With views of the valley, this townhouse has been reduced
in price by $70,000 to $258,000.

France’s “Lost Valley”–Where Homes Start at $78,000

International Living Postcards–your daily escape
Monday, July 6, 2009

Dear International Living Reader,

Unspoiled, definitely. Although tourists to France visit Saint Antonin Noble Val, thankfully it’s not in the same weight of numbers that has turned other regional beauty spot towns like Cordes-sur-Ciel into tourist traps. (In my book, anywhere with dinky trains and endless gift shops qualifies as a tourist trap.)

On the Aveyron River, Saint Antonin is in the luscious wooded countryside of the Tarn-et-Garonne departement of France’s sun-kissed Southwest.

This could be the perfect place to start your own B&B (I’ll have more on that in future postcards). Be aware that even though values have fallen, suitable B&B properties–large properties with a garden–aren’t exactly at fire sale prices. Although small stone-built houses here start at just 56,000 euros ($78,000), only around 20% of homes have gardens–and it’s unlikely you’ll get one at such a low price.

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Few foreign buyers want properties without a garden–the big demand is having somewhere to sit out to enjoy a glass of rosé as the sun goes down.

With views of the Gorge and valley beyond, I viewed a three-story townhouse (pictured above) with a garden that had been reduced in price by $70,000 to $258,000.

In hamlets within a 15-minute drive of Saint Antonin, some really attractive village properties can be had for under $150,000. I saw one with a converted pigeon tower and sunny patio for $139,000.

But gardens or not, this riverside town facing the white-cliffed Aveyron gorge and the lofty Roc d’Anglar really appeals to me. Long avenues of lofty plane trees flank the river, and there’s something very satisfying about sitting in the late afternoon sunshine, drinking pastis at the Cafe du Commerce.

The duck specialties at Le Festin de Babette restaurant are pretty satisfying too. From its terrace, you get a fabulous view of the town. A three-course gourmet dinner here costs 26 euros ($36), but you won’t pay anything like that in brasseries. (For example, quiche, fries and salad for around $12, and a small carafe of wine for $3.50.)

With both a local feel and a bohemian feel, Saint Antonin has struck the right balance. Hidden away in its medieval back streets are a handful of small ateliers for stained glass artists, potters, etc. But like I indicated, it’s still a living community, not a tourist stage set. I didn’t time my visit right for the Sunday market, but it’s reputedly one of the region’s best.

Saint Antonin has bags of history too. I can’t discover how old it is–I guess it came from the abbey ruins–but on rue d’Eglise I spotted an upside down stone carving of a fertility figure known in an Ireland as a sheela-na-gig. (They were used in Irish monasteries to warn monks against the sins of the flesh.)

Charlie Smallwood, my real estate contact, is an Englishman who has been in business here for the last 20 years. As a licensed chartered surveyor, it wasn’t difficult for him to obtain a carte professional and become part of France’s official real estate body, FNAIM.

I tell you about French farmhouses, mills, and other romantic countryside properties in the current issue of International Living Magazine. Charlie calls his adopted area “the Lost Valley of the Aveyron,” but it might not stay lost for long. No buyers in France? Charlie has sold six properties in the past two weeks.

To get instant access to my full report on France’s Secret Southwest, subscribe to the IL Magazine with this link.

Steenie Harvey
Roving Euro Editor, International Living

P.S. During the filming of Charlotte Gray, Charlie’s agency was turned into a wartime epicerie (grocery shop). Like many locals, Charlie was offered a part as an extra–but unlike his barber, turned it down. He thought potential British clients might be put off by a chap dressed as a Nazi officer trying to sell them property…

The beaches of Praia do Futuro are wider
and prettier than those of Meireles.

A Tale of Two Beaches

International Living Postcards–your daily escape
Thursday, July 2, 2009

Dear International Living Reader,

If I lived in Fortaleza, Brazil, I know where I’d be spending my time…away from the hustle and bustle of Meireles Beach and the malecon that lines popular Avenida Beira Mar. This is where most of the high-rise hotels and condo buildings are…and where you’ll find the hordes of tourists and partiers who descend on Fortaleza, the most popular domestic tourist location in the country.

To be honest, Meireles Beach is not my kind of place–although I did love the barracas (beach restaurants) and the plates of heaping seafood and ice-cold Antarctica beers served up here. I could spend hours watching the sparkling blue water washing to and fro over the tawny sand. But I can do without the madness of rush hour traffic and the imposing high-rises…

Fortunately for me and others like me who prefer a less urban beach experience, Praia do Futuro is just a short 10-minute drive to the east. It feels, though, a world away…

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Praia do Futuro (”Beach of the Future” in Portuguese) is the city’s “alternate” beach. No high-rises here, just a few one-, two- and three-story buildings. And lots of empty spaces…although it’s said that much of the land has been purchased by real estate developers who intend to build “when the time is right.”

That’s not to say that Praia do Futuro is deserted. Not by a long shot. Barraca after barraca is filled with happy, scantily clad beachgoers, out for a day of fun and sun.

These barracas, though, tend to be more rustic than those at Meireles. Here, they’re mostly massive open structures with thatched roofs covering communal areas with small shops, showers, lockers and churrascarias. Big-bellied Brazilian men grill massive cuts of meat over open-air grills. Grab a plate and fill it from a heaping buffet of salads, veggies, sushi, fruit, desserts…and leave room for steak, chicken, seafood, sausage, and, of course, organ meat hot off the grill. These places tend to charge by the weight of your plate…so remember: the more gluttonous (or hungrier) you are, the more you pay.

The beaches here are wider, prettier, and less rocky, too…safer for swimming and boogie boarding. Boogie boards, surfboards, and kitesurfing equipment can be rented on the beach. You can also buy whatever you need from strolling vendors…coconut water, ice cream, beach towels, bathing suits, jewelry, hats. Need a beer? Just wait a few minutes and a waiter will come by with one. (I even saw a beach booth where they spray you down with oil…for that Brazilian tan look.)

The barracas are open at night, too…in the evenings they become nightclubs on the beach with live music and entertainment. This is my kind of beachgoing….

Suzan Haskins
Latin America Editorial Director, International Living