France, Burgundy, Autun, Moulin Renaudiots

THE best way to extend your holiday when driving back from the South of France is to stop at Moulin Renaudiots. When we arrived we directly pitied the fact that we would only stay for one night...

http://www.moulinrenaudiots.com/

Moulin Renaudiots is a 100% chocolateonyourpillow address. Beautiful location in the Burgundy countryside close to the Morvan, a charming completely renovated old watermill, a fantastic garden with swimming pool and multiple terraces, a tastefull and inspiring styling mix of local brocante and modern scandic design, but most importantly two enthusiastic hosts who give you a direct 'home away from home' feeling. And we are clearly not the only ones who had this experience, just have a look at the reviews on tripadvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187106-d1064030-Reviews-Moulin_Renaudiots-Autun_Burgundy.html

Although Moulin Renaudiots is ideal for a romantic escape a deux, our stay there with the kids was just perfect. There are no playgrounds or toys, but the swimming pool, the dog, lots of space to run and the child friendly approach of the owners compensate bigtime for this. A great example was when we booked to join the table d'hote Jan (one of the owners) directly offered to cook something simple for the kids an hour before, so that we could enjoy our dinner with the kids sound asleep. These are little things that are so memorable and that make a good place a GREAT place.     

Table d'hote

But let me not forget to share THE best feature of Moulin Renaudiots: the table d'hote with the creations of the hosts. An absolute not to miss experience. The local (mostly organic) dishes are not only a sensation in your mouth but also for your eyes. And the fine Burgundy wines... the great setting... the lovely company... 


When we left Moulin Renaudiots we meant every part of 'Au Revoir'!

France, Burgundy, Beaune, La Ferme de Marjolet

Travelling by car from Utrecht to the South of France with two kids is definitively more 'fun' when having a stopover in the middle. And, as you can expect, I prefer a charming bed and breakfast adress 'a la campagne' in stead of a formula 1 hotel along the road. So I did some online investigation. This was not a piece of cake, I have to say, especially as we needed an early check in, a family room for a reasonable price, a place to eat, it should be spacious enough for the kids to run/crawl after being in the car for 7 hours and..... mum is not easily satisfied : )

Therefore I was happy to find La Ferme de Marjolet via  www.burgundyeye.com and even happier when I found out that the suite was available for 120 eur per night.

http://www.lafermedemarjolet.com/

La Ferme de Marjolet beautifully located in the Burgundy countryside, just 5 minutes away from Beaune. It has recently opened after years of renovation by the current owner. He created this unique modern construction that links the old farmhouse buildings. From an architectial/ design point of view it is such an inspirational place. Our suite was spacious and neat and I had a massage, that was THE best I have ever had. So in general La Ferme the Marjolet is a very good place to stay. But we felt that the place lacked a bit the real chocolateonyourpillow factor, that makes a good place a great place. It lacked the natural hospitality and charm that the owner can give to such an amazing place. The approach was a bit distant, it was difficult to have dinner with the kids and as they were still building and constructing our stay in the suite was quite seperated from the total property.

It was really nice though to have breakfast in the fantastic living/ kitchen area and we believe that when the place is totally ready and the owner is more used to his hosting role this place has everything to be a real great place. So we concluded that this place has definitive chocolateonyourpillow potential and we would like to come back in a few years (without kids).

France, Ramatuelle - St Tropez, Tiki Hutte

If you have young kids there is a point in time that you will consider camping... If you or your partner has camping fear...  a Tikki Hutte is THE solution.

Rent a charming Polynesian hut (= pimped mobile home) directly on the beautiful Plage de Pampelonne. You will have your own facilities (toilet, shower, kitchen), separate bedrooms, a porche and a view that gives you a constant Robinson Crusoe feeling, especially in the morning and evening when the beach is desolated. The best feature of a Tiki Hutte is to go to sleep and to wake up with the sound of the waves breaking on the shore and a 24/7 possibility to dive into the azur blue sea....

http://www.tiki-hutte.com

The 'everybody happy' concept of Kon Tiki is very well thought true. Apart from having the beach and sea as playing ground there is a baby and kidsland with all kind of toys and animation. There are multiple nice restaurants (especially Tiki Thai), a Pizza to go service, a great Spa area, a laundry service, baby sitting service, a supermarket, a gym, tennis courts...

And don't forget that you are located in the middle of the hotspot beach area of the Cote d'Azur, so if yacht spotting is one of your favorite activities you can stay in you lazy chair all day as the most amazing yachts will anchor in the bay. But, I would definitively recommend to get out of your lazy chair and have lunch in one of the famous beach clubs like Nikki Beach and Le Club 55 (just 100 metres away), have a coffee and go to the market in St Tropez and stroll through beautiful villages like Grimaud and Ramatuelle.


Things to do ...

Some things to consider:

- The charm of Tikki Hutte is the location directly at the beach; so it's definitively worth the money to rent a first row hut

- Go for the low season: in the high season (july/ august) the prices will be 3 to 4 times as high and the charm of the desolated beach will be gone

- If you are more than 2 always rent a Tikki Hutte for 6 persons.

Two oldies to get into the St Tropez mood:

- Et dieu ... créa la femme: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1065261593/

- Le gendarme de St Tropez: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNW1zNEqP-k

Italy, Tuscany, La Foce, Chiarentana

Tiramisu on your pillow...

We always wanted to go to Tuscany. But when it was just the two of us, we always favoured the far and adventurious destinations... We still can 'do' Tuscany as a family, we said many times. So as soon as our little son arrived, we booked a holiday to Tuscany. And in specific to La Foce. I had read about this place years ago in a magazine and was struck by the serenity and beauty of the property and surroundings.

www.lafoce.com

La Foce is a family owned estate in the Southern part of Tuscany overlooking Val d' Orcia. It has an interesting and fascinating history. Antonio and Iris Origo, an Italian/ American couple, bought the property in the 1920's with a dream and dedication to bring progress and social change to this area. Today the estate with several houses, woods, cultivated fields and olive groves is run by the Origo daughters, Benedetta and Donata. All the stories about the origins of La Foce, the construction and renovation of the different buildings, the family, the war period can be read in the book 'La Foce: A Garden and Landscape in Tuscany (Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture)' by Benedetta Origo http://www.amazon.com/Foce-Landscape-Tuscany-Studies-Architecture/dp/0812235932.

We stayed for two weeks in Bersagliere, one of the tastefully decorated apartments in Chiarentana, a fortified farmhouse. Donata lives there as well and she organizes a drink for visitors so now and then where stories are shared while enjoying the sunset from the terrace.

Chiarentana is beautifully located on a hill overlooking the valley. Most memorable for me are the typical Tuscany view of a beautiful curved road with cypresses (this road actually features in one of the opening scenes of the movie 'Gladiator'!), the swimming pool and tennis court overlooking the olive grove and the enormous tree in the middle of the courtyard where dinners are being served (weather permitting). And not to forget: Eira, the English cook, who organizes cooking lessons and serves dinner three evenings at Chiarentana. She was so nice and gave a real personal touch to our stay. When we arrived (tired after a long journey) she welcomed us at our appartment with a fantastic meal and homemade tiramisu. The best tiramisu I have ever tasted!

For children there is an enormous garden to play and a small and simple playground. Things to consider are: La Foce is quite desolated and dinner is only served at the estate three times a week, we like to cook for ourselves, but if you want to visit nice restaurants you have to take the car. And... not all apartments have a private terrace or direct access to the garden. We used the babyphone when going to the swimming pool or when having dinner in the garden.   

Pictures of the garden tour of La Villa

La Foce is a great base to explore the south of Tuscany (Florence, Siena, Arezzo, Perugia, Assisi, Orvieto, Pienza, Montepulciano, Monticchiello and Montalcino can all be visited as daytrip). But you do not have to go far... practise some yoga in the garden, enjoy the lovely countryside of La Foce by feet, swim, play a game of tennis, learn how to make the perfect pasta and risotto and definitively do not forget the garden tour of La Villa, the main building of La Foce. It's beautiful and will give you a bit of an insight in the life and love of Iris Origo.