73:”Around the World in 80 Minutes” and Faire La Bise

Welcome to the 73rd weekly post of our Baby Boomers Move to France blog.

We are into our 45th week in France 6/7-6/13/26.

We have been in our home in the village of Chabanais in the Charente department of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region of France since the middle of December 2025. We are still loving it.

This week,

Drive to Limoges, Game night, Sungreen here to finalize solar panel roof sealing, Around the World in 80 Minutes event, Beef pick up.

Our home in Chabanais, France

Things on the agenda this week:

• Decheterie run
• Chores
• “Around the World in 80 Minutes” event
• Game Night
• French class
• Sungreen at the house
• Pick up beef at the farm

Weather forecast:

Nice weather for the week. A little rain is forecast and partly cloudy so nice and not too hot.

Why this Blog?

Long story short, we are “Baby Boomers” that have moved from Venice, Florida to the beautiful French countryside as retirees. After a little over a year of planning and fretting we sold everything in Venice and made the move on 1 August 2025.

We publish a brief update of our adventures every Sunday to share our experiences, tips and mistakes.

If you are wondering what got into our head and inspired us to make the move, check out some of our earlier posts. Again, if you have questions about our adventure, drop your questions in the comment section below.

This Weeks Daily Update

Sunday

Drive to Limoges to scope out the directions to Elizabeth’s doctor appointments

Nice drive over to Limoges but wow the doctor’s office is super tricky to find. We had the GPS going and still had a tough time. Driving around in circles we were pretty sure that we were close. EB was getting frustrated, so we parked and decided to walk with the GPS still telling us that we were close. We walked past Ronald McDonald House and cut across a lawn up a hill towards a building that had signage for a children’s hospital. We couldn’t walk into the building with Rosie. EB had Rosie on the leash and started walking around the building. I went into the building and voila, a sign indicated that I was in the Women’s Hospital. I rushed out and called EB back. I took over with Rosie on her leash and EB went in and was able to confirm that this is the place. So glad that we checked it out in advance of EB’s appointment. We had actually been in the parking lot for the building, but signage didn’t guide us.

Monday: Drive to St Junien

EB has wanted to remove the Venetian blinds in the breezeway to the living room since day one. She already purchased curtains and hangers for the purpose, but it didn’t look like the hangers were going to work. We went to Centrakor for new rods and new hangers. It is a tricky installation with a support post in the way.

Game Night

We were excited to be going over to Ron and Michelle’s for game night.

We took our showers had dinner and a glass of wine and drove over to Grenord. We learned that game night is at Alan and Deb’s house.

It was great to see how Alan and Deb have renovated their house. I think Alan said they had been working on it for 3 years and feel like they are pretty much done. Alan is kind of a perfectionist, and you can tell from the craftsmanship that he put into the renovation. Deb’s artwork adds nice touches all over.

After a tour of the house and garden we learned two new games. Both games were lots of fun.

One game was a bit like telephone. Each person gets a word and must make a drawing that represents the word. You pass your drawing to the left and receive a drawing from the person to your right. Then you try to figure out what the word is based on the drawing. You write the word that you think the drawing represents on a separate sheet and pass it on to the next person and they must make a drawing based on the word. The results are pretty funny. Fun game.

The second game is a card game called Five Crowns. It is a bit like rummy cube. Lots of fun and easy to learn. By the time we finished the streetlights were off. LOL

Tuesday: We woke up to a nice morning

We cleaned up some old plantings and an old 55-gallon drum that was badly rusted. We had some Styrofoam and cardboard that needed go to the decheterie too.

We received the metal panels that we had ordered to separate the walkway under the grape arbor from the garden area. They look cool. Now we just have to figure out how we will hang them.

I got my hearing amplifiers and plugged them in for charging. They are kind of clunky hearing aids with rechargeable batteries. Super low-cost at 38 euros for the pair. They aren’t for all day wearing, but pretty good for listening to the TV.

Wednesday:

It was a little chilly in the dining room. We turned on the pellet burner and in no time, it was all nice and cozy.

We had a bunch of boring paperwork to get done and then get ready for French class.

French class was fun this week.

It was just EB, me and Ron. We each had a comment for Patricia to critique. After she went over our comments Patricia started talking about the house that she is considering buying from a friend for 1 euro. That is not a typo, she said 1 euro. What is the catch? Well, it needs a lot of work. She spoke French as she explained her plans. It was an interesting way to learn French and learn about renovating a house in France.

Thursday: Roof sealing and golf

The team from Sungreen showed up and got to work on sealing the roof. I think it took less than an hour. They checked the WiFi connection and demonstrated that it is working fine. I asked about the fact that we send a lot of energy to the grid and we do NOT get paid for it. One option is to increase our storage capacity from 100 kwh to 300 kwh. The added storage will increase our monthly payment from 17 to 36 euros per month. I need to do a little more research before we pull the trigger, but it is something to think about.

Golf was a lot of fun. Alan joined Ron and I and he had a great game. We played a new course this week. EB brought Rosie along with her to pick me up, so Rosie got to meet a new doggie friend Stella. Luckily, Stella is super chill and did not aggravate the princess, Rosie.

Friday: Grocery shopping, a couple of little projects and Around the World in Eighty Minutes

We drove over to St Junien and went to E.Leclerc for groceries. It wasn’t super busy and we were in and out pretty quickly.

EB went up to the summer house, and she and Rosie had a stretch out to read and relax. One of Rosie’s favorite things.

Eighty Minutes Around the World

A very special event. Cost 16 euros per couple. A carafe of wine for an additional 10 euros and 5 raffle tickets for 5 euros.

What a great show. It is not Broadway or even off Broadway but really good. Local talent sang songs and danced on a fun tour of the world via song.

A wine-stained picture of the front of the program.

Saturday: Pick up beef from the farm and install the panels

The number one task for the morning was to pick up our beef order from the farm. I didn’t bring my phone so no photos of the farm or the road to the farm. On the road to Grenord there is a sign directing you to take a left turn on a small road that leads to a couple of farms. The road quickly turns into a 1 lane road that transitions from black top to gravel to dirt. You don’t stop at the first farm that you come to. Instead, you turn left again and wind up the road to the next farm. There you find some very friendly French people who have your order all prepared and boxed up. It is really a short drive, but it definitely feels like you are in the countryside (compagne).

Back home we vacuum sealed our fresh meat and put it all in the freezer. We ended up with 5Kg (11 pounds) of beef for about 85 euros (USD 98). We are not sure exactly the cuts of beef, but looks like several small steaks (skirt steak and rumsteak), cut up beef cubes (for stew or Boeuf Bourginon), a nice roast and a shoulder steak

I walked over to the boulangerie and bought a fresh loaf of La Pain.

Panel Install

After a quick lunch it was time to tackle the panel installation. We purchased 3 panels. Each are about 22″ wide and 40″ long thin sheet metal with the edges folded over to give it some strength. They will eventually rust to give them the color that we are expecting. The idea was to separate the walkway under the grape arbor from the larger garden area using these panels. The panels would be suspended from the grape arbor frame in between the support posts. The posts aren’t equally spaced, so we had to size the panels for the narrowest space. In addition, the walkway has a slope, so we need to be able to adjust the location of the panels so that they are all on the same level. Then there was one more criterion: the panels must be easily removeable in case of high winds and the possibility of future customization of the grape arbor.

I had some ideas on how to suspend the panels and of course I wanted to use materials that I had on hand so it took a little while to figure out what I would do. I fabricated some clips to use as hangers that would fit nicely onto the back of the panels. I have some small diameter steel stranded cable from the shade sail project that I thought might work for the actual suspension. I also had a couple of turn buckles that I might be able to use for adjustment and tension on the cable. I have some short lengths of really strong steel fence wire that had been left by the previous owner of our house. I intended to fashion some “S” hooks out of it.

I didn’t like the way the “S” hooks were looking so I broke down and went to the Brico store in town and looked for proper hooks. Our local store is small and doesn’t have a large inventory of the items that I wanted so I had to abandon the “S” hook idea. No problem, they had some other bits that would work instead and I decided to buy a 3-meter length of decorative chain to make the adjustments of the panel locations more accurate. Once that decision was made I headed home and was able to disassemble the chain into lengths that would work for the project, and all went smoothly. With the method for suspending the panels worked out I needed a second pair of eyes to check the level. EB came out and helped me with that, and we made a couple of slight adjustments.

Next, I had to secure the bottoms of the panels to keep them from swinging in the wind too much. This was the perfect application for the stranded cable. I drilled a hole near the bottom of each arbor support post and threaded the cable through the holes and through small holes at the bottom of each panel. I made a loop at each end of the cable using some clips that we had from the shade sail project. I threaded the loops through the end posts and then through the loops used some round wooden railing material that I cut at a 45 degree angle. This would keep the cable from going back through the holes in the support posts and allow me to remove the panels as needed.

This picture shows the finished product. Not too bad. The grapes are startimg to fruit. We should have ripe fruit soon.

And in the small garden,

Roses, beans, cucumbers, strawberries, tomatoes and limes. LOL the veggies are hard to see but they are coming.

Sunday

Finish the blog and install the screen in the back door. More on that next week

So that was our week.

A trip to Limoges, Sungreen here, French class, golf, Around the World in 80 Minutes, and panel install. A little yard work and we checked off some chores on the list.

French Lifestyle and Culture

La bise

France has a wonderful custom when greeting and also leaving a friend. It is called la bise. I found that the Ilini blog explains it pretty well: La bise is custom where two people kiss each other’s cheek when greeting and often when leaving family and friends. Actually, the lips do not touch the cheek it is just a quick cheek to cheek and a kind of air kiss.

You have probably seen movies where the number of kisses might be 1 or 2 or 3 or even 4. This varies by region, but mostly 2. That is one on each cheek. Usually starting with the right cheek. However, some regions start with the left cheek. We are in the region where 2 is common and starting on the right cheek.

It is not really that complicated just observe the actions of the locals and you will have the idea. But one last note, I said FRIENDS. When meeting new people, you will not go wrong with a friendly handshake.

Next Week (la Semaine Prochaine)

• Simon the handyman will be here
• French lesson
• EB attends the ladies coffee and chat
• Lunch at lauryvan
• EB works at the cancer charity shop
• Golf with Ron on Thursday

Weather forecast for next week

Hot mostly sunny with highs in the 90s.

Signing off for the week

As always, we sign off wishing you all a good week and remind you to take care of yourselves and your family.

Keep in touch and leave questions, suggestions and comments below. We really enjoy hearing from you all.

Wishing you a good week (Bonne Semaine)

Mark and Elizabeth Beiley

Babyboomersmovetofrance.com