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Tag: holiday gite rental Provence
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17.05.2013
 15:45:44
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26.04.2013
14:23:25
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Our Carte Vitale (healthcare cards) have finally arrived after a year of paperwork, going backwards and forwards. Now I might be allowed to learn how to use the chainsaw but I doubt it. Thats another thing ticked off the list and now we are in the system its time to visit the dentist and Dr for those all important check ups etc. The pool has a new liner, filter and long overdue summer cover....now all we need is some decent weather to be able to make good use of it all. K2 is busy redoing all the solar heating pipes which is looking pretty impressive. Have no idea how he is planning to get it all onto the Pool Studio roof but I guess he has the figured out in his head. At least if we drop it trying to get it up there and injure ourselves we are covered for medical care....ha The 66th Cannes Film Festival is fast approaching. It starts on the 15 May and runs until the 26th and it totally takes over the town. This year around 200,000 people are expected but all the screenings and parties are for industry insiders only. But don´t despair there are a few things open to the public around town so if you are in the area make sure you check it out. You never know who you might come across. Theres nightly outdoor screenings of movies at Cinema de la Plage at Mace Beach starting at 9.30pm. No tickets are required and you can just turn up on the night. They even supply cushions and blankets at a cost I suspect. You´ll find whats showing on each night on the website below. Then the American Club of the Riviera will be hosting their annual Film Festival Lunch in Cannes. Its on May 18 at the Belle Plage Restaurant and I would think you would need to make a reservation for this. The film Festival will open with The Great Gatsby which will be shown in 3D. Steven Spielberg will chair the festival jury while French actress Audrey Tautou will preside over the opening and closing ceremonies. You can find out more information on the festival at www.festival-cannes.com And if you can´t make it why not come to Avignon to see the Rose festival at the Palais des papes running from 9-12 May. This year they will also be featuring Orchids. Theres something for adults and the children. More information available at www.alterarosa.com. We still have some accommodation available. Minimum stay 4 nights so why not make it a long weekend. Always something for everyone in Provence.
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07.04.2013
16:23:16
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Penny has started laying an egg a day so its scrambled eggs for dinner tonight. Henny and Lenny are still to produce. They seem well settled now and eating well so it shouldn't be long before its scrambled eggs for breakfast and dinner. They are getting more adventurous and starting to roam around the orchards. For the first week they stayed very close to home base. The weather seems to be a bit more settled and we are looking towards some nice days this coming week. We've opened the pool and its very clean although a bit to chilly for swimming. We are having a new liner and filter fitted in a couple of weeks time so after that we can start to heat it. It will take a couple of days to empty it and hopefully only a day to fit the new liner and then 2 or 3 days to fill. It will be worth the wait. We finished pruning the olive trees last week. We only have 3 but they were pretty big and well over due for a trim. If they are done properly they look really lovely. You need to cut out the middle and keep the top even. K2 did a fab job and getting them near perfect and once they new growth comes out they will look even better. It will make olive picking so much easier. We've planted most of the bedding plants and the potatoes are all in. Just need to do the herbs, lettuces and tomatos plus a couple of melon and courgette plants. The gardens are ready so its matter of getting to a garden centre to get the plants. A good time to be planting while theres still some rain around and plenty of sunshine. Theres nothing better than eating tomatos straight from the vine ! Hopefully this year will be as good as the previous two years.
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30.03.2013
15:57:58
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People passionate about history, theatre and opera won’t want to miss the Festival d’Avignon during July - http://www.festival-avignon.com, a tour through the Palais des Papes or the spectacular light show during August and September - www.lesluminessences-avignon.com or the Choregies d’Orange at the Theatre Antique in nearby Orange - www.choregies.fr/en/ And if cycling is more your thing then don’t miss the 100th Tour de France which will be heading up the legendary hill climb of Mt Ventoux – www.letour.com
If you just simply want to experience a local fete than why not try
La Fête de la Fraise, 8 May, Velleron (Strawberry Festival)
All this plus so much more on our very own doorstep. Don’t take to long to think about booking your trip. Accommodation during the height of the season July and August rents out well in advance.
If you want to know please do email us.
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23.03.2013
14:45:31
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We collected our 3 new hens this morning to replace the ones we lost to the fox before Xmas. Henny, Penny and Lenny and they seem happy to be here. They will be confined to home base for a couple of days until they get used to their surroundings and me and then we'll start to let them out during the day to play in the orchard. They seem happy and healthy and chatty. Roll on fresh eggs now - there's such a flavour difference in home grown versus's shop eggs. We've also noticed that the frogs have returned to the pond. Last year we counted 30 in May, yesterday I counted 6 so still plenty of room for the others. I have no idea where they go over winter. They just appear in spring and come autumn they head out. Must be under the cover of darkness. We've also heard and spotted the little green tree frogs. We saw Mum and her Baby at the pool area yesterday. With all the new blossoms and creatures around it really does feel like Spring although the weather is not to pleasing at present. Grey with showers for the next couple of days. Good for the weeds and gardens we've just finished planting but not so good for our guests. This morning we went walking up in the Mongtagnette taking with us a friends two dogs. When I was there in January I spotted what I thought were big spider nests in the pine trees. There were hundreds of them dotted around. I never thought much about them and then today we noticed on the tracks lines and circles of caterpillars. After taking a nest apart we found them full of caterpillars so the first thing we did when we got home we goggled to find out more and what a shock we got - I have cut and paste below what we found out. They are called pine processionary caterpillar (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) During late winter/early spring they will be coming out of pine trees and forming conspicuous snakelike lines which is exactly what it looked like. I was annoyed I did not have my camera with me.
They will not be far from a pine tree. One of the first signs to be aware of is their white silken nests attached to a branch tip, these become most obvious around December to March which is what I thought were spider nests. As a moth it has no means of causing us harm, it is only during its development as a caterpillar that you need to be cautious of this small creature. The moths seek out pine trees in the warm summer nights, lay clusters of eggs on the pine needles and so the process begins. There are 5 instars or growth stages to these caterpillars, where they gorge on pine needles, shed their skins and double in size. This growth occurs during the winter when they disperse through the tree at night to feed, thereby avoiding predation, and collect in communal nests by day to increase their warmth and ability to digest. The white candyfloss like nests are cleverly positioned for maximum sunshine. By February these nests can be looking a bit dishevelled, this is because a nest may hold around 300 caterpillars and with no single entrance hole they push their way through the layers, the green bits collecting at the base and falling to the ground beneath are excrement.
The time for them to leave the nest in preparation for the next part of their lifecycle varies with temperature, spanning from January in warmer areas to April in the cool of the mountains, with a few even falling from the trees during windy weather. It is as they leave the trees that most people and pets come into contact with the caterpillars, sometimes with very painful consequences. They are the only caterpillar here to form a long chain, touching nose to tail. This snake-like procession is a real giveaway as to their identity. The line may stretch for a metre or two but if disturbed there could be several smaller groups and scattered individuals. (Each being around 3 to 4cm long). They have gone through a long feeding phase and will now search for a suitable place to burrow underground where they will undergo major changes, from caterpillar through to a moth - without nourishment. The danger that they pose to humans and animals is a very simple defence mechanism designed to stop them from becoming a meal themselves. Each caterpillar is covered with tiny barbed hairs, it is these which do us harm. They are constantly being dropped throughout its time as a caterpillar. They are too tiny to see, but cover the branches of the tree where the creatures have been feasting and of course the nests are loaded with them. They are even in the air around a heavily infested tree. When humans come into contact with these hairs, they can cause reactions ranging from mild inflammation and irritation to severe anaphylactic shock. If the hairs contact your skin a rash soon forms which can be incredibly itchy, painful and lasts for as much as three weeks. Luckily for us we used sticks to move them around to try and see if they would form back into a line. We did open a nest but with a stick again to have a peek but after seeing them inside put it back on the tree thinking they were harmless and would turn into pretty butterflies ! Very very interesting and the things we learn when living here. Glad we are only surrounded by pretty in blossom fruit trees. We only have the one pine tree and we will be checking it very carefully for any signs of nests so we can spray to avoid them forming. You can rest easy that they won't be checking into Mas Saint Antoine at anytime soon !!
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22.02.2013
14:15:44
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MARSEILLE is just €10 from But SNCF exploded pre-launch expectations of tickets at €25 by revealing it would sell 400,000 tickets at just €10 with another one million for sale at €25. Fares would range up to €85 but it is targeting families with under-12s costing just €5.Groups of more than four can get tickets at €20, bookable two weeks before travel. Just weeks ago SNCF hailed its two billionth TGV passenger since it launched in 1981 but company president Guillaume Pepy said it carried just 300,000 TGV passengers a day compared to 10 million passengers round the world. He said SNCF needed “to make travel cheaper for people”.Part of his answer lies in the remodelled and stripped-down sky-blue and mauve Ouigo TGV carriages. They have no bar (to fit in extra passengers) and have 1,268 seats - up from 1,000 in a classic double-decker TGV. However, from April 1 the low-cost service makes travel to Marseille much cheaper than car, plane ... or train as it is one seventh the cost of a normal TGV.Add in the cost of the €7-€8 fare of the minimum 45-minute journey from Paris to Marne-la-Vallée and the €10 Ouigo compares to a TGV Loisir journey costing €72, Ryanair €40 and car-share €50. SNCF also has the TGV Prem's ticket at €25 and the idTGV at €19 but these have restrictions Its nice to see things coming down in price rather than increasing. We think it will have success but maybe more for the locals as the desitantions are not always where the tourists want to go but saying that always worth checking it out. Bon weekend everyone Keryn
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15.02.2013
16:20:22
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But along with the sun came the Mistral. We've been busy in the gardens getting them ready to plant in the spring. I spent a couple of days cleaning and sorting out the grass garden. I finally got it all planted and then had to unload two trailer loads of gravel- I certainly deserved my glass of wine that night. Its a very simple looking but very effective garden and you''ll just have to come visit to see it. Theres still a bit of colour to be added but basically its finished. We had a day off for Valentines yesterday and enjoyed a stroll around Avignon before going to see the movie Lincoln. There is always some changes going on in Avignon and we found a cute little cupcake cafe that also serves bagels, one of my favourite lunch time meals. We had already eaten so its on the list for next time. If you are a Nespresso fan like us then you'll be pleased to hear that Avignon has a new Nespresso shop that opens on the 23 Feb. It looks really big so we can't wait to pop back for a visit. We were surprised to see how big it was as they have down sized all the ones in Marseille to self service like many shops or large departmet stores are doing now. For those of you taking note of the horsemeat Tesco scandel there was an article in one of the papers today that I get on line. The french meat processing company Spanghero has had its license suspended pending further investigation. The government believe that 750 tonnes of horsemeat was labelled as beef over a period of 6 months. Its reported that Spanghero import it from Romania and have been relabelling before selling it on. Apparently they have made over a half of a million Euro in profit to date. I guess further information will come out soon. Horse meat is one of the things I do refuse to buy here and I can't even stand looking at the horse butchers vans in the markets. I know meats meat and I guess if someone served it up without me knowing then I would eat it but just the thought after having horses during my childhood. I've only just go used to eating Thumper so it will be a while before Neddy is on my menu !
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08.02.2013
16:59:46
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It was estimated that 100,000 people watched the opening evening. The city has invested about a billion euros in preparations,largely in the city centre infrastructure -sprucing up the old port area, renovations to museums and new facilties. The city and surrounding area of Provence will host more than 400 cultural events this year, including sixty art exhibtions. It is hoped there will be around 12 million visitors - double the usual amount. And what a grand job they have done. We braved the 100km knot gusts of the mistral on Saturday to have a walk around the Port area. The museums due to be open next month are quite spectacular and the whole port area leading back into the city is so much cleaner and a lovely attraction to Marseille. They have really done a fantastic job and it will benefit the area in years to come. On the Sunday we went for a look around the oldest and largest tobacco factory in France which is no longer used. its been turned into a restaurant(where we had lunch - lovely food), theatres, studios, book shop and a skate rink for the children. Obviously a popular place as it was heaving with families on Sunday. If you are reading this and thinking about coming to France but want to have someone to show you around etc we highly recommend Corinne Thomson of VM Travel Adventures. Corinne has been bringing groups here for the past 12 years as well as touring other countries and you are always guaranteed of a great time. This year she is planning a trip in the fall "Along the Impressionist Path" including taking in Paris and Provence. We start at Renoir’s Les Collettes near Nice on the Cotes d’Azur. We then nestle into Mas Saint Antoine,a 300 year old country home just south of Avignon to experience the brilliant colours of Provence. Enjoy the market of St. Remy before visiting Van Gogh’s “Hotel Dieu”and follow his footsteps through Arles and Stes. Maries de la Mer. Cézanne’s studio in Aix and Mte. Ste Victoire are a short drive away. Roman ruins and cliff top village are in abundance as Corinne leads you down the “impressionist path” in Provence. Ahh Paris! Spending time in the cafes of Montmartre where these renegade artists got their start; the Musée d’ Orsay and Musée Marmottan as well as breathtaking Monet’s Garden in Giverny. If this is of interest then do contact her through www.customwinetours.com - you won't be dissapointed.
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01.02.2013
17:35:58
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Its no wonder our bulbs are so confused but we are thankful we are not getting the same weather patterns as the UK. This week has been lovely and sunny with temps around 16-19 but the mistral is set to show its ugly face tomorrow and we will get a few days around 6-8 but still sunny. It was good while it lasted and we made the most of it by doing some serious pruning out in the gardens today. Still a ot to do but we've made a start. Its been nice working outside in the fresh warm air. We are heading to Marseille tomorrow to the big city for a couple of days to check out all the changes. It is the city of cultural this year and they have made lots of changes around the port area to move the traffic out. We shall see. Exciting news ahead for us - Air France joins the budget flights battle. Its launching a series of low cost fares in Europe and around the Mediterranen but not to the UK as yet. So far only 3 airports offer the international mini rates being Marseille, Nice and Toulouse with most desitantions at E80 one way, Moscow E110 and Te Aviv E140. Lets hope the look into the UK airports soon as we're struggling to find any flights out of Provence at this time of year that we don't have to take out a mortgage to pay for. Watch this space or watch Air France's space !
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25.01.2013
18:04:04
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thanks to one greedy fox who decided to have an early dinner. Sadly for Maggie who had already returned to the hutch for the night has lost her mates, bruceski, shuffler and Joany. Maggie has now been rehomed with some friends who have a large enclosure of hens, pigs and geese and is settling into her new life. No more omelettes or scrambled eggs for us until we purchase a new lot early Spring. Well....its been painting, tiling, building, cleaning, painting, tiling, cleaning for us these past 3 months as we undertake major renovations in the Mas (main house). The new kitchen and dining area has been completed and we are now working on refreshing the lounge area. Its been a mild winter so far and was sunny over Xmas and New Year. The bulbs are all starting to poke their heads out of the ground and we just hope that we don't get the same two weeks of extremely cold weather as we did last year which froze most of the bulbs in pots. But we can't complain really about our weather. We'd rather be here than in the UK at present. At least we have sunshine and even tho its only around 8-10 at present we can still venture out when we want to. .
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12.05.2012
15:13:17
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Actually they are what I would call Chooks - thats kiwi slang for you. We got four of them last Saturday and they are just wonderful and so easy to train. It can often take them a while to settle in and start laying but so far we are getting 2 eggs a day so at least two of them are pretty relaxed. The eggs are small but an eggs an egg - right !. I've managed so far to keep them at their end of the property and they are starting to understand that the gites are for guests and not to be used for them to party at. We've named them after our parents which we're not sure whether they are happy about or not. Each has their own personality and will come running or flying when I call for them - of course I think it has something to do with the food in my hand and boy do they like their food. I think I am now going to be known as the crazy chicken lady as I walk around calling our chook chook chook in the mornings and afternoons. Come vist us to meet them !
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14.04.2012
14:39:27
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A YEAR OF vastly reduced rainfall means France is already feeling the effects of drought with water restrictions in eight departments.Hopes for increased rain during the past autumn and winter came to nothing and, nationally, France is now 25% below normal rainfall levels - with the Hérault hardest hit at 90% down and the prefecture reporting water courses at low levels normally only seen in June or July. Only the region Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur saw normal rains.Water and weather experts have met industry groups in the Commission de Suivi Hydrologique at the Ecology Ministry to look into the problem as the rain deficit hit levels not seen since 2005.The déficit pluviométrique in 2005 reached 26%, which was, however, still short of 1973 when it reached 28% and 1989 when it hit 29%. Farming groups are worried that the lack of rain will hit this year's grain harvest, with a reduced wheat crop in what is Europe's leading wheat-growing country.The rural life group Confédération Paysanne has called on the government to take urgent measures to help.Ecology Ministry officials - there has been no Ecology Minister since Nathalie Koscuisko-Morizet quit to become spokesman for President Sarkozy's election campaign - said the west of the country was hardest hit and the situation was "worrying" without being "alarming". Even recent heavy rains across the country will do little to help as they will not soak down into the depleted aquifers and will be taken up by surface crops.The Commission de Suivi Hydrologique said the lack of rain in the south-west was near the lowest on record for the past 50 years, hitting 35% in Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse is also badly hit with rain levels reduced by 60%.In Hérault and Loire-Atlantique water usage has been restricted but there are restrictions on taking water from rivers, streams and aquifers in eight departments. Departments affected by restrictions are: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Eure-et-Loir, Gard, Hérault, Seine-et-Marne, Deux-Sèvres, Tarn, Vienne and Essonne.The departments of Ardèche, Ile-et-Vilaine, Lozère and Pyrénées-Orientales have been put on alert.Details of the precise areas with restrictions are available on the Propluvia website available through this link.
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09.03.2012
12:56:41
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Its still windy and we still have no rain. The blossoms are starting to come out and rather than talk about the moles that refuse to leave our gardens I thought I would give you some info about a new law just out on driving in France. Don't panic yet as it does not take affect until 1 July but they are giving us a period of grace until 1 November - plenty of time to get organised. DRIVERS and motorcyclists will be obliged to carry a breath test in their vehicles from July 1 after the publication of the new law in the Journal Officiel.
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18.02.2012
11:32:28
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How exciting, our little village is getting an ice cream parlour......it could take them a couple of years to build it (nothing happens very quickly around here) but I am sure if it is like Isabellas in Isle Sur la Sourge it will be fantastic. We walked past where its going to be today and the building signs are already up....Fingers crossed it won't take to long..... Can you tell we're excited !
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17.02.2012
17:56:44
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After complaining last week of horrid weather this week we are back where we should be, in the positives. Its been a busy week as the pipes start to defrost. We've had a few leaks to contend with and luckily only one of those inside a gite. We managed to catch it before to much damage was done. While K2 has been busy fixing all the pipes I've spent the past 4 days in the gardens taking apart and making new ones. I must say its felt like going 10 rounds in a boxing ring but the outcome has been most pleasing. I decided after last years hot weather to try and minimise having so many pots around so I have three new gardens now. They are all ready for spring planting for summer colour. The long term forecast is for the weather to continue to improve so hopefully it won't be long until we see the blossoms on the fruit trees. The evenings are getting longer and we had a beautiful sunset at 6.30 tonight, a very bright orange.
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10.02.2012
19:54:43
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Thanks to the Mistral wind we have had some extremely cold weather these past 10 days. So much that we have only had a couple of days above 0. Pipes have frozen and its been touch and go getting water out of the bores. The sun has been shining but with the wild wind gusting upto 100kms you need at least 6 layers on to even venture outside. We've managed when the days have been a little warmer to do some more of the cutting back in the gardens and orchards before spring arrives which looking at the long term forecast could be a ways off yet. The fish pond is thick with ice and strong enough to stand both our weights so we took a bit of time out to have some fun and practise curling. Check out K2, he knows all the moves.....he watches far to much TV! Even the local canals are iced up and the ducks are walking rather than swimming on them. The sad thing is that there have already been 8 deaths due to this harsh weather. We even heard today that earlier this week some companies weren't even open due to it being so cold. Where else in the world would that happen ! But don't panic if you are hoping to head to Provence this summer, some say it means a long hot summer. We will see.
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31.01.2012
15:31:16
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We've just spent a glorious 2 months down under in our home country of New Zealand with stop overs in Perth and Singapore. We had a wonderful time and although it was not a hot summer like we experience here in the South of France it was still nice to see the sun and enjoy the warmth. I never make New Years resolutions as I am one for breaking them but I have made a list of must do's this year and one of them is to write to our blog more often than not. So do check back here now and then to see whats happening at Mas Saint Antoine. Our wonderful guardians, ex guests, now good friends left a couple of days ago after looking after the Mas and our cat Poodle whislt we were away. Over the whole two months they were here they had only 1 day of rain. We arrived back to what felt more like spring than winter but that soon changed. Today we woke up to rain and then it was snowing although it was to wet for it to settle and make the place look white. We are expecting very cold temps over the coming days, around -10 due to the mistral arriving. But we hope to still see the sun. Theres much work to be done in the gardens before we open up. Hope you all had a happy Xmas and New Year as we did and WATCH THIS SPACE or should I say WATCH THIS BLOG
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01.04.2011
20:44:03
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We've got a busy couple of weeks ahead with guests comig and going, some new and some repeats. Always lovely to see people returning. We decided to open the pool today as the weather is so nice and its much prettier sitting out there without the old winter cover on. No frogs or any other creepy crawlys in the bottom of the pool. Got the pool robot R3D3 working overtime cleaning the bottom and sides, he does such a good job . Probably a little on the cool side to be swimming but its looks so lovely. Have some children arriving in a weeks time and if the weather keeps up I am sure they will be taking a dip. They don't feel the cold like us oldies...ha ha
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19.03.2011
15:08:54
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I know I was bragging a couple of weeks back about spring being here, well, someone then sent us 4 solid days of rain ! Just what the gardens needed but not quite that much. We are back into sunshine and warm temps again but have the mistral which is doing a good job of drying everything out. Our season has started and we have some lovely guests staying at present, even our first dog, Hanna - a 6 mnth old newfoundland and such a darling. All the bulbs are starting to flower and look lovely although the wind is knocking them about a bit. The tree frogs are showing themselves, the fish have come to the top of the pond and are now wanting food and I counted over 12 frogs this morning, there was only 2 a week back. They have laid plenty of eggs so it won't be long before the fish are sharing their home with tadpoles. We've started planting and have some potatoes, strawberries, lettuces, garlic, ginger, basil and an avocado all in the ground and pots. The ginger, garlic and avocado are a first but will give them a go.
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26.02.2011
17:55:56
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We are off to Cannes tomorrow for a couple of days R&R before the season kicks in. Our first guests who have been here for a week will leave tomorrow.
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We've got blossoms on the fruit trees in the orchards. Makes from some wonderful photos. My bulbs have all poked their heads up and the first daffidil is just about out. I can see the yellow but its yet to show its face fully. The weather is lovely and sunny but again next week it will drop down to around 10 for a few days. You get a nice week of 14-17 then it drops back to 10.Page 1 of 2
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