Our group, a grandmother, daughter and granddaughter spent a week at Gijs and Karin’s larger gîte, Les Cèpes. We had chosen to stay at their property, Les Girolles, as we wanted a beautiful and peaceful place to recover from our long voyage from Canada and the resulting jet lag.
We couldn’t have been luckier on all fronts. The gîte was a big, beautiful, sympathetically converted, terrifically outfitted barn. There is a BBQ terrace and outdoor eating area just off the side doors. A few feet away from there is the very tempting, big, beautiful (heated!) swimming pool, framed by tall and perfectly trimmed hedges. Beside a nearby bamboo grove , is also an outdoor ping-pong table and trampoline which we also enjoyed.
During the day, all we heard was the sound of songbirds and by night, all we saw were stars. The owners’ free range chickens (who provided us with delicious eggs upon our arrival) added life and interest to the place.
Best of all however, is the couple who have owned the property for over a dozen years. Everything is beautifully kept by them inside and out and they truly want to share Les Girolles, the place they found and fostered, with their guests. They are kind, generous, educated and interesting people who could not do enough for us during our stay. Our highlight was being invited by Karin to join her and her dog Maya mushroom picking in their nearby forest! She even brought my daughter and I two pairs of their own Wellington boots to borrow while on the hunt!
One week went by too quickly and we decided before we even left that we will return next summer but this time for two weeks.