June 20-23, 2025. Spend a weekend with Raina & Jason from Baguette Bound and Stephen & Sara from Manor & Maker, discussing all things French life for expats. Stay at the home of Manor & Maker, Chateau de Saint-Germain-des-Pres (in Dordogne). We'll explore your plans for French life with some (optional) maker activities, to help you pull your vision together. Plus, we'll visit the town of Hautefort with it's own historic monument, and experience the best of chateau life with a personal chef dining experience at your B&B.
What's Included
- Daily sessions with Raina & Jason from Baguette Bound, helping to form your vision for life in France
- 3 night stay at the Chateau de Saint-Germain-des-Pres, arriving June 20th, departing June 23rd.
- Art supplies to create your own journal & mantra for your move
- Transport and admittance to the Chateau de Hautefort, with time to explore this pretty town
- Price is single occupancy, private room. Add your plus-one for €145 (food & entry fees) - select Double occupancy when checking out.
Your stay at the Chateau de Saint-Germain-des-Pres includes:
- Breakfast, lunch & all non-alcoholic beverages
- Supper on arrival day, prepared by your hosts
- Supper on Sunday evening, prepared by a professional local chef who loves showing off our gastronomic region of the Perigord
- Longer (or shorter) stays may be available, please inquire.
Rooms are as follows: 1 full en-suite, 2 with en-suite shower and shared wc., 2 with shared separate full bath (no more than 2 rooms share facilities). King, double or twin beds are available.
What's Not Included
- Saturday evening we'll have supper at a restaurant in Hautefort,
- Wine, cider & beer may be purchased at the chateau to enjoy with your meals
- Transportation to & from the chateau
- Personal expenses (local purchases, visa, passport, insurance, etc).
Design Your Life in France with Baguette Bound
Raina & Jason, Baguette Bound
When we decided to relocate to France with our 11 year old daughter for a year of family adventure in 2022, we started to look for information on what school and village life was like, how to adjust to the culture, get the most out of our time in France, and figure out logistics like how to rent a car for several months that didn't break the bank!
Most information we found catered to childless, wandering digital nomads or young families who world-schooled, or British retirees. That wasn't us. Where was the information for Americans and families in our situation?
We had a school-aged child and a cat. We wanted to travel but also have a home base where we could have some routines, connect with a local community, immerse ourselves in the culture, learn the language, and legally run a business in France.After a year, we realized we had fallen in love with France and wanted to stay. We created Baguette Bound to pass along what we've learned and help other Americans follow their dreams of relocating to France independently.
Stephen & Sara, Manor & Maker
Stephen and Sara Cole moved from southern Ontario, Canada to Dordogne, France in 2019 to start an adventure to see "what would have to be true for us to live in a chateau in France?". In 2021, we realized the dream to find our chateau, and begin the next adventure to create maker and exhibition spaces in a glorious setting.
We searched online for months viewing hundreds of properties. We narrowed our search and toured some properties when we happened upon the one that captured our hearts, Château de Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
A year later we finished the move to France to start our new adventure in our beautiful Château. We created “Manor and Maker” to reflect the two sides of our adventure. One, to live as chateau owners with all the ups and downs and two, to pursue our passions as makers, creating art in all its forms.
We invite you to come together, united by your passions, to share in this adventure. We invite you to join us too, as we bring our dreams to life.
Welcome to Manor & Maker.