Mont St Michel 是法國其中一大景點,附近的酒店都是昂貴的星級酒店,我們在民宿網站上找稍為遠一點的鎮上住宿,也選擇不多。
決定豪一次,預訂了一間在法國西部傳統石屋的房間。
一路上超喜歡法國的石建小屋,很有鄉村風味,也感到非常有歷史感。
入住這民宿共有三個套房在二樓,我們住了原來主人住的套房,他們倆暫住在停在旁邊的旅行車內。地下是大得可舉辦一個百人戶外婚禮的綠色草坪,很大的厨房和客廳,室內和戶外的風格也是我們喜愛的。總之是住在郊野,又有酒店般的享受,一切都很好; 我們和主人Jo&Jack的交流也很舒服,他們是非常健談的英國人,用英語交流的感覺非常好。
到此,本來已是100分的民宿….誰知道還有下文。
第二天的中午在家中休息時,隨手番了桌上的相簿,有了驚人的發現! 相簿放滿了一間破爛石屋的照片,雖然是破爛的,但我們馬上意識到這就是我們現在身處的地方…
五年前,Jo和Jack厭倦了在英國每天營營役役賺錢的日子,來到了這個法國西北部的小村落,用四十萬港幣買了一間破爛的石屋,屋頂的鐵皮都全掉下了,本來是兩間小屋,其中一部份是造cider的工場,也有馬住的地方。
他們兩人,用了數年時間,把整間石屋大部份拆掉,重新建成現在這漂亮的石屋!我們真天真,以為這石屋是從一開始就這麼漂亮,還可以維持那麼多年!他們沒有雇用建築工人,全部是他們兩人(也有爸爸的幫忙),讓這古石屋重生成現在的樣子….
不止石屋本身,連內部的裝修也是他們自己做的。水泥工建成的火爐,陽台,台階。還有所有的木造部份,包括木地板,木門,厨房的原木餐桌等等,都是從運到這裡的原木樹幹鋸出來,打磨,自己做出來的!!
對於我們這些香港人來說,自己建屋簡直是天方夜談。雖然我們聽說在外國因為工人的費用很高,很多人都自己動手,但能達到這種水平的,恐怕也沒有很多吧!!
這石屋的故事讓屋內的一樑一柱,一木一石更動人,我們會温柔的撫摸一下木門,細細欣賞當中的淚與汗!!
當我們一次又一次驚嘆,Jo跟我們說,只要你想做,是一定能做得到的吧!!
by: Jo
Mont St Michel is one of the most touristic
attractions in France and all the nearby hotels are expensive. We search for something on Airbnb and there
aren’t many choices.
So, we decided to spend a bit more this
time to live in a typical stone built farmhouse, typical style of West France.
When we were driving in France, we always
love the stone built houses. They have a
very country side and historical feel.
The farmhouse has three en-suites in the
second floor, we have taken the big room which the hosts used to live. They temporarily moved to the caravan parked
on the side. In the ground floor, there
is a huge grass field which can easily hold a hundred guests wedding
banquet. There is a huge kitchen and a
big living room. The exterior and
interior are both tastefully decorated and we love the design and style. You live in the countryside and at the same
time is enjoying hotel standard environment.
We also had a good time chatting with Jo and Jack who are British. As you know, felt good talking in English.
At this point, already felt that this bnb
scores 100 points… but then, there is something else.
On our second day, we relaxed in the living
room and I just casually picked up a photo album from the desk, and found
something! The album contains many
photographs of a really broken stone house.
Although it was very old and broken, we immediately realized that this
is where we are sitting right now...
Five years ago, Jo and Jack were tired of
their lives in England, where they were both
working crazily to earn money.
They came here and bought this old and broken stone house for around
HKD400k. The roof of the house was completed collapsed, there were two smaller
houses at that time, including a cider manufacturing site and a stable.
They spent a few years to rebuild the whole
house. Most of the external stone walls
have been torn down and rebuild into the beautiful house we see today. We were so naive to think that the house has
been always like this for all those years.
Mind you, they did not hire any workers, they were doing all these work
themselves (and with some help from Jo’s dad) to give a new life to the house…
It’s not just the stone house itself, all
the interiors are made by them. Casting
all the walls, the balcony, stairs, etc.
The wooden parts, including the flooring, the wooden doors, dining
table, were all made here from scratch from tree trunks! They had to cut the trunks, polish them and
turn them into actual furniture!
As Hong Kong people, building our own house
is far from reality. Although we heard
that due to high labour costs, many in the Western world build their own
houses, I have never imagined something to this standard!
The story behind the house gives live to
each column and beam. We will gently
touch the door and appreciate how much sweat and tear were there to make it!
We cannot stop saying how amazed we are,
and Jo just said “well, if you want to do it, I guess you just will be able to
do it!”
by: Jo
