Welcome to our home!
We are Maarten and Patricia. Bon vivants who intensely enjoy the little things in life and who live from a positive view of life and human nature. We love hospitality, tasty food and good wine, extensive cooking with fresh ingredients and we like to meet new people.
Over the past 18 years, we have often travelled around the world with a backpack to discover other cultures and to enjoy the beauty of nature, above and below water. We always feel at ease quickly everywhere, but we really feel ‘at home’ in France. In the summer of 2017 we decided to make our dream a reality.
Our dream? We always knew that we would spend our old age in the South of France. Something we put aside, it was a dream for later. With our busy job, lots of sports, studies and our holidays abroad, we we’re living in the moment. In Spring 2017 friends asked us why we actually wanted to wait until we were 60. Why exactly, for what reason? That got us to thinking. In the summer of 2017 we travelled to France to explore whether it would be realistic to start realising our dream. After many inspiring stories from people who made the step years ago, we were convinced. We were going to make our dream come true.
We can’t make dreams come true just by dreaming. You make dreams come true by executing them, taking action, by doing. This didn’t happen overnight, because that is not how we work. It became ‘project 2020’. For both of us, this means going back to our roots (the hospitality industry) and turning our hobby into our work. More than 20 years ago, we met at work and we are looking forward to working together again. We complement each other very well. A business plan was soon written. We know exactly what we’re good at and what makes us happy.
From autumn 2017, we spend every holiday in France to experience the different departments and regions in the south of France and to discover where we felt ‘at home’ most. We started in the west, in the Charente, step by step towards the east.
Soon every holiday became a working holiday full of appointments. Getting to know people who wanted to share their own story with us, viewing properties with real estate agents, exploring the area and the mentality of the local people. A great and valuable process, every holiday gave us a better picture of what we wanted and what was possible.
In the autumn of 2018, we had arrived in the Drôme and Vaucluse. In the area around Mont Ventoux we feel most at home. Being on top of the summit of Mont Ventoux felt magical. Seeing the summit made our hearts jump. It still does. Things were unfolding quite nicely here. Not only is nature overwhelmingly beautiful here, the mentally.of the people is also very pleasant, both the locals and the tourists. It is also a beautiful wine region with interesting wines and food pairing possibilities all year around. And… as the sky is almost consistenly blue, the light is intense during every season!
The first time we went for a walk in the Dentelles de Montmirail we were overwhelmed by the beauty of this impressive rock formation and the stunning scenery. At that moment, we knew our dream home was around here somewhere.
And here we are. Mid June we will open our doors to welcome our first guests. Despite the corona virus, we are very confident that we can all go on holiday again this summer. We are very much looking forward to sharing our beautiful dream place and giving our guests a wonderful holiday. To actively enjoy the peace and nature, the delicious French cuisine and good regional wines together with our guests.
Since we are very sporty ourselves, we also focus on an active and sporty guests. We are active hikers ourselves, and love to make day trips, and are also happy (trail) runners. Our next challenge in this ultimate cycling area, is getting active on the bike ourselves!
Despite all the love we have for children, we have chosen to focus on adult guests. To create a place that corresponds to our way of life and that makes us happy ourselves too. A place conducive to relaxation, far from the hectics of everyday life.
We look forward to welcoming you to our dream place, to make you ‘feel at home, far from home’!
Maarten & Patricia