We appreciate the many wonderful entries made by our visitors in the Guest Book, but this recent email is perhaps the most eloquent description of a stay at L'Ourdissoir....so far!

Now that we have been back in Florida for a few weeks and are feeling refreshed, revitalized, and invigorated by our trip to Provence, we wanted you and Claude to know how much our stay at your lovely cottage enhanced our entire experience.

The cottage itself was a delight in every respect -- everything worked and functioned, the pellet stove warmed the evenings, the furnishings and accoutrements added to our comfort, and the place had the feel, the ambience, of rural Provence.

Your helpfulness in sorting out places to eat and visit was invaluable and we very much enjoyed the shared books and conversations.  You were thoughtful to include us with your other guests for a delightful and informative evening...and our own discussions during our "apéritif" enriched our knowledge of the area, France, and the life you both have chosen to live.

More difficult to describe is how fully engaged in the present, in the moment, we were during our stay.  We had wanted a change from routine, family issues, concerns about everything from the middle east to our own unemployment rate, in order to gain some perspective.  Our two weeks with you, wandering the countryside, buying provisions, visiting the bookstore, and sitting in the cafe in Banon, day trips to Simiane-la-Rotonde, Sault, Roussillon, Apt and Cereste, Forcalquier and the lovely hill towns to the east, more than fulfilled our expectations.

It was as if for those two weeks, we truly were living a different kind of life, reminding us of the pleasures of so many other similar adventures over our many decades of travel. We have returned to our other life both stimulated and relaxed, thankful that we can still enjoy this kind of adventure, traveling for five weeks while discovering new places, people, and historical treasures, rich art, excellent food and wine.

Finally, the gardens and grounds afforded us privacy and lovely settings in which to eat and read while looking at the hills and lovely Saumane. Our walks along such beautiful lanes on the road to nowhere provided the ideal contrast to the world that surrounds us here in North Florida. We love where we live, near the Atlantic Ocean, amenities nearby, lovely gardens and palms, but we wanted something truly different...and our stay with you at L'Ourdissoir helped to make this one of the happiest trips or our lives, trips that began over 55 years ago.