French Vacation Rentals

Liesa and Carl Blond Mas Puech Long 30420 Calvisson FRANCE

Letter from Liesa (written when we just bought the French farmhouse resort property)

We finally found a new home with lots more space and a place for horses like we wanted. It is the Mas Puech Long, located on the edge of the picture postcard village of Calvisson, where the Languedoc meets Provence at the foothills of the Cévennes Mountains. We signed the compromis de vente (the most important document in the procedure to buy a house in France) last week.

Besides our little compound of 12 hectares, we are surrounded by vineyards in every direction as far as you can see. There are even some ruins around to discover - some from the Roman times 2,000 + years old, and others only a few hundred years old.

A great surprise bonus is that there are six gîtes/vacation rentals on the property. This has been a dream of mine - to have a steady stream of guests that I can introduce to my corner of France. I am already putting together my information packs expaining all that there is to do in the area.

The place has a pool, but we are upgrading it by heating the pool, installing decking around the pool, and installing a nice iron fence meeting the latest safety standards. We are also installing a place to play boules, and are looking into buying some more mountain bikes to rent because the area is just so perfect for biking through the trails all around. We have arranged with two professional bike tour guides to do bike tours in the area, as well, at an additional charge that will go to them. Watch for more specifics to appear on the site soon.

We have found a wonderful Frenchman who is a lifetime gardener, and who is planning our oversized vegetable and herb garden that will be for all of our guests to use as they want for food while on the property. Tomatoes of many varieties, herbs, lettuces, peppers, eggplants, zucchini, French green beans, strawberries, and a few surprises.

Right now the place is owned by a family who breeds pure blood arabian horses, some of which compete in the endurance races. We are buying some gentle trail horses and ponies, and trying to convince the family to let us buy their Provençal donkey named Lilli.

As a brocanteur, I adore the charm of French brocante (antiques), and am anxious to use some of my stock of antique French iron beds, daybeds, and garden furniture to add even more charm to all of the rental properties. My best friend here is a designer, so she has agreed to help me to get them guest-ready.

I've also arranged some good resources for cooking classes, art classes, French lessons, truffle-hunting.

@+ Liesa

For photos, rates, and lots more information, email me at drliesa@yahoo.com and put French Vacation Rental in the subject line. I look forward to helping you.