The following links are to photos of the interior and exterior of the house. Each of the links on this page lead directly to an image that will load into your browser. Once you have looked at the image enough, you will have to use your browser's Back button or command to get back to this page. These pages are still being worked on.
Around the fire place, this more recent picture shows some of the recent furnishing additions, while the earlier picture shows more of the area around the stone fireplace, beneath the wooden chalet-style loft. Picture a cozy evening around the fire, or reading a book on the couch in the full light on the loft level. We hope you noticed the rich ceramic tile floors and the airy open feeling rendered by the 18 foot high ceilings in this part of the house.
Adjoining the living room is the dining room , with its large solid oak dining table (seats 8 with the extensions) with lots of room around it for comfortable, lingering meals.
From the walk out glass door next to the dining room, you can see a part of the patio, which has an overhang to protect from the high Provencal sun, you can look out over the side yard to the enclosed bar-b-que hut. Picture yourself enjoying a meal in the open air - either lunch in the cool shade or dinner in the warm twi-light - during the summer the sun does not set until after 09:00 (21:00 en Europe).
There is a walk out from the area next to the fire place as well, with more of the side patio out from there.
The master bedroom has a view of the side yard as well. The side yard is very private - that hedge (cedar and other trees, plus a 4 foot high rosemary bush) is over 15 feet high. Talk about fresh herbs! And did you know that dill and tyme grow wild along country roadsides in Provence?
From the side yard, looking back at the patio, you get a sense of how sheltered the side of the house is.
The kitchen is fully equipped (we like to cook, so we made sure everything we want when we cook is there) and includes a dishwasher, a combination gas and electric cooking surface (the norm for Europe,) and an electric oven with convection and rotisserie functions. The fridge is large by European standards, but not the size North Americans are used to. That is a good thing - it encourages you to get out and buy fresh every few days, yet still has enough room to chill white and rose wines, and beer. (You didn't know France has great beers?)
Notice the rustic atmosphere created by the exposed wood beams and the stucco walls.
From the breakfast nook next to the kitchen (which has a table which seats 4,) you can look out the window out the front of the house to see, beyond the foot of the drive, the valley and the ridge beyond. You see here the front yard, which is at a different level than the side yard. This picture also shows more of the hedging around the property (and yes, that is lavender growing in the flower bed just outside the window. We are in Provence, n'est-ce pas?)
From the other side of the town where the house is, looking back at its central area, you can see that you are in a quiet, country side area, yet only about 8 kilometers away from a population centre of about 18,000 people with lots of shopping, cafes and other services. Beyond that, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Nimes, and many other places are within a comfortable (less than 2 hour) drive.
The village on whose outskirts the house sits has a cafe (don't all french towns?), a well-stocked grocery store, and a shop in which you can get bread and other pastry items. We have not found out yet if the local wine co-operative offers at the door sales. Just behind the house is a vineyard.
We hope you enjoyed looking at a few of the pictures of our little bit of the french countryside.
Of general information, the house has three bedrooms (one with a queen-sized bed, one with a double bed and one with two twin beds). There is a large washroom with a shower and a two-sink vanity, and a separate toilet room. There is a washing machine for clothes in a laundry-room like area, and a line outside for air-drying clothes.
Want to know more about renting this little bit of France, so you can write your own "Period of time in Provence"?
Last updated: 18-Feb-2000
