Our home in Provence is no ordinary vacation rental. Whether you call it a villa, a holiday house, villa, ferienhaus or somerhaus, our home in Provence is more than just holiday accommodation. We call it home... an ideal gathering place for friends or family for reunions, anniversaries, birthdays... or an idyllic sabbatical retreat for artists, writers, or academics. It's been any and all of those to us and to the many friends and guests who have called our home theirs for awhile.

Whether you are just two or a group of 8 or even 10, our lovingly furnished old village house in the Provençal village of Carcès will feel like HOME. It's a villa, it's a maison de village, it's a part of history in this working village in Provence. As you explore the three-level home, your footsteps will retrace those of previous generations on the original tomette tiles [traditional hexagonal terra cotta tiles]. A garage, laundry, sitting room and toilet/shower-room on lower level; living room, dining room, kitchen, toilet/shower-room, and terrace on the second level; four bedrooms and full bath with bidet on the third level].

You will be living in working village in Provence, not a tourist-crowded monument. Footsteps away: boulangeries, small shops, cafes, a sophisticated contemporary art gallery, pharmacies, butchers, banks, post office, five wineries (in town), a traditional Saturday market, and a charming village of around 2500 people who actually like having visitors in town. Other nearby villages host traditional markets on other days of the week, as well.

With the vitality of a living village out the front door, you can still enjoy an unobstructed view of the countryside from the terrace out the back -- enhanced by the sound of a waterfall. Enjoy your meals in the dining room, on the terrace, or in the garden.

Four bedrooms sleep eight comfortably and privately, yet just two will feel cozy. A futon folds out in the poolside room to accommodate another one or two to make 10 guests in all Three toilets and shower-rooms/bathrooms (one on each level); sinks in two bedrooms, ceiling fans, fuel-fired central heat (important for off-season holidays!).

You will arrive to a simply stocked kitchen - coffee, teas, cereals, milk, spices, pastas, sauce, and more -- just replace what you use. The house is fully outfitted for daily life: ample cookware; dishware and glasses; a food processor and an immersion blender; simple first aid materials including a thermometer; a wonderful library of books about Provence, maps, tour guides, etc., plus a wide selection of other reading, from fiction to history.

The living area is comfortably furnished, even including a lovely antique table just suited for a game of cards, writing letters, or perhaps finally writing your memoirs or even a novel. Each bedroom has a writing desk, by the way, just in case you need solitude to fire your inspiration. A high-speed internet connection is available for working vacations for writers, designers, consultants and the like. We certainly prefer working in Provence to working in an office!

With its ceiling fans throughout and fuel-fired central heat, this old winemaker's home is ideal for year-round living in the wonderfully temperate climate of Provence. Don't miss the grape harvest in early fall; the olive crush in late fall and early winter [one of France's few remaining water-driven mills is just down the street]; the truffles markets in December and January; the blossoming of almond trees in February; yellow carpets of Colza in March; the flowery sunshine of Mimosas in bloom in March and April; red poppies in April and May.