On Friday, June 30th, we made our way to the train station for our trip to the Normandy Region and a visit with our son Ryan and son-in-law Chris to stay in the Gîte on their property. The train ride was an adventure all by itself – first the train we were booked on was cancelled, then the second train we were on was overbooked. Furthermore, along the way there was a track problem and the train had to pause for about 30 minutes! Good thing we could communicate via text without any issues to keep everyone up to date on our arrival.
About 5 years ago, our son Ryan and his husband Chris decided to go to France for graduate school. Ryan worked on an International Business MBA while Chris worked on a Masters in Hospitality. Their programs lasted a couple of years and had them living first in Paris, and Bordeaux, Aix-en-Provence and finally in Lyon. During this time, needless to say, they were able to visit much of France and experience hospitality via Airbnb, Vacation Rental by Owner and staying with friends. When they returned to the US, they had a short stint (about 6 months) of actively operating a Bed & Breakfast in Morro Bay (CA). So, it wasn’t a big surprise they decided to purchase a property and create a B&B in France.
Working with Ryan’s former advisor for his Masters Program, who has subsequently has become their business partner, they settled on a property in the village of Livarot.
Livarot-Pays-d’Auge is a village of about 6,000 residents and has a major cheese producer plus a large apple cider processing plant. The cheese producer, E. Graindorge Cheese Dairy has been making cheese in the village since 1910 with ownership being passed down from father to son.
The company specializes in the production of the four Norman Protected Designations of Origin or PDO cheeses, Livarot,
Pont-l’Eveque, Camembert de Normandie, Neufchatel. The other major producer is taking apples and making them into cider, both with and without distillation.
However, neither of these companies are why they choose this village – it was the property and general location in the Normandy Region of France that was the determination. The property, on one side, faces the main street, while on the other, it is along a small stream called Le Douet Fleury. On the property, there is an historic wash house, one of but a few remaining in the region. So, once they had the property, the river became the name of their overall property – Le Douet Fleury.
The property, consisting of several buildings along Rue Marcel Gambier, the main street of the village.
The oldest part of the building dates from 1680, while newer portions date from 1810 and 1910. On the street side of the building, there are two spaces that have been used as storefronts previously and there is an existing Gîte (cottage or small apartment) on the property which has been a rental for some years and a lot of other space which reallyhaven’t been used beyond storage.
The ultimate goal is to have a 4 suite Bed & Breakfast, 2 Gîtes, and 2 retail spaces. However, it will take some time to get all of this organized. Until all the modifications are completed, the existing Gîte is operating and producing some income and where we were booked for our week stay. You could also stay there, by going to www.ledouetfleury.fr!
Once they collected us at the train station, we got back to the Gîte and settled in.
The following day was a ‘Brocante’ or flea market in the village.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t as cooperative as it could have been with rain falling periodically through the day. There were treasures for sure, but nothing that followed us home.
While all of this was going on, Janeen was having a Mani-Pedi done and relaxing at the local spa. Once we were all together we wandered back to the apartment and planned for our next adventure – a visit to Vélorail-Gare de Pont Erambourg and the Musee des Automates the following day.