Cozy Restored Cottage Among Cherry/Olive Trees, Circular Pool
Location
Car: Necessary
Many concerts and cultural activities in high season. Gastronomy, wine making, truffles. Nearby Michelin-rated restaurants from economy to two-star. Fabulous local farmers' markets. Within day trip to Chateauneuf-du-Pape, other top wine areas. Lavender cultivation and processing in season. Very diverse and interesting mixed population of locals and expats. Ochre mines in Rustrel and Roussillon. Amazing cultural life (music etc.) in the summer. Lovely hiking.
Owner info
Year Purchased: 2008
About the owner: We (Barney Rubin and Susan Blum) are a 60-ish couple living in New York City (though in this picture we are Rio de Janeiro). Susan is a psychotherapist. Barney is a political scientist who has taught at Yale and Columbia and worked at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Center on International Cooperation at NYU. Currently he advises the State Department on Afghanistan and Pakistan. We are both originally from Philadelphia. When we are not spending time in the cottage we are delighted to share LaFerrage with others.
Why the Owner Chose St-Saturnin-lès-Apt, France:
We first went to the Luberon in 1993, when we decided to take a 'real' month-long vacation for the first (and so far last) time. We then tried several other places -- Ardeche, California, Andalucia, Greece, the Haute Savoie (French Alps), but finally returned for our 25th wedding anniversary in 2000. Except for one year in Umbria, we have returned every year since, attracted by the unique combination of history, culture, food, wine, scenery, hiking, and a diverse collection of people. We started toying with the idea of buying in 2006, and finally bought the right place in 2008. It then took nearly two years (not just the one year in which Peter Mayle managed) to get this place habitable, but the results were worth waiting for.
The Unique Benefits at this Cottage:
Our cottage's farmland mainly produces cherries, cared for by a farmer belonging to one of the village's oldest families. It also produces olives, which are pressed into oil at the nearby mill, St.-Julien. The farmer's brother is a renowned caterer based in the nearby town of Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and is available for parties of ten or more. You can cook with the olive oil we get from the local cooperative in return for our olives, sample the cherries preserved in alcohol that grow on our property, and sample the wine grown within a few minutes of our property. The house is located on extensive sloping farmland with views in all directions. It is delightful to sit on the terrasse of ancient stone (unearthed on the property) under the hand-crafted iron tonnelle with a long view in every direction over our plantings of cherries, cypress, olive, boxwood, rose, fig, and almond and sampling local delicacies seasoned with the herbs grown in the garden under the cypress on our western terrace. In spring there are cherry blossoms, in summer lavender and white roses; in fall the vineyards turn umber, and in winter the vistas open and are perfumed with the odor of burning cherry wood, vines, and oak.
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Photos
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South facade of house, August 2012.
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Terrace seating and dining area.
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View of south facade from direction of pool. August 2012.
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View from hammock of pool and village.
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Kitchen: stove, oven, antique-tile backsplash, provisions, tableware, equipment.
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Bed with reading lamps and bull's-eye window.
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View from bathroom window: St. Saturnin.
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Summers bounty: cherries in eau de vie, stuffed vegetables.
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View from terrace toward pool.
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West terrace: dining area shaded in morning, cypress, herbs, view of St. Sat.
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Pool and seating area.
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Living room and inside dining/seating area, with stairway.
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View of bathroom; shower is behind and right of the photgrapher.
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View from bedroom into bathroom.
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View from bedroom window -- Luberon, pool, lavender, roses, olives, cherries.
VRBO #336316
This listing was first published here in 2011.
Date last modified - Wednesday, September 21, 2016
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