Christmas 2009 at Maison No. 20

As Christmas is only a few months away, I thought that I would let you know that Maison No. 20 will be open over the Christmas/New Year period.

This year we are especially looking to Christmas as it will be our first Christmas in Eymet, so you can rest assured that you will have a fabulous time and the house will be looking extra special in all her Christmas finery.

From mid October "la boutique" will be open on the ground floor of Maison No. 20. Here you will find anything that is french and fabulous together with local items perfect for christmas gifts.

For further information, please contact leeann on stay@maison20.com

Take a fabulous chateau and some grapes..

The very fabulous Chateau de Monbazillac

.....and what do you get? A fabulous place to visit that makes some of the best sweet wines in France. Or as it is called in Australia " sticky wine". The locals tend to pair it with foie gras and the end result is magic, one of my favourite meals.

The Chateau is called Chateau de Monbazillac and she sits high on the hill overlooking the fabulous vineyards of Monbazillac.

It is about a 15 minute drive from Maison No. 20 and we adore going there for picnics and also to buy wine as they have a fabulous wine centre where you can taste and purchase wine and the prices are very reasonable.

Another reason for going is the fabulous michelin starrred restaurant La Tour des Vents which sits high on a hill surrounded by vineyards and has an amazing panoramic view over the Dordogne Valley.

The views are spectacular and Marie Rougier (fabulous french woman chef) has a reputation for creating some of the best food in France with an emphasis on fresh local produce.

Enough about food, lets get back to the wine. As promised I am going to share some of the photos that Kees Terberg took of the Monbazillac vineyards, over the course of a year.

Winter

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Harvest

The final product

If you liked the photos, please click here to see many more beautiful photos, reflecting a year in the life of a vineyard.

Santé

L x

October 2009 Events

Photo: Kees Terberg

Autumn is my favourite time of the year in SW France as the colours remind me of the fall in the US. It is an important time of the year as the grape harvest takes place this month and is a fabulous sight to behold.

There are many events taking place to commemorate the harvest and another favourite event is the pumpkin festival in Issigeac at the end of the month.

Some events taking place in October 2009:

Fri 2nd Oct Fête des Vendanges Sigoules

Sat 10th Oct Festival Grain d’Automne : Musique du Monde Cunèges, à l’église, à 20h30

Sun 11th Oct Semi-Marathon de Cyrano -Bergerac USB Athlétisme

Sun 11th Oct Morning Prayer Monteton 1030

Mon 12th Oct Vide Grenier Monempron Libos

Fri 23rd Oct Fête de la Bière avec l’orchestre Bavarois Bergerac
Le Music Hall à 20h30
Réservations : 05 53 22 58 11 ou 05 53 73 95 38 ou 06 08 49 60 47

Sun 25th Oct Foire aux Potirons Issigeac
Expo-vente de cucurbitacées, concours du plus gros potiron et des plus belles créations, ventes de soupe et de millas. Organisée par le Comice Agricole : 05.53.58.09.92

Sat 31st Oct Soirée spéciale Music Hall Cabaret
le "Music Hall" de Bergerac
Revue à grand spectacle "Cosmopolitan Company" et soirée dansante.
Dîner spectacle 49 euros.
Cocktail spectacle 20 euros.
Réservations : 05 53 22 58 11 ou 05 53 73 95 38 ou 06 08 49 60 47

Jet2.com offer Leeds Bradford to Bergerac link

A new service between Leeds Bradford and Bergerac airports is to be operated by Jet2.com next summer.

Flights will depart every Saturday from May 17, 2010, with an additional Tuesday service available between June 28 and September 12.

One-way tickets start from £29.99 inclusive of fees and charges, and are on sale now.

Jet2.com offers a number of routes between the UK and France, operating flights to:

Avignon from Edinburgh and Leeds Bradford
Chambery from Belfast, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle
Paris from Leeds Bradford
Nice from Leeds Bradford and Manchester
La Rochelle from Edinburgh and Leeds Bradford
Toulouse from Belfast, Edinburgh and Leeds Bradford

Flight times
Leeds Bradford to Bergerac
Saturday, departs 8am, arrives 11am
Tuesday, departs 11.30am, arrives 2.30pm

Bergerac to Leeds Bradford
Saturday, departs 11.30am, arrives 12.30pm
Tuesday, departs 3pm, arrives 4pm

Pizza and horse riding....

Photo: Cheval24

As most guests that have stayed with us before at Maison de Poitiers and more recently at Maison No. 20 know, there are many nice restaurants in the village of Eymet.

There is even an Indian Restaurant, "The Eymet Tandoori" and a few kms from Eymet, our favourite restaurant Ma Maison, who have the most gorgeous courtyard not to mention the best foie gras in the area.

After 2 years of almost living on foie gras, I consider myself to be a bit of an expert and I think that Didier's is the best that I have tasted!

I must admit that we have been pretty busy this last month or so but that is no excuse for not seeing the new pizzeria that opened a little over a week ago.

So we decided after an apéritif with friends that we should "test it" just to ensure that it was okay before we send our lovely guests there.

The pizza's were very tasty, with the base being not too thin but not too fat and the toppings were generous.

The restaurant is called Le Pepistril and it is open every day apart from Monday.

Where does the horse riding part come into the equation, you may well ask? Well whilst we were waiting for our pizzas I picked up a brochure on horse riding, cheval24.

So for those of you who like pizza and horse riding or either of the two, you know where to come and stay :-)

A bientot,

Leeann

Maison No. 20 - 2 bedroom apartment finished

Photo: Maison No. 20 Living Area

As a lot of you know, we have been very busy working on our latest venture in Eymet; Maison No. 20.

Apartment No. 1 was completed early this year but as Apartment No. 2 is a lot bigger it took a lot longer than Apartment No. 1 to complete.

The apartment has been designed in such a way that it can be rented as an entire apartment, perfect for families or two couples that are holidaying together or purely on a bed and breakfast (B&B) basis.

Photo: Maison No. 20 Entrance area

It comes complete with self contained kitchen, flat screen TV, DVD player, infact everything that you need is provided right down to the french cane shopping bag so that you can shop like a local.

Photo: Maison No. 20 Dining area

The furniture used in the apartment is a mixture of modern and antique pieces and has been sourced from around the world with many pieces being sourced from local brocantes and vide-greniers.

Photo: Maison No. 20 Chambre 1

The first bedroom can either be configured for two single beds or 1 large super king bed (180 x 200 cms).

Photo: Maison No. 20 Chambre 1

The building consists of two houses that have been merged which means that the bedrooms are some distance from one another hence privacy is assured.

Chambre 2 also contains a super king sized bed which was hand made to the owners requirements and has matching bedside cabinets.

There is also a lovely antique single bed perfect for a small child or alternatively for lounging on.

Photo: Maison No. 20 Chambre 2

In September 2009 there will be a small shop opening for guests use only which will stock local products and french gift items (new & antique).

In Spring 2010, the 3rd and final apartment is scheduled to open and will be perfect for guests that have limited mobility or simply prefer to be on the ground floor.

More information will be posted in due course about the shop and 3rd apartment.

Cordialement,

Leeann

Dordogne Activities

The perfect day out - Chateau Margaux near Bordeaux

We have produced an insiders guide to Eymet, a one page guide to what we think are some of the key things to see and do during your stay with us at Maison No. 20. This can be found in the "Things to do" folder in the living area.

Today I found this list of things to do on the mrandmrssmith website and thought that you would be interested in reading about some of the activities that they recommend.

Dordogne Activities
Highlights the best Dordogne has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.

Worth getting out of bed for........

Viewpoint
The village of La Roque-Gageac, near the charming mediaeval town of Sarlat, clings to the cliffs overlooking the Dordogne valley. The most striking view is from the ruins of the troglodyte fort at the top of a vertiginous ladder.

Arts and culture
The Dordogne is dotted with castles and châteaux. Two of the best are the Renaissance Château de Puyguilhem near the town of St-Jean-de-Côle and the very grand Château de Hautefort, with its wonderful gardens, northwest of Brive-la-Gaillarde.

Something for nothing
The suitably haughty statue of Cyrano de Bergerac takes pride of place in Bergerac’s Place Pélissière. The statue’s famously protruding nose is often stolen.

Shopping
In Bergerac, Bille de Bois in Place du Docteur André Cayla is filled with old-fashioned wooden toys. There’s so much fabulous local wine to choose from; try the velvety Monbazillac, a sweet white wine often drunk to mark special occasions. There are markets in Bergerac on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Lalinde on Thursdays, Libourne on Fridays and Sarlat on Saturday. Bergerac’s fleamarket sells antiques and bric-à-brac on the first Sunday of the month.

Daytripper
Book two weeks in advance to visit the wine cellar of Château Margaux, north of Bordeaux. The neoclassical château produces some of the Médoc region’s finest wine. The cellars are closed in August and during the harvest (http://www.chateau-margaux.com/).

Activities
There is good canoeing on the Dordogne, between Argentat and Beynac. Copeyre in Souillac hires canoes and mountain bikes (www.copeyre.com). The Bergerac area is ideal for wine-tasting; contact www.vins-bergerac.fr for details. L’Essentiel, on Rue Guadet in St-Émilion, promotes ‘boutique’ producers and is stylish yet unstuffy (www.essentiel-vin.com). There’s a challenging nine-hole golf course at Château les Merles (http://www.lesmerles.com/).

An interesting list but we have a few secrets of our own up our sleeve, and I plan to share with you over the next coming weeks some of the things that we think are unique and make this area so special.

A bientot,

Leeann x