We are Peter Feenstra and Hans Kouwenberg, two “young men” living in the Gard in the south of France. We are originally from Amsterdam, Holland, but in 2007 we moved (first) to Ray-sur-Saône in Burgundy, taking our company with us. Our company developed navigation and GPS software for inland skippers. We sold our company in 2015 and we’re retired now (although Peter is still working occasionally).

The three houses that formed the Domaine du Bac in Ray-sur-Saône

In Ray, we bought the “Domaine du Bac”, a bunch of 3 houses, where we spent our time gardening, travelling and writing. In 2022 we decided to sell the Domaine du Bac in Ray-sur-Saône to new, Swiss, owners.

After the sales of the Domaine, we decided NOT to buy a house, but to RENT, to be more flexible. So we ended up in a rather nice appartment (or so we thought)  in the city of Nîmes, a very lively and young town in the “Gard” department. There we were at a walking distance of the exiting city centre that combined its antique buildings with the vibrant atmosphere of a student town.

The house “La Costette” in Barjac

The rather nice appartment appeared to have rather awkward upstairs neighbours, that managed to keep us awake most every night. When it became clear that they were not going to be more quiet, we let a house in Barjac, in the country side. We were sorry to leave the town of Nîmes, but in Barjac we were able to sleep again. We moved in on the 22nd of November 2023, so Barjac has been our home town for three years now.

Finally we found an almost ideal house, less than 5 kilometers away from Barjac, that was for sale. The 20th of November we will move in!

Our new house in Saint-Privat-de-Champclos