Les Gains, Les Trois Collines and Mas Shamrock in France

I had the pleasure of traveling with my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter by car through the countryside of FRANCE in June ’05. We stayed in the following delightful homes.

• Les Gains (61310 Survie, Exmes, Normandy, France; phone 0033 [0] 2 33 36 05 56 or visit www. lesgains.tk).

Near Argentan in Normandy, this is the “hard to find but worth it when you get there” home of Kit and Diana Wordsworth. The setting of their 17th-century farmhouse on a working sheep farm is idyllic and relaxing, and they are very welcoming hosts.

They have three double bedrooms with baths for €50 ($60) for two persons, including breakfast. Diana prepares wonderful dinners for €25.

My granddaughter loved feeding the ducks, picking up eggs from the chickens and playing with Jazzie, their dog.

• In the Loire Valley we stayed at the home of Suzanne Vannoni (phone 02 47 50 10 76), on Route de Sache in Druye, about five miles from Azay-le-Rideau.

Suzanne is a delightful lady who speaks not a word of English, but with our smiles and a few French words we got along famously. She was recommended at the tourist information office in Azay-le-Rideau.

On a large property with a small lake, she has three spotlessly clean apartments in a separate guest house. Each double bedroom, with bath, rents for €50 and includes breakfast. There is an indoor swimming pool that we enjoyed daily.

• In the Dordogne area we wanted to stay at the home of Albert and Caitlin Woodbury, recommended by an ITN reader (June ’05, pg. 55), but they had a full house. They suggested we call Les Trois Collines (Les Embardes, 24250 St. Cybranet, France; phone/fax 05 53 28 49 46 or e-mail info@l3c.nl).

The new owners, Andre and Eric, from Holland, welcomed us to their view home, where they have a separate area for guests on the lower level, open April to October. Doubles with bath and breakfast cost €70 ($85). Eric is a good cook, and he prepared dinner (€25) for us on two evenings.

We were very impressed with the Dordogne, which has lovely small villages and a lot of natural beauty.

• In St. Rémy de Provence we found a large, gated, beautifully manicured property with a farmhouse lovingly restored by the owners, John and Christiane Walsh: Mas Shamrock (Chemin de Velleron et du Prud’homme, 13210 St. Rémy de Provence, France; phone +33 [0] 4 90 92 55 79 or visit www.avignon-et-provence.com/bb/shamrock/gb).

This farmhouse has five bedrooms each with bath. For two persons, the prices were €92 to €115 ($111-$139), with lesser rates in low season. Breakfast is served outside in the courtyard. There also is a large pool.

Over two weeks we spent three or four days in each of these delightful homes, and they all were excellent!

ARLENE HAMANN
Laguna Beach, CA