The hot water is generated using the gas boiler located in the basement. The boiler will be switched on and hot water will be available on your arrival.

The boiler is on a timer but should keep a sufficient amount of hot water available throughout the day.

Please note that the water can be very hot so please take care!

As the water has to travel some distance to reach the outlet, particularly the shower and taps on top floor, please allow water to run for at least 30 – 60 seconds for water to get hot in the showers and baths.

Please ensure the shower head is in the bath before turning on taps so that you can check the diverter is in the correct position.

1 bath towel and 1 hand towel are provided for each guest. We do not provide beach or pool towels.

The call to the Centre 15 must be reserved for emergencies, thus limiting the time of intervention of the doctor on duty.

Pan-European emergency number: 112 or 114 (for hearing assistance)

These general numbers can be called free of charge during any emergency from your mobile phone. As it’s a Europe-wide number, you can also ask to be connected to an English-speaking operator. Those who are deaf or hard of hearing could send text messages to 114.

Jacques Martinez
26 Cours Colbert
11230 Chalabre
04 68 69 25 29

Marie Hélène Richon
34 Cours Colbert
11230 Chalabre
04 68 69 20 22

Yves Berenguer
10 Course Doctor Joseph Raynaud
11230 Chalabre
+33 (0) 4 68 69 25 71

Catherine Cornic
6 rue du Presbytere
11230 Chalabre
04 68 20 01 04

Gendarmerie

35 Route de Limoux
11230 Chalabre

Monday, Wednesday, Saturday: 8 am – 12 pm

04 68 69 20 17
Emergencies: Dial 17

There is a charcoal BBQ provided for your use. The grill and tools can be in the basement on the black table. If you use the BBQ please clean the grill and tools before you leave and put them back in the basement.

Charcoal can usually be purchased in Carrefour Express in the village.

Please make sure the coals are extinguished after use.

Bike hire is available in the village.

Check-in time is 16:00. We can sometimes arrange an early check-in so please contact us before arrival.

Please check-out by 11 A.M.

When you leave, please ensure the following tasks are done:

• Strip beds and place inside a pillow case
• Place all used towels in first-floor bathroom
• Ensure all dishes are placed in the dishwasher
• Make sure BBQ has been cleaned and tools returned to utility room
• Empty bath and kitchen bins and take out to the green communal bin located on Avenue de La Gare to the right as you go out of the main gates (towards the village)
• Close windows
• Lock shed
• Lock the house and place the keys in the key safe

Please travel safely back home and we hope to see you again soon!!

Property Management

Julia and Steve

For non urgent inquiries please email Stephen Fermor (stephen.fermor@sfr.fr). For more urgent matters please phone Steve on

Home: +33 (0)4 68 31 82 78 or
Mobile: +33 (0)6 33 84 98 17

To phone France from the UK

Dial 0033
then the full national number minus any leading 0

Owners

Nigel and Liz Hughes

For non urgent inquiries please email Nigel nhughes552@gmail.com. For more urgent matters please phone Nigel on +44 (0)7941 196 874

Maison Carrée is located on the Avenue de la Gare the D16 that runs from Chalabre towards Mirepoix. It is on the same side as the Rue du Communal (this street borders the garden).

The full address of the property is 357 Avenue de la Gare, 11230 Chalabre, France.

GPS: 42°59’06.5″N 2°00’22.3″E  or 42.985143, 2.006196

Driving

If driving from the UK we usually get the Eurotunnel to Calais. If you ask Google maps for route it normally suggests the A26 , A1 route that takes you around the outskirts of Paris. We have always avoided that route and take the A16, A28 route towards Rouen.

So our route is Calais > Rouen > Évreux > Dreux > Chartres > Orléans > Limoges > Toulouse > Pamiers > Mirepoix > Chalabre

Route using Michelin route planner is here https://goo.gl/QrnPse

Flying

The nearest airports are Carcassonne Airport (50Km) or Toulouse (120Km)

We don’t like to call them rules but there are just a few things that we would ask you to be mindful of:

• Please be respectful of our neighbours and do not create excessive noise after 22:00 or before 8 am.
• No smoking anywhere in the house. If smoking outside please dispose of cigarette ends respectfully.
• No glass or bottles in pool area
• No pets on furniture, upstairs or in the pool. Pets must not be left alone in the house for long periods of time
• No fireworks
• No candles inside the house
• Do not use the towels provided around the pool
• Have fun and enjoy yourselves!

Please try to park in front on the black gates outside the house. If there are more that one car the best place to park is by the school towards the church.

Although car do park in Rue du Communal alongside the house I don’t think they are supposed to!

Glass, plastic bottles and cardboard are recycled. There are a number of recycling bins around the village please take any items that can be recycled to one of the bins before you leave.

The key to the shed is on the main set – it’s the slightly triangular-shaped one.

The classic French shopping week comprises six days, Monday to Saturday, with shops generally open from 9 a.m. to Midday, and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. In towns and villages, it is still the rule that shops close at lunchtime.

However, in urban shopping areas, most large shops such as department stores now operate what is called “la journée continue”, and do not close at midday. Out-of-town supermarkets in France also tend to stay open at lunchtime, and depending on the town or district, other shops in large suburban shopping centres also stay open.

Use the TV remote (Samsung) to select HDMI 1 input.

The TV uses an HDMI switch (located in the cupboard to the right of the TV) to select which device French SFR TV Box or Amazon Fire Stick.

Select Port 1 for French TV via the SFR Internet TV box. Use the SFR remote to turn on and select channels. Please do NOT sign up to any Pay Per View or premium subscription channels!

Select Port 2 to connect the Amazon Fire Stick to the TV. The Fire Stick allows watching of Netflix, Amazon Prime and other streaming services. The Fire Stick also has IPTV – select the Smarters IPTV icon to access the IPTV. This gives access to various live TV channels as well as movies and series. Note that this service can sometimes ‘freeze’ and you may need to restart the app – or reboot the Fire Stick.

HDMI Switch

There is a supply of bin liners under the kitchen sink. Please use one of these and don’t put rubbish directly in the bin.

Please separate recyclable items cardboard, plastic, tins etc. This goes in one of the recycling bins. Please also recycle bottles and glass.

To find the nearest bins go out the back gate and turn left. Then turn right along the path past the school playground. At the end of the path, there will be several communal general waste bins as well as a recycling bin and bottle bin.

There is a large fridge freezer located in the kitchen. This should be switched on and ready for use prior to your arrival.

There is also a second fridge freezer located in the basement utility area. We use the freezer compartment of this to store our bits so please don’t use the freezer compartment of this but feel free to use the fridge part for extra space for wines / beers etc.

The hob is powered by gas. There is a gas switch on the right hand side of unit under hob. To turn gas on turn knob so the red line is horizontal. This should be on prior to your arrival.

The microwave is a combination type. There should be a manual for it in the draw underneath the main oven. There is a French manual and a printed English version.

Please see PDF version below

Microwave manual

For your safety and the safety of others please use plastic glasses and plates around the pool area

The pool is fitted with a cover. This is a safety function and the cover should be closed when the pool is not in use.

The cover has two fixed panels and three sliding ones. To slide the cover first, remove the gable end panel. Then ensure all the fixings for the first 3 panels have been removed. It is possible to push the panels under the two fixed panels. 

Note that only two of the movable panels will go under the end panels so you must stop when the sliding panels meet with the end gable.

The pool gate is fitted with a childproof MagnaLatch lock. To open the gate it is necessary to pull up on the knob on top of the lock and then use the handle on the gate to open the gate.

Please ensure the gate is closed at all times.