Unbelievable, the new year can hardly be called new anymore. 21 days, 11 hours and 52 minutes at this time of writing. Still, it is worth looking back on the 2018 season because despite an unforeseen water leakage at the beginning of the spring, it has been a great season for all our guests.
The flood
At the end of February the water pipes bursted on the first floor during a wintery period with extremely low temperatures. Here in France they spoke with awe about the ice-cold airflow between Moscow and Paris which occupied the front page for at least a week. Unfortunately we were absent and thus the water could flow freely during 10 days and eventually caused the collapse of the ceiling in the corridor. We only realised by mid-March that a part of our gîte had been transformed into an indoor swimming pool.
The repair – phase 1
Most of the damage was found in the hallway and the game room, but luckily we got help from local friends to clean everything and let it dry in the sun which had reappeared in the meantime.
During the Easter holidays in April, we worked hard to restore everything to its previous state as much as possible before the arrival of our first guests early May. Because some walls still contained too much moisture we unfortunately could not repair everything perfectly and we had to make a temporary ceiling with the help of a jute cloth. The floor of the game room also clearly showed traces of the unexpected water ballet. But at least we were able to leave La Camillette with peace of mind to our guests.
The repair – phase 2
After the summer season we were able to permanently repair all the walls and ceilings in the hallway and the bedroom on the ground floor. We also laid a completely new floor in the game room. Camille and Juliette helped a lot – 🙂
La Camillette is now fully restored to its original state and even improved in various places as shown in the photos below.
Preview of the 2019 season
This year we have plans to further renovate and improve the garden and the yard. Isabelle already has ideas for a few changes in the house also.
We are ready and look forward to receiving old and new guests in La Camillette this year. The first bookings are coming in but there is still room in the summer. However, do not wait too long with your reservation because we also get more and more interest from Belgian and German holidaymakers.
Kind regards and see you soon in La Camillette,
Jacques, Isabelle, Camille & Juliette