One day toward the end of the pandemic lockdown I got this amazing phone call from a reader, Aryn, in California. "My husband and I just bought an old moulin (a mill) near Beaune and I saw your blog. We've never seen the house--in fact, we've never been to Burgundy! Could you go take a look?" Well now that's adventurous, n'est pas! Here is Aryn's story, in her own words, and you too can visit the "before" of the moulin, in photos.
Bonjour!
I’m Lynn’s crazy friend, Aryn. My husband and I bought a 10,000 sq ft French mill which we had never seen in person, in a region of France we had never visited… from California… during a pandemic. Oh, and it was built before the United States of America was even a thing. Like I said…crazy.
I have always been a Francophile. We’ve visited France several times and I love the style, history, architecture, gardens, & food. My husband loves wine and cheese and investing in real estate, so buying a property in France seemed like something we would eventually do. We had been looking, though not very seriously, for years. Then came 2020.
We were on lockdown, fires were raging in California where we live, the sky was literally orange, and America was one election from our beloved republic becoming an autocracy.
(Our house in the Bay Area 2020 in the middle of the day. The smoke was so bad the automatic porch lights turned on)
Meanwhile, I was homeschooling two boys, and trying to determine which wine paired well with 4th grade math. My escape was property hunting in France. My husband and I had developed a long wish list of what we wanted in a property. Regionally we narrowed it down to Burgundy, though we had never been there (temperate weather, wine, food, proximity to Paris & Geneva, etc.).
One day in June 2020, a realtor based in Beaune sent me the link to an old flour mill built in 1767. A quarter of it was livable, and the rest was a shell with several out-buildings. It was a mess and like twice our budget, so of course I fell in love with it. However, we couldn’t even get to France to see it in person
While we waited impatiently for the borders to open, we did virtual tours via WhatsApp which I recorded, replayed, and analyzed with the attention to detail of a prosecutor investigating crime scene footage in a murder case. I basically cyberstalked Beaune and the surrounding area via YouTube and social media (and when I found Lynn and this wonderful blog). The more research I did, the more sure I felt that this was the place for us. We just couldn’t get there.
Thankfully, indecisiveness has never really been a problem for us. My husband told me he loved me on our 3rd date, and I got married in the first wedding dress I tried on. That’s just how we roll. So we submitted a very low-ball offer and to our surprise, it was accepted on the condition we could close in May of 2021. This worked out really well because it would give us the time to come up with the funds. In the end, the process of buying a home in France was easier than in America. Notaires are awesome!
The first time we went to Burgundy and saw Moulin des Fleurs was July 2021. We were so happy! It is a massive project, but we adore it. We rented e-bikes and went riding through the vineyards. My husband, who collects wine, has found his happy place.
I can already see the final renovated project my mind and it will be stunning (just give me like 5 years). The neighbors are friendly and have horses that we can see from both sides of the house.
The river running through the property is idyllic. It’s like living in a Carot painting. We are so excited to start this adventure and a new chapter of our lives. Feel free to follow our progress on Instagram at @lemoulindesfleurs
Thank you, Aryn, for this wonderful post. Welcome to Beaune and we look forward to seeing the progress. Stay tuned for the "after" post!
In the COMMENTS: Debra, you are right, it’s not just France but a lot of Europe, who are leaders in energy conservation. Like the washers, we time our dishwasher for off-hours. Leslie, your long and interesting comment about energy conservation at home could be a perfect primer for being a responsible consumer in the age of climate change. Imagine if everyone did that! As Ali notes, Americans are not always the best at that (and how great that you added solar!). Colleen, your comment brought back memories of hanging sheets on our clothesline when I was young. We need to get back to that. And Natalia, I love the “dance of the shutters”, I am now twirling and leaping as I open and close my shutters every day!
