From the day we met, we lived on our houseboat, the ‘Omega’, in Amsterdam, and then, between 1991 and 1999, on our cargo ship, the ‘Noorderzon’, on which we spent ten years travelling around the Netherlands, Belgium and France. After selling the ‘Noorderzon’, we first lived on IJ-plein in Amsterdam until 2007. We then moved to Ray-sur-Saône, in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. We lived and worked there for fifteen years.

In 2015, we first sold the business, and seven years later we also sold the house, the Domaine du Bac. As we wanted to move further towards the sun, we initially rented a property in Nîmes, but barely a year later we moved to Barjac – due to the city noise and neighbours’ commotion – where we were able to rent a small house for three years.

In the summer of 2026, we finally found our ‘dream home’: a single-storey, almost new house with a swimming pool, equipped with every conceivable modern amenity (heat pump, water softener, air conditioning, solar panels, even a rainwater storage tank!) and just big enough for the two of us and the occasional guest.

The final deed of sale will be signed on 20 November; we’ll be moving between 20 and 23 November. And this is how one can get to our new house: