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SuSu Janney moved to France, became ‘Gabrielle,’ met a European Baron and has lived happily ever since on their estate.
Little girl fantasies of marrying European Royalty and living a romantic dream for life are usually just that: fantasies.
For Susan (SuSu) Janney, that scenario is more than just a movie. It is her life.
The Roanoke native and her partner, Belgium baron Guy Fallon, have been together now for about a quarter of a century and they run the estate Moulin de la Roque in Provence. It is a large estate, once an old flour mill dating to the 15th century.
“On the property,” says Janney, “there is the manor house or chateau, where we live, and many other buildings that once served the old mill. Guy created charming homes out of each and today we have nine different lodgings, all private from one another, all completely equipped with kitchens, living and dining areas and private terraces, while keeping all the old beams, stone and Old-World charm.” The mill remains for guest tours.
They have regular guests, but most guests visit as the result of referrals or internet searches (www.moulindelaroque.com).
SuSu, 65, who adopted the French name “Gabrielle” (or the shortened “Gaby”) some years ago, met Guy, 67, through a set of unlikely circumstances that would actually make a pretty good movie. She was a high-level corporate professional in the U.S. when she became ill with an autoimmune condition, some of which persists. She took up painting for her mental and physical health.
She received an unexpected invitation to join a group for a workshop in Provence and on the spur of the moment accepted. “I met Guy on that trip staying on his estate with 20 other artists,” she says. “We stayed for two weeks, painting and visiting sites. Unfortunately, I made it but my luggage did not and for two weeks I had one pair of turquoise pants, undergarments and a t-shirt, all of which I washed daily.”
At the time, Guy was the divorced father of three. An engineer, Guy was a former executive for Petrofina (now Total), which moved oil around the world. He had moved to Provence for a two-year sabbatical, which became permanent. “When I met him,” says Gaby, “he was living alone with his kids, farming acres of vineyards and quince orchards and starting this business of renovating all the old buildings that once served the old flour mill into guest cottages for tourists.” He tried farming with little success and was renovating the large house.
Guy, noting Gaby’s lost luggage and that she was wearing the same clothes day after day, took her to town for some shopping. It was not love at first sight, as in the fantasy. “It grew over time,” says Gaby. “We were older and wiser and had already had marriage/relationships that didn’t work out, so we took our time.”
They had a language gap of sorts for some time until she decided to attend the Sorbonne in Paris, where she became fluent in French. (She says Richard Cormett, a high school French teacher in Roanoke, became her French teacher after she moved to France and before she attended the Sorbonne.)
Their estate features an old “manor house or chateau, where we live, and many other buildings that once served the old mill.
Rentals are relatively inexpensive, says Gaby. “We rent farmhouses on our estate year-round to clients from around the world who wish to visit Provence. Most of our clients are regulars who come back year after year. We also have quite a large percentage of guests that come upon referrals from others who have stayed with us. It snowballs from there.
“We have different tariffs depending on the season, the lowest being in winter, early spring and late fall, and the highest in summer. In high season rental rates range from 1,350 Euros weekly for a two-bedroom apartment to 3,600 Euros weekly for a five-bedroom, four-bath house. Everything else is in-between.”
It’s been quite a run. Says Gaby, “If somebody would have suggested [marrying European royalty and living on an estate] when I was growing up, I would have believed them. I was always a dreamer. I believe that good things happen to good people and that life is always full of surprises. I took up painting for my health and relaxation, and this break in my career brought me to France and my life today.”
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