Singing cicadas, a small pine forest, lazing in the sun next to a huge pool - all to ourselves - oh dear! time to drag ourselves away to another idyllic spot in the garden for a glass of champagne - total privacy - ths is my idea of pure luxury.
The house itself is gorgeous, fully equipped down to the latest designer fans (which we didn’t use - the stone walls kept the interior just right). We stayed 7 idyllic days in August and couldn’t believe the difference in tempo between here and just down the hill, at the beaches. These are as beautiful as you could hope for, with miles and miles of white sand, but unless you want to be surrounded by all of the cote d’azur it’s best to avoid them after midday and before 4pm. We slipped into a geared-down routine of late breakfast on our upper terrace - flowering oleander, lavander and hibiscus, with a view of the sea - then an hour or so on the beach where the kids snorkelled and chased fish - then a quiet time by the pool, lunch on the lower terrace (you can chase the sun or the shade, as you prefer - there are 4 different dining areas, just for the four of us), reading or playing boules on the boules court (of course!) next to the pool.....when we had rested enough we played tennis before a last swim, then shower and dinner. The local restaurants were good, especially kind to children, lots of fresh fish. We used the BBQ here for grilled meats and fish. Excellent shopping everywhere - supermarkets open until 9pm, markets full of stunning local produce - a Luna Park which had the kids enthralled - we even caught the ferry to two of the islands - very beautiful but also crowded in high summer.
Unanimous vote: the best holiday yet and we’ll be back next year!