Saint-Aignan is a village out of a fairytale book.  I have been here for a week already and every day I have had to pinch myself.  Can this place be real?  Can this house be real? 

My host for my second Workaway position in France is Sophie.  Sophie runs a guest house in Saint-Aignan, which is a town located on the banks of the River Cher in the Loire Valley. 

Sophie is all kinds of wonderful.  She is creative, flamboyant, sensitive, extremely kind and absolutely hilarious.

And her house, oh my…

Until a few months ago, Sophie owned an antique shop and her entire guest house is beautifully styled with antique furniture, ornaments, and artwork.  Elaborate wallpapers in rich colours decorate the walls and provide a glorious backdrop to large ornate mirrors and lamps.  The windows, framed by wooden shutters and bright green foliage, look out over either the cobbled village square below or Sophie’s pretty courtyard.

I don’t have any information as to the history of this house, only that it was built in the 17^th century and was originally two separate houses, one of which (the grander of the two) was lived in by the Notaire (Notary) at some stage.

There are three main levels.  The front door opens onto a huge front entrance room, which opens onto the main lounge area, which then leads onto a beautiful dining room, across from which is a large kitchen where Sophie prepares breakfast for her guests each morning.

Front Entrance Room

Guest Lounge

Guest Dining Room

The Kitchen

Two large staircases, one on either side of this grand downstairs area, lead up to the guest suites which are named after Sophie’s four daughters.

On one side of the house is the Madeline Room, which is actually two rooms – one with the master bed and the other with two single beds – and a separate toilet and bathroom.

The Madeleine Room

A mystery staircase leads up from this wing to a third level, and when I questioned Sophie about it she just pwoffed (as the French do so well) and said it was an attic space – which made me totally curious to explore it, but I daren’t as the stairs are blocked off by books, obviously in order to keep nosy people like myself from climbing them.

On the other side of the house, there are three guest suites, all with separate toilets and bathrooms.  Two of these rooms also have single beds in areas off to the side of the main rooms.

The Mathilde Room

The Louise Room

The Justine Room

I have mentioned several times in previous posts about my lack of navigational skills.  Do I get lost in this incredible house?  Yes.  Do I sometimes walk around in circles trying to find the laundry room?  Yes.  Have I ever paused at the bottom of a staircase, trying to recall which suite it leads up to?  Yes.  It’s ridiculous!

But wait, there’s more…

Sophie doesn’t actually live in her guest house.  She chooses to use it sometimes to host events for family and friends, but her living quarters are off her guest house front room – up three steps and through a door.

Sophie’s space is also full of gorgeous antique furniture but added to this is an eclectic mix of fun and quirkiness.  Her fridge is covered with polaroid snaps of her beautiful daughters, plus a restaurant menu or two, a Save Britney sticker and a picture magnet of Björn Ulvaeus (he’s from ABBA, for the uneducated amongst you – shame on you!).

A staircase (yes, another one) leads up from her private kitchen, lounge and dining room area, past walls covered with framed family photos and shelves of books, to the second floor which is comprised of two bedrooms and “a bathroom for girls” which is wallpapered with illustrations of birds and flowers on a pink background, and also has a pink tiled shower area.

The staircase carries on (I know!) to the third floor.  This is Sophie’s bedroom – a spacious loft area beneath large wooden eves.  Compared to the rest of her living quarters, this space is uncluttered and airy.  It feels to me like a ballet studio and I love it!

I find the whole house quite surreal.  My task each morning is to help Sophie with the change-over of the guest rooms, but Sophie is such fun to work alongside, and I am so enamoured with each space, that it doesn’t feel like a task at all.  I must also confess that I have eaten so much delicious food over the last few days, including an excess of bread, butter, pastry, and cheese, that I’m glad for the physical exercise!

This is my second and last Workaway for this trip and I could not have found a better place to finish my time in France.  I am so blessed to have had two incredible women as my Workaway hosts.  I’m extremely grateful.

Next time… the fairytale that is Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher.

Bonne journée.