses in the elegant city streets. Then there are their country cousins, farm dogs and family pets living the outdoor, rough and tumble life on vast tracts of agricultural land in and around the little villages and hamlets. But it’s the third kind that are probably the most vulnerable... more...

The World Through a Wine Glass

Tasting notes from the London International Wine Trade Fair

Lot resident Patrick Kelly is the owner of Le Courrier du Vin, a wine merchant in Maroux – here he gives us his impressions of the recent wine trade fair in London – where French producers are not shown in a good light... more...

Sheep Farming in the Lot

Our first lamb - JosephWell this was quite a summer, our elder son left us to go to university in England, our flock has, at long last, started to produce lambs and our magical holiday home is for sale ... more...

Domaine du Garinet Cahors Wine

Wine making in the Lot valley

Removing vine clippingsMike and Sue Spring came to live in France in 1994 when they bought a small vineyard (Domaine du Garinet) in the village of Le Boulvé of some 200 inhabitants in the département of the Lot. This is their story... more...

The Winegrower’s Year

The annual cycle of a Cahors wine vineyard

Adjusting the wire tensionAfter four years of research, Mike and Sue Spring made the move to France in 1994 and bought a vineyard in the Lot valley near Montcuq. Here they describe the work involved in a winegrower’s year...
more...

A Foreigner in the Quercy Blanc

Vive la difference!

Photo: CDT Lot Cyril NovelloTo live in the Lot is to be immediately overwhelmed by the sense of space, both public and private. Space to live and breathe and bring up a family; space to listen to music without upsetting the neighbours; space to see the weather before it arrives ... more...

Does Your Dream Home Have a Pigeonnier?

Ours didn’t – so we built one!

The PigeonnierTo many English people, the perfect Lot and Quercy home is an old stone farmhouse with a nice view and a Pigeonnier. When Michael and Eileen Fawcett came to the Lot eight years ago, they found a wonderful house – but no Pigeonnier! Unperturbed by this, they proceeded to build one of their own – and not for keeping pigeons. Eileen takes up the story... more...

Registering a Car in France

A 46er at last!

Registered at last!I had been told that patience is required when registering English cars in France but, even so, there have been times recently when I've stamped my size six foot in sheer frustration... more...

Winemaking in the South of France

A little Quercy vineyard

Domaine du MerchienMany people would love to own a property in the beautiful South of France. Most hanker after a little stone cottage; but there are some who are satisfied with nothing less than their own vineyard ... more...

A Home in the Lot

Which way to Mondounet?Peter and Zoe Scott decided to make their home in Mondounet, near Montcuq in the Lot valley. Fifteen years on, they look back on the choice as one of the best decisions they ever made more...

Ten Years of Living in the Lot

Mint sauce anyone?

First house near MartelTessa and Stephen Collier first bought a house in the Lot in 1983, initially as a holiday home. By 1995, and with two young children, they had decided to make a permanent move. And now, with children about to leave school, they are planning to take up sheep farming! Tessa takes up the story... more...

Food for Thought

A visit to the weekly market

Photo: Michele Ch'iA trip to the weekly market is an essential part of life in France; a chance to shop, chat and soak up the atmosphere. Local photographer Michele Ch'i takes us with her... more...

The Dramatic Side of Life in South West France

Murder, pantomime and farce in Montaigu de Quercy

A Quercy Players ProductionRoger Lee is often asked what he does all day now that he has retired to the sunny south. He used to say "Oh, you know, a bit of this and a bit of that" - he felt a bit lazy to admit how easy it is to fill the day doing absolutely nothing. But, that was before something dramatic happened ...
more...

Starting a Business in France

Galerie Tomás King in Saint Antonin Noble Val

Pigeonnier by Tom King

When my husband and I decided to come to France for a year in September 1999, we had no idea that five years later we would have a Galerie de Peinture, in Saint Antonin Noble Val, and that Tom would have a book published in English & French ... more...

Independent Local Radio in the Lot

Britdock Radio - 88.1 or 89 FM

Britdock RadioDid you know that the Lot has its own, English speaking, local radio station? Part of the Antenne d’Oc network, Britdock is broadcast live every Thursday afternoon from 4 till 7pm. One of the founders and veteran of five years broadcasting, Mike Gardiner takes up the story... more...

From Biarritz to Puy L’Eveque

How the colour of a car changed our lives

BMW 7 series - Biarritz BlueOur move here was based on the colour of a car, totally unexpected and unplanned, and yet it changed our lives. We had had a turbulent year, moving from Tunbridge Wells ... more...

Chateau Sitting in the Lot

An opportunity for reflection and self-discovery

"Our" ChateauI know this is going to sound like a tired well- worn cliché, but I really do wonder at how quickly the last year has flown. I’m sitting here overlooking the river Dordogne, gleaming like a mirror in this stunningly beautiful environment... more...

Commuting from France

How far would you go?

La Carriere, AlbasAfter setting up his own Internet mapping company, Justin Saunders decided that adding a few extra miles on the commute for a better life would be worth the effort; although this commute was to be from France! Here he describes the experience of buying and living in France... more...
Click here to visit Stress Solutions

Holiday Accommodation

Holiday Accomodation in the Lot and Quercy

For holiday accomodation in the Lot and Quercy, more...

Relax by the Pool

Wish you were here?
Quercy Farmhouse with private pool available for rent.


What’s On

Albas wine festival, May 2005
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Large Quercy Farmhouse with Gite and Pool

Near Montcuq , Lot Departement

Large Quercy Farmhouse
Lagardelle is marked on the commune maps as a “belle maison” and the first estate agent that came in said “this is the sort of house that people coming to France dream of owning”! The main house has three double bedrooms, two with bathrooms and one with a shower.
750,000 Euros Private Sale
French Entrée