Sophie Duncan
9 min readFeb 19, 2024

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Not our Castle, theirs — another French Chateau story

Here is a tale, not of my Castle adventure in France but Michael and Jonathan’s. Like James and I, they set out to buy something quite different. Read what happened. I also would like to let you know that I have published my first book. It is getting really exceptional reviews. I hope that you have a look and enjoy. It is also available on Kindle. Literally cheaper than a packet of chips these days in Oxford. And with full colour pictures.​

Michael and Jonathan spent a year living in Paris near the Moulin Rouge with Michael’s job in 2006. “We decided then that we would definitely like to do something in France. Even in Paris there is a focus on the social side of life. Lunch is sacred. People spend time every day eating together. Families get together for an aperitif at the weekend, shops still close on Sunday and often on Monday too”.

They thought that they might like to buy a collection of gites in Provence. They hadn’t even considered buying a château but when they saw Château de Jalesnes it was a ‘coup du coeur’. “As it turned out, Jalesnes was everything that we expected to get from a property in France. We wanted enough space to welcome and entertain big groups of family and friends. Perhaps a place to live together happily ever after into old age”. Michael would say that in France, it is definitely the case that property is more of a lifestyle than an…

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Sophie Duncan
Sophie Duncan

Written by Sophie Duncan

I write about France, Oxford, dogs, love and more. Sign up for my newsletter today, find Beyond Paris - a Short Guide to Rural France on Amazon

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