Home Away From Home

Because this is being written entirely after the fact, some of the details may be blurred. I had good intentions of blogging during the trip but it didn't happen.

The original part of the house was constructed in the 1300's so the walls are mostly stone with some plaster and the ceiling have massive wooden beams.
Many of the steps were hand hewn stone thus very uneven giving pause to this grandmother about small children going up and down them. The current owners, a British couple form Leeds, bought the property about twenty-five years ago and set about restoring the very decrepit building. The story goes that they and their seven children would come from England and actually camp out on the premises through the years as the work progressed.

Probably the oldest part of the house is what is now a modern kitchen/keeping room, an adjacent wide hall, two bedrooms and two baths. The ceilings in these spaces are of standard height; floors are stone tile, the walls thick and cold and the keeping room has a spacious fireplace large enough for a man to stand upright. The owners have installed a wood burning stove in the fireplace and added radiators for additional heat.

I would have paid a tidy sum to have known how to turn on the heat but the fires that were built in the "stove" did help. The kitchen included a six burner gas stove, dishwasher and typical European refrigerator and washing machine. The best feature for our family was the table that sat twelve. Perfect!

The house was loaded with interesting art pieces so the most fragile ones were removed and replaced in the niches with numerous bottles of wine. The windows were closed with heavy wooden shutters as were the glass doors on the premises.

Up a couple of stone steps from the kitchen, one reached a large hallway that led both to the walled garden and a fairly steep stone stairway that led to the next level.

The steps led to a landing and a small play area for the children complete with, presumably, grandchildren's toys. This proved a blessing for Roby, Rider and Canon.

Off the landing, one moved into a massive hallway with twenty foot ceilings and a very tall, wooden stairway to yet another level. Off this area was an extremely large living room with another huge fireplace, which we never used.
Above the fireplace a ubiquitous medieval tapestry was hung that immediately captured Roby's attention. After studying it for a few moments she declared,
" Mimi, all the princesses' are dead but I'm not sure about the unicorns." She was quite taken with "dead princesses" and often mentioned them during our stay.

To the right of the hallway, there was a door that led to an obviously old wooden stairway that took us to our room. Because it was a challenge to choose a safe spot for Roby and Rider, we chose a room with the shared bath and put the children in the other bedroom. As "gatekeepers" we could keep them corralled, give their parents a break from some of the childcare duties and reminisce about the days of raising our own children. The downside was the lack of a nightlight and none to purchase so we had to leave the bathroom light on all night.

On the level at which our stairwell began, there was a half bath, a small bedroom with twin beds and a large den/library...yet more space we didn't occupy. Through the den was another bedroom and bath and the second kitchen. No wonder the hosts said to come and bring the family. There was ample room for several more.

In the hall and up the spiraling wooden stairway was a big landing with two more bedrooms and en suite bathrooms. Betsy and Steve and Sylvia and Josh occupied these rooms with Baby Canon on a cot in his parents' room. The rooms were appointed with lovely antique furniture and spacious modern baths though not supplied with washcloths nor bars of soap. I was aware to take those two items along to the traditional European hotels but surprised they weren't in the house. No problem though, the Super U had both and I was able to refit the bath before the kids arrived. A hairdryer was also purchased and left for the next guests.

As lovely as the house was and as eccentric as the art pieces were, my favorite feature was the outdoor space. A perfect enclosed garden with its covered terrace, frog pond and fourteenth century stone oven were as charming as could be imagined.

We spent many hours with the children playing in the space and had a memorable feast one evening that Josh prepared utilizing the oven. 

The story was related that the oven had been used, in times past, to bake bread for the entire village. 

When we could carve out time, the garden proved a lovely space in which to sun and read. 

On the other side of the house was an expansive terrace and adjoining it was the saltwater pool complete with multi-leveled decks overlooking the fields and hillsides. 

All of the adults gathered quite frequently around the wrought iron table for drinks, hors d'oeuvres, or a smoke. 

Canon mostly used the area for picking up the pebbles from the terrace and depositing them in whatever containers were available. Toward the front of the house there was a grassy area with a swing set and a separate space where the children discovered and picked cherries. It was an idyllic spot.

The house itself was set amidst vistas of farmland, pasture and rolling hills. Our closest neighbors included a friendly, braying donkey and a small herd of cows. Not much action on the rural road past the house but only about ten minutes to a town. 

If the weather had been a bit more cooperative, we would have used the pool more but we were thankful that the last few days proved to be just warm enough for Betsy and the children to brace themselves and take a dip. The rest of the stay was primarily sunny but required at least a sweater or light jacket for comfort. Every time the sun appeared, we quickly washed clothes and hung them out to dry!

To overcome the absence of internet and television, Betsy and Joshua, who needed to monitor work activities, quickly ascertained that the McDonald's in Albi offered free wifi. They, along with Steve, made several trips into town but, for me, no TV, internet and newspapers was a respite from the world.

We certainly offer Bill and Jane ( whomever they are ) our hearty thanks for sharing their very special place with us and we are thankful we did no harm...possibly a minor miracle.