ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE
The house has a little history which is nice to tell. My mother was married to Curd Jurgens for 19 years, before meeting my Greek father. Curd Jurgens was a quite famous Hollywood actor back in the days, playing in moves like ("Michel Strogoff", "The Inn of the sixth happiness", "Battle of Britain", "The spy who loved me", "The enemy below", "And God created Woman" and many more). When they separated, my mother bought this beautiful farmhouse and started renovating it with my father. Then I was born, and we lived there for 9 years. We’ve had many famous visitors, friends of my mother’s from the glamorous times when she was married to Curd. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Maria Schell, Giacometti, Leonard Cohen, Romy Schneider, Herbert Von Karajan and many more came for a relaxed time in the Provence…
ABOUT THE HOUSE
La Madone is Eco friendly, which means we use only organic detergeants, organic soaps, organic disinfectants, No synthetic material, and the pool is cleaned by saline technology so it is chlorine free.
The house is a beautiful renovated provencal farmhouse, in the middle of 7ha of vineyards and fruit trees, completely isolated, with a private road to access the house and no neighbors.
As both my parents were artists, the house is done the way they wanted it, simple, comfortable, rustique and with a lot of character.
The house is 380sqm and has 6 provencal style double bedrooms, some with fireplace in the rooms, all 6 with ensuite bathrooms and WC.
There is also 1 bedroom with bunk beds for children, and another office-library room, next to the master bedroom, just under the roof with 2 single beds. From this room you can access the small terrace on the roof with a beautiful 360 degree view across the vineyards and Roussillon village.
There is an extra studio that is available at an extra cost if you are a big family, that can sleep 2 people.
The sauna has a small room, very fresh, excellent for siestas.
The living room is a 100sqm space, with high Provençal ceiling, and a very large fireplace. The kitchen is fully equipped, with professional gas stove and 2 professional ovens, 2 refrigerators, 1 freezer, microwave, 2 dishwashers etc. HI-FI with CD player + ipod input, Cable TV, Fast WIFI internet, DVD player.
The inside dining room seats 14-16 people comfortably. The outside table seats also 14-16 people. You can enjoy the morning sun having your breakfast on the outside table, with the view on the garden and on the valley.
The terrace is a great place to relax during the day and/or have an “aperitif” before dinner.
There is also an outside table and a built-in barbecue, ideal for a great lunch and barbecue cooking. Bbq table sits also 14-16 people.
The garden in front of the house is great for the children. A Table tennis is also available, and a court to play "Petanque", the national sport of the South of France!
The swimming pool is salt technology, so chlorine free. It can be heated if requested. It is a large swimming pool - 14m long and 6 meter large, and great space around the pool to relax, with benches with mattresses and teak lounge chairs. There is also a stone table at the pool, with a metal built roof for the shade, great for a little lunch around the pool.
The cellar is also at your disposal, with our sommelier's selection of beautiful regional and French reds, whites and rosés. The temperature is between 14-17 and the humidity is at 75%, which is ideal for keeping wines! We call it the honesty bar, meaning you take what you want, and leave the corresponding amount on the table. We trust you!
Some great activities are available, such as professional masseur, pottery courses, cycling rentals, horse riding, hot air balloon rides and many other activities can be arranged in advance.
Cooking services are also available, (Nadege is probably, and without joke one of the best private chefs in the region, she cooks beautifully, and uses organic products from local markets, cheese from the traiteur “Gouin” in Coustellet, meat from the best butcher in the region called “Isnard” in Goult, fresh fish that come every week from Marseille, I do recommend her for a few dinners, you will remember me! and I also recommend her Tarte Tatin for dessert!).
Cooking lessons with Nadege are great too. Our past guests have absolutely loved the experience!
Christine is also a great sommelier, and she can come and give you a wine tasting with explanation in all the processes of making wine. A great experience too! And with Nadege they often combine their strength and offer a super nice lunch or dinner.
ABOUT THE REGION
Roussillon is classified as one of the most beautiful villages of France. It is in the middle of the Provence, in the Luberon. It is well known for its red ocred canyons. The village has many restaurants, cafes, a castle, an art gallery, souvenir shops, pottery shops, and all the houses are red coloured by the ocres, as you can see on the photo in the site. There is also a supermarket, grocery store, a pharmacy, a post office, a very good butcher, a cash dispenser and a very nice farmer's market and delicatessen market every Wednesday. The house is 900m (0.55 miles) from Roussillon.
Beautiful villages are few kilometers away from the house. Villages such as Gordes (known for the stone houses and the Vasarély Museum), Menherbes, Goult, Bonnieux, Lacoste (with the Marquis de Sade's castle), Buoux, Baux de Provence, Lourmarin, Isle-sur-la Sorgue (with the internationally famous antique market on Sundays, don't miss it!), Fontaine de Vaucluse (with its 100 feet deep water spring), Eygalières et les Alpilles (with the famous Chappelle St-Sixte), Saint-Remy de Provence (where Nostradamus, Van-Gogh and princess Caroline de Monaco now lives!), Sainte Maries de la mer et la Camargue (The beach!), Avignon (le palais des papes, le pont d’Avignon, le festival d’Avignon in July) Arles (and the “Arènes d’Arles” for bull fighting supporters) and many other beautiful landscapes and villages to see. We will tell you all there is to know about the area, according to your taste and wishes.
Some activities in the area that we can help you organize include:
1. Bicycle rides
2. Trekking
3. Horse riding
4. Tennis in Roussillon and Joucas
5. Pottery courses
6. Massage
7. Restaurants gastronomiques – (Ask us for the list before you arrive!)
8. Visits of chateaux and wine domaines – Ask us for suggestions and/or our friend Abdel if you need a guide to take you to the right places!
9. Visit of the “Ocres” factory in Roussillon + courses and workshops - http://www.okhra.com/
10. Hot air balloon ride - http://www.montgolfiere-provence-ballooning.com/
11. Canoe-Kayak on the Rhone - www.canoe-paca.fr/v3/
12. Traditional farmer’s market in the region, in different villages according to the days of the week
13. Antiques market at l’Isle Sur la Sorgue (world famous venue for antiques, arts, crafts, design)
14. Flea market (Brocante) every Sunday at l’Isle sur la Sorgue
15. Les Ocres de Roussillon (Red ocred canyon, beautiful walks and great fun for children)
16. Visit of the Abbaye de Senanque (http://www.senanque.fr/)
17. Visit of Les Carrieres de Lumieres. Incredible light show in quarries in Les Baux de Provence. highly recommended.
The rental includes house cleaning, bed sheets, towels, swimming pool care, garden care, hot water and heating.
The rental does not include the cleaning of departure.