Hi there,

Welcome back and bienvenue to new subscribers – it’s lovely to have you here!

Let’s begin : )

Alethea x

Pattern-matching

The past five days have been a bit of a sleep-deprived blur, upended by emergency vet visits, a very sick dog and eventually a stay at the Bordeaux vet hospital. So, this week’s newsletter is shorter than usual – as I’m behind on everything and shattered. The normal newsletter schedule and content will resume toute suite, promise!

The good news is Miss Romy will be ok. She’s now home, sporting a fetching buzzcut on her undercarriage and some questionable poodle-style trims on her front legs.

Blue green algae (cyanobacteria) is highly toxic and can be fatal to dogs within 15 minutes, and symptoms show up fast. It’s toxic to humans too but as we are less prone to licking ourselves clean, cases are thankfully rarer.  

The silver-lining to my near constant hovering over Romy was that I spotted signs of a different issue fairly early. Our first of three emergency vet visits was in the early hours (of course!) of Sunday morning, then again on Sunday evening, culminating in a rush to emergency at Aquivet Hospital in Bordeaux on Monday.

The symptoms were scarily similar. Three years ago, Romy was diagnosed with with acute liver failure after two weeks of vet visits. By the time we reached the vet hospital then, I was told she wouldn’t survive. It’s only thanks to some miracle, and the incredible Aquivet team, that she pulled through.

So, when she collapsed, lost bowel control and became increasing lethargic I wasn’t about to ‘wait and see’. Long story short(ish): Romy was stabilised and admitted to hospital, and I checked in to the Holiday Inn around the corner. Thankfully, it’s not her liver. Or her kidney (she only has one). She has a severe abdominal infection.

Why? What from? As often is the case, it’s an exclusion game. The internal specialist ruled out blue green algae and suspects the infection was already brewing before the river incident. We now just have to hope she continues responding well to treatment🤞 

As I write this, we’re back home and Romy is showing signs of improvement. Still fragile, but there was at least some tail-wagging today. So, the hunt is now on for the perfect muti-wrapping food treat! Current winners include cheese, smoked salmon and the MacDonalds of supermarket wet dog food!

With friends accompanying us on emergency visits and helping get us to the vet hospital, and more friends arriving for a visit from the UK via the dog-muti-wrapping aisle at the supermarket, I’m reminded (again) that life really does take a village. And I’m lucky we have ours 💕 

Antennae growth

Building the business series: vacation rentals as part of the Les P portfolio… 

Renting out any property, or even a part of it, to guests can be nerve-wracking. Will they be nice? Respectful? Easy to deal with? Will they actually like the place? As a host, you really want your guests to have a good experience (and for the place to be left in good condition!).

In my previous life in The Hague, I had experience both as a landlord and Airbnb host so when La Petite Maison renovation was completed (more on that, here) in early 2022, listing it via Airbnb, where I already had a five-star rating, was the easiest, and most obvious, choice.

One aspect I enjoy about hosting short-term vacation rentals is meeting new and interesting people. I’ve had some lovely guests stay over the years, both in Den Haag, and here in France. A few even keep in touch and read this newsletter : ) And, of course, generalisms aside, discretion assured.

It’s always good meeting people from all over the world – and funny how national stereotypes persist… especially in the fridge!

Back in The Hague, where guests typically stayed a minimum of a week, they made more use of the kitchen than guests tend to do here. The German guests (The Hague gets a lot of German tourists thanks to the beach) were reliably salami-focused – whether evident in the recycling, or in one case, by the entire supermarket’s selection left mostly unopened in the fridge. With the Swiss, it was cheese. Belgians, brought their own chocolate and the Americans – always, without fail, ice cream. While of course, the Dutch never left anything in the fridge – haha! (Not actually joking!).

So, 99% of my Airbnb experiences, both as a host and as a guest, have been positive. But there’s always that one percent, right?!

Over the years, I’ve developed fairly sharp antennae for tricky characters, odd requests and outright scams. I now tend to trust my initial gut instincts without question before accepting a booking. I once ignored every alarm bell going about a guest (my gut was practically screaming ‘no, don’t take the booking’) and I stupidly did. And it was a nightmare. Lesson learned.

Since I was living in La Petite Maison during the property-wide renovation, we’ve only just returned to the vacation rental market after an 18 month break. Alas, I’ve noticed those gut-alarm moments happening more frequently on our return to the market this year.

Anecdotal evidence suggests I’m not alone in this observation, with others who do Airbnb hosting, across a number of countries (so it’s not just France) corroborating this. It feels like there’s been a wider shift over the past couple of years, a kind of creeping individualism, a don’t-give-a-sod attitude that shows up in all sorts of small but telling ways.

Of course, I had another antennae-fail recently. So much for never trusting my booking-gut again! But despite that, I do like a good guest-absolutely-loves-it kind of stay, and recently there have been a few of those 😄 It reminds you that all your effort is worthwhile.

There was even the time when the guests were so lovely, we all just clicked instantly. They ended up joining for dinner three times during their week-long stay, we keep in touch, have seen each other a few times since and they continue to drop-by whenever they’re ‘nearby’ in Europe. New friends result!

NB: Looking to move off Airbnb entirely for next year, platform experiences / recommendations welcome.

More Snapshots of the Domaine Les Plonges ‘journey’ every edition. 

In 2026 Domaine Les Plonges (in its entirety) will be available for a limited number of weeks for exclusive private vacation rental. 

If you’d be interested in staying and would like to be notified of this limited availability, please register your interest via the button below.

Possibly you found your way here via Instagram? @domainelesplonges? If so, an extra Bienvenue! You’ll already know I love a good visual. So here I’ll share others and a little more context behind the images…

Whether it’s discovering unique work by artists and designers from near and far or rummaging through vide greniers, brocantes, and hidden treasure troves, I’m always on the lookout! I’ll be sharing my favourite artists, designers and sourcing spots here 😄 

Colour & pattern

Bold, colourful, patterned fabrics are definitely my thing, whether it’s fashion or interiors. With this property though I’ve gone for something of a departure: plain white walls (where they’re not exposed stone). Quite the anomaly compared to my usual interior choices! That means it’s up to the fabrics and tiles to bring the colour, and so far (I think!) they’re doing the heavy-lifting brilliantly.

I’ve also mentioned before how much I like a good deal (read the Warehouse Bonanza tale here). Since my favourite designs always seem to come with higher price tags 🤦‍♀️I’ve become something of a pro at sniffing out sample sales, end of line stock and online deals.

I’d started writing this piece (pre-vet visits) as a deep-dive into exactly where I find these gems, and I will be sharing the full run-down in the next edition. 

What trick do you use?

Simple:

• Please send your foolproof tips for getting dogs to take their medicines!

Why Subscribe, even though this Newsletter is free?

Simply put, for two key reasons:

1. Safety - it helps me know who’s reading.

2. Support - it plays a role in building the business side of Les Plonges.

There are free and paid subscription options: With a free subscription, you’ll receive a bi-monthly newsletter- just like this one, but different (obvs!) - every other Thursday. With a paid subscription, it’s not just more of the same, you’ll also receive a long list of additional stuff. More details here.

Whichever way you subscribe, I’m delighted to have you along for the adventure - thank you 💛

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