80: Happy Anniversary to Us. We Celebrate our 21st Wedding anniversary and 1 year anniversary living in France

Sorry for the late posting. We had an early morning volunteering at the MAC fest.

Welcome to the 80th weekly post of our Baby Boomers Move to France blog.

We are into our 52nd week in France 7/26-8/1/26 having spent 3 months in Duras and then roughly a month and a half in St Germaine de Confolens before settling in Chabanais.

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,

Golf on Sunday, Hoxton meeting on Monday, Hope shop on Tuesday, Hoxton again on Wednesday, 21-year anniversary and movie EB volunteer meeting and volunteers meeting. Shade sails Install and wildfire update.

Our home in Chabanais, France

Things on the agenda this week:

• Wedding anniversary
• 1 year in France anniversary
• Shade sail install
• Movie night
• Work on Garden

Weather forecast:

Warm weather forecasted for this week with highs in the 37 C (98F) and lows in the 15C range (59F). Slight chance of rain forecasted but cooling breezes make the afternoon nice.

Why this Blog?

Long story short, we are Mark and Elizabeth Beiley, “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: Nice Quiet day, coffee on the terrasse, golf and visit with Ron and Michelle

Weather was nice so we had coffee in the cocktail coop and enjoyed the cool morning so much we had a hard time getting on with the day. Once the coffee pot was empty, we did get going.

One chore that needed done was my hair cut. EB is getting pretty good at it so I’m happy when she does the job. I’m going bald on top, but the sides still come in pretty thick. I don’t like it much when the hair sticks out over my ears.

Golf

Because of other things going on we missed golf on Thursday so moved it to Sunday. Allen couldn’t make it. Ron and I played 36 holes and had a great time as usual.

EB picked some cucumbers and tomatoes from her garden and brought them over for Ron and Michelle. After golf we all had some time to chat, and Ron treated me to a taste of this excellent Port. Smooth and not too sweet.

The four of us agreed to go to the movies in Saint Junien to see the Odessey on Thursday.

We took Rosie for a walk and EB made up charcuterie plates for our dinner. We have been watching a funny Netflix series on TV called Hawk. It is about a golfer that had lost his edge but came back to the tour with the help of a caddy that wasn’t a real caddy. On top of that he is separated from his wife, and his son (a PGA golfer) who hasn’t talked to his dad in years. Okay, that doesn’t sound like a comedy, but the show is pretty funny.

Monday: Super nice weather.

After coffee in the cocktail coop EB went to the grocery store and I worked on the larger rectangular shade sail install.

Of course, the shade sail project took longer than I expected, but eventually it got done.

Meanwhile EB did spider web patrol and sealed the rain barrel to minimize mosquito attraction.

EB took Rosie for a walk and stopped off at “the Boys” house to see how Russell was progressing with his garden projects. She mentioned that our terrasse is done, and he said that he would be over for a beer to check it out.

Not long after EB returned from walking Rosie, Russell came over. It is always good to talk to him. We popped a couple of beers and sat on the terrasse in the shade of the fig tree, grape arbor and the umbrella. Russell was duly impressed with the terrasse but had to get back home.

At 17h 30 (5:30pm) we had a conference call with Bradley of Hoxton Wealth. I wanted to be sure the Required Minimum Disbursement from my old 401K was on track. We had a question about fees and how we might line up a guaranteed 8% fund for EB. We will discuss all this in more detail with Brad on Wednesday. I have been seeing all kinds of bad news regarding Social Security so while I’m not expecting the sky to fall, I feel we must remain vigilant.

After our meeting we grilled some chicken and rosemary potatoes and had a splendid meal on the terrasse with a carafe of French wine. Of course, Rosie got to share our chicken. We are really enjoying the terrasse!

I finished up watering the veggie patch with water from the rain barrel. I had started watering before Russ came over. Before we knew it the sun was starting to set.

Tuesday: Another nice morning that quickly warmed up.

We had a couple of errands to run this morning. EB had purchased some dog and cat food for the pet evacuees of the Bordeaux fires, and the cancer charity shop had some clothes for the evacuees as well. We drove over to the shop to pick up the clothes and then delivered all to the Hope shop in Confolens.

After lunch and our Duolingo French lessons EB asked if I wanted to go to the Cafe des Sport for a glass of Rose. LOL. Well, of course (bien sur). Nice afternoon so we sat at a table outside and enjoyed the wine and the shade. Rosie came along and had a small bowl of water.

Wednesday: Beautiful morning and coffee on the cocktail coop.

EB wanted to get going early to visit the market day at Piegut-Pluviers (Marche de Piegut). It is about a 40 to 45-minute drive from Chabanais in the Dordogne region and well worth the drive. It is a pretty town of about 1200 inhabitants. The weekly market is pretty big and spread out over multiple streets in the town. I bought a new hat, and we found a vendor with delicious Charente Pineau and EB got some honey as well. Bonus, we got a bunch of steps in.

We got back home in time for our Teams meeting with Hoxton Wealth and after the meeting we got ready for French class.

French class was well attended. I showed off my new hat and we had a lively conversation. There was a lot of French a little English and some Franglish for good measure.

Apero on the terrasse.

EB had invited Ron and Michelle and Diane and Joel over for Apero after French class. We officially christened our new terrasse. Diane brought over a delicious quiche and EB prepared an arrangement of snacks and a good time was had by all.

Left to right: Ron, Michelle, Diane, Joel and EB and Rosie peeking out from under the chair. She was wondering what I was up to.

Thursday: HAPPY Anniversary to us. 21 YEARS OF LOVING AND LIVING AND LEARNING AND STILL GOING STRONG!! And we still like being around each other too. I’m a lucky man.

After coffee in the Cocktail Coop, we walked over to the Farmers’ market and picked up some fruit and veggies.

No golf today, we had a final Teams meeting with Hoxton Wealth and afterwards we got ready to go to the cinema in Saint Junien to see Odyssey. Ron and Michelle picked us up at 4:00.

We haven’t really walked around Saint Junien much, so it was nice to take a little wander and stop for a beer at a little pub where a very friendly lady served our beer at the bar. She had a sign above the bar about the cat being in charge. I asked where the cat is (Ou est le chat?). She told us she has, I think she said 12 cats, but the boss was laying under the bush just outside the door. Sure enough there he was just outside under a bush sprawled in the shade.

It was an early showing of the movie and the theater was not crowed and the seats were very comfortable. Good thing the seats are comfy, the movie is 3 hours long. That said, it is a very well-done movie and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Back home EB prepared a charcuterie board, and I poured some wine and then we played marbles. We each won one game then EB won the tie braker.

EB picked some veggies for tomorrows dinner salad. Wow! good stuff.

Friday: EB has a volunteers’ meeting at the Old School Tea Room, and I played golf at Ron and Michelle’s place.

EB dropped me off and headed to her meeting regarding volunteering at MAC Fest. She and I are scheduled to volunteer on Sunday morning at the event. Musicians Against Cancer raises money for Cancer Research and Support facilities. It is based in southwest France in 3 departments including the Charente. Music starts at noon and goes to about 21:00 on Saturday.

Golf was a great time. There were 5 of us. Ron and Allen played as a team taking alternate shots. Then there was the rest of us, Gary and Harry (father and son) and then me. Harry has something like an 8 handicap and his swing is as smooth as silk. It was a super group. After 18 we went down to the Donkey room and enjoyed cocktails and chatting with our wives. Michelle and Ron sure know how to host an apero (before dinner drinks and socializing).

Saturday: 1 August, HAPPY 1 YEAR ANNEVERSARY IN FRANCE!

Wow this year has gone by so fast and we have done a lot in a year.

• Moved to France
• Bought a car
• Bought and furnished our home
• Got French drivers licenses
• Got on the French health system (Carte Vital)
• Got our permit to live in France for another year (Titre de Sejour)
• Filed our first French tax return
• Filed our US tax return from France
• Big improvement in French language
• Welcomed Don and Cindy to our home in Chabanais, France and had fun sightseeing from Sarlat la Caneda, Lascaux, Rocamadour, St Emilion, Oradour sur Glane and on to Bordeaux
• Met Leif and Lisa in Lyon as they had a stop in Lyon during their Viking River cruise for a couple of days.
• Added a wood burner and pellet burner to our house
• Added solar power to the house and now all of our electrical usage is totally powered by solar panels
• Had a beautiful Terrasse installed
• Scheduled AC installation for our house
• EB started volunteering at the Cancer Support France charity shop
• EB planted her veggie patch and harvests fresh produce as needed
• I get to play golf with Ron just about weekly
• Met Ron and Michelle our new great friends and their neighbors
• Made friends with Ian and Penny at their Cafe Lillian
• Then there are “the Boys” and their friends and neighbors

Whew I’m tired just thinking about it. It has been a busy year.

After coffee in the Cocktail Coop EB headed to the Cancer Services France (CSF) charity shop to do her volunteer gig and Rosie and I drove to Super U to get gas in the car.

When EB got back, we had lunch and then went to Julia’s house to pick up a table and chairs for the MAC Fest. We also got the key to the CSF shop and picked up some clothes for sale at MAC Fest.

I checked on the fires around Bordeaux. Excellent news the fires are mostly contained, and evacuees are being allowed back into their homes in certain areas. Flights are going in and out of Bordeaux airport too. What a relief for folks around Bordeaux. They still must remain vigilant. There were thousands of acres and many homes destroyed.

I checked the Sixt website, and no updates there so I’m thinking that we will be able to pick up the rental van on 22 August as planned at the Bordeaux airport.

After some down time, it is time to get ready to go to the Greek night charity event.

Greek Cancer Support France fund raiser

Great event to raise money to support CSF Cancer Support France.

The 20 euro per person donation included a welcome drink (I think it was called a Cognac sour). Mine was Cognac mixed with tonic water. Some would say it is sacrilegious to adulterate cognac like that, but it was pretty refreshing.

The dinner included appetizers, a Greek salad, BarBQ lamb and potatoes and then dessert. Wine, beer, and mixed drinks were also offered for sale all to raise money for the cancer shop. We were happy that Ian and Penny joined us for dinner.

So that was our week.

Celebrating 21 years of marriage and our first full year living in France. Participate in some charity work and events and our first trip to the movies in France.

French Lifestyle and Culture

What is a guinguette?

I was reading Tommy Sikes (American to France) post. He was talking about how he and his wife were walking along the Loire River, and they found a hundred people at mismatched picnic tables under strings of lights drinking rose wine out of plastic cups in no hurry to be anywhere. I learned that that is a guinguette. An open-air riverside cafe where you eat, drink and maybe dance.

EB and I had the same experience when we were in Amboise at what we thought was a tiki bar along the Loire River. We didn’t know that it is called a guinguette. We have experienced the same along the Vienne River too at a place called the Speak Easy in St Germain de Confolens. We love stopping at these places and enjoying the kicked back vibe. It turns out most of the people at these guignettes are not on vacation. These folks are locals here after work doing just what locals do, sitting outside together simply enjoying life.

I learned from Tommy’s post that the word comes from guinguet, a cheap, sharp local white wine that nobody would call good. Which tells you the priorities. They appeared outside Paris in the 1600s to dodge taxes. Paris taxed alcohol at the city gates. So people opened wine gardens just outside the customs wall and sold the same bottle of wine for significantly less. On Sundays Parisian workers walked out of the city, ate, drank, danced and then walked home. Clearly a way to get around taxes.

Evidently guinguettes vanished for some time but they came back in he 80s and are proliferating. Thank Goodness for traditions that never die. They open during season of late March to early October. The season is not a hard and fast rule but for sure we have experienced them opening in early May.

Next Week (la Semaine Prochaine)

• MAC Fest on Sunday
• Simon the handyman to work on another project
• Home insurance agent to visit and update our home insurance
• EB volunteers at CSF shop
• Rochechauort Night Market

Weather forecast for next week

We have a little rain forecasted for this coming week with high temps forecasted to reach 29 C (84F). Overnight low down to 14C (57F). Definitely a cooling trend. Humidity goes up to the 76% range and a little breezy.

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.

We are so glad that the wildfires are coming under control and a little rain will help that. The firefighter teams and tanker aircraft have been working overtime. A shout out to them for doing a very tough and dangerous job.

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