Re-emerging into the ‘new normal’ whatever that means!

Here we are almost two full seasons have been and gone, but frankly we are thankful to still be here, we have food on our table, a roof over our heads and Pignoulet has lent itself to be the most gloriously safe place to shelter from a pandemic. But let’s not look back for now – looking forwards we are so happy, in fact slightly bursting with excitement to be welcoming 4 groups to Pignoulet over the next few weeks. We have a Pilates retreat, a 30th (now 31st) birthday celebration, a private catered holiday booking, and a Walking/Pilates retreat all before the end of the year. We are so grateful that our clients have shown wonderful loyalty and have hung on until travel has once again become viable.

Meanwhile – whilst the world has been locked down we have completed several major projects. All the bedrooms now have their own bathroom – 5 out of the 6 en suite and the 6th is next door. The barn restoration is now complete and we have both a beautiful outdoor covered studio space plus an indoor space available for use year round. The indoor studio also doubles up as a great party/gathering space – rustic and atmospheric and heated by a wonderful wood-burning stove. Not to mention our magical new living space – a dilapidated barn has now been converted into a single storey apartment. This is fully hidden from the main house, tucked perfectly around the back and we just love it. 

James and I have devoted many hours to our potager – much to the amusement and sometimes bewilderment of our neighbours. We are consequently completely overwhelmed by vegetables as we grew to feed our guests – but instead our freezer is literally bursting at the seams. Winter will be the season of soup and stew again and again.  Our autumn guests will certainly be enjoying the bounty from our slightly untidy but still very giving patch. 

In March 2020 I began Zooming Pilates classes as ‘something’ I could ‘do’ during lockdown. This soon extended into HIIT & Yoga sessions as well and we are still practising 5x per week.  I would love to extend my thanks and appreciation ‘chapeau/hats off’ to you, you know who you are & many of you are still joining me several times per week. I think between us we have kept each other going – we always smile, we often laugh and we generally feel better for it. Thank you TEAM. We will pretzel on! Dotty & Pickle say ‘hi’ too as they have often appeared on screen and mostly on my mat. 

We just want to extend our thanks to those of you who have called/messaged us, supported us and just stayed with us literally – you have been a huge boost to morale. Thank you to our wonderful friends here in the Gers, you have shown us great kindness and welcomed us with open arm. We so look forward to hosting those of you who were booked in 2020 who are now scheduled to stay in late 2021 & 2022. A BIG thank you – for your patience and loyalty. We can’t wait to get our feet back under the table at Pignoulet – surrounded by all of you, smiling, chattering and laughing. Thank you also to our amazing Gite guests this summer – you were all so special and we again are most grateful for you coming to Pignoulet to spend your holidays with your precious friends and family during what has been an impossibly difficult time. We know from your reactions that to be on holiday once again made the effort fully worth it. Watching some family members & friends hug each other on arrival at Pignoulet has been magical. We all need hugs.

Please do get in touch if you have enquiries for bookings – we can’t wait to welcome you. We are open all year, the seasons in Gascony are wonderful. We’ve all got a lot of catching up to do in terms of holidays, hugs, laughter and just spending precious time with precious people. We just wanted to say a heartfelt – Merci et a très bientôt! Thank you and see you very soon.

Susie 24th September 2021