When ever we went to France on holidays there were two books which we always consulted.
For eating we always checked with the Michelin Red Guide , not so much to eat in restaurants with Stars- normally much too expensive for us- but to find the more inexpensive options indicated by the symbol of two coins or, on special occasions, to eat at restaurantys which had the Bib Gourmand symbol which indicated a good quality restaurant but moderately priced.

For our overnight stays there was no doubt that our bible was the Guide de Gites de France this organisation was the one which governed the standards in Bed and Breakfast establishments (Chambres d’Hotes) and we never stayed in an establishment which was in that guide which fell below par.

This year we felt confident enough to apply ourselves to that august body for inclusion.

This morning they arrived for the inspection.
They warned us in advance that there would be quite a few of them, there were.

There were the two inspectors from the Gites de France, there was a member of the board of that organisation who ran a Chambre d’Hote, and there was a young apprentice. Accompanying this posse was the local tourism representative for the village and the lady who ran the local regional tourist office.
(It’s a big deal as you can see)

The inspection took two hours and was extremely thorough.

We had, we were warned, to have a full breakfast laid out for two on their arrival. We had set our table with freshly squeezed orange juice , a compote of dried fruit and dates and bowl of vanilla scented fromage frais. I produced my two homemade breads, little brown yeast rolls made with Howards Oneway (which I bring in specially) and my Pompe a l’Huile, a fruit and olive oil brioche- as well as the normal baguette and croissants from the village baker. With these I offered best Breton butter and five different jams, all faites maison. (Cherry, greengage, lemon with ginger and fig)

Judging from their expressions they were impressed with this.

They then started on the bedrooms, all were measured as were the bathrooms, the beds were stripped and also measured, the quality of the sheets and indeed under sheets were minutely examined,as were the pillows and their covers, the very hangers in the wardrobes were inspected (They are all wooden, this is good, metal ones are not allowed)

They clucked disapprovingly at some things , the unevenness of some of our old floor tiles, the size of one of our wash hand basins , but mainly they seemed to approve,you could see they thought everything displayed proper taste and respect for the age of the house.

Then the eight of us sat down to coffee while they wrote out their reports.
These will then be put before the bord of commissioners and, if we are fortunate enough to be accepted into this prestigeous group, we will then be commanded to Montpellier to sign in in the regional office.

We now await their judgement, it’s a bit like waiting for the leaving results.