When you're hunting for a house in France, the hostess of your B&B -- or Chambre d'Hote -- may be more valuable than any immobilier.
Like an explorer scaling Everest, I moved my base camp from one bed and breakfast to the next, traveling east to west, from Apt to Pezenas, looking at 35 houses that Wendy Johnson with French Help Services had helped me arrange to see. I traveled with immobiliers in concentric circles around the places I slept, visiting houses in the wild, wind-swept Cevennes, the sun-baked coast of Languedoc, the lavender framed vinyards of Provence.
My hostesses at every stop -- Saint Hippolyte, St. Quentin-la-Poterie, Pezenas, Vaison-la-Romaine -- provided invaluable insights into the real estate markets and community, as well as introductions to local immobilier and homeowners selling their properties. They also provided fascinating conversation, warmth and hot meals just when they were needed. If you're shopping for a house, skip the hotel and stay in a Chambre d'Hote.
Of all the charming places to stay, one of the best was Les Asphodeles in Saint Hippo, run by Corinne du Royer, an artist, journalist, herbalist and gourmet with flaming red hair, a twinkle in her eye and a deep sense of place. Corinne gives workshops on medicinal herbs and papermaking using plants of the Cevennes, and her home is filled with beautiful watercolors, handmade paper and fascinating guests coming and going all the time. Dinners on her terrace included her cousin, a well-known Paris artist with a summer chateau outside the villge, artisans, botanists, authors and local aristocracy engaged in making herbal remedies. Corinne told me of houses for sale in town, introduced me to an immoblier and provided advice. It was very tempting to buy in Saint Hippo just to live nearby.
Near the village of Buisson in Haute Provence, about 9 kilometers from Vaison-la-Romaine, I stayed at La-Foutaine-au-Loup run by the beautiful Patricia Klein, whose many talents include interior design and wrangling a wayward donkey who persists in jumping the fence to dine in the vines. Patricia was huge help in selecting a house, touring with me, giving me negotiating advice and noticing important aspects of houses that I'd overlooked. We shopped the summer clothes sales in Avignon, saw a ballet performance in the Roman amphitheatre in Vaison and dined on the terrace overlooking the pool with her girlfriend from Strasbourg considering a post-divorce move to the south. In every way, Patricia welcomed me briefly into her circle and I found that her petite frame and very feminine style effectively camouflaged one tough negotiator with an eye for financial detail. Her counsel was kind and wise.
Where you stay matters. It is a glimpse into the life you will lead.
