Welcome to La Belle Vilaine — our true love and the heart of who we are.
We first discovered this beautiful region in 2003, back when we were living in the south of England. Paul was a police officer, and Elaine was teaching French in primary schools while running her after-school “French Clubs” — a fun and playful way for children to learn French. She had over 250 members (ages 5 to 16) across seven schools and even employed additional French instructors to meet the demand.

Their daughter, Cheryl, was 17 at the time when she announced that she wanted to live in France… a dream Elaine herself had cherished since she was the same age!

Cheryl was already bilingual — hardly surprising with a French teacher as her mum 😉.

And so, in 2004, with their English house sold, the whole family — including their two dogs, Gracie and Ficelle, of course — set off for a brand-new adventure in Brittany.

Come back soon to read the next chapter of our story 😊