Do you ever think about selling the house, the cars, the furniture and sailing off to exotic places in a small boat? The sun is setting, a gentle breeze rustles the palm trees. But there's also that sinking feeling as you discover that your retirement nest egg is again worth less than it was last week and a paycheck is a thing of the past. That gentle breeze is supposed to turn into a gale tomorrow (but it will probably happen at midnight) and your boat would look out of place between those two umbrellas on the beach. Then your wife decides that she would much rather be planting wisteria than varnishing teak. So you take another leap into the financial abyss and buy an old farm in France (the romance just continues!) and spend half time there and half time on the boat. Life is a small southern French agricultural village has a charm all its own, but you're clearly not in Kansas anymore. This book is a collection of amusing tales of contrasting cultures and lifestyles.