BEAUTIFUL PRIVATE ESTATE IN GORDES -TENNIS, POOL, VIEWS

hi Davis,

I keep meaning to email you about the wonderful time we had at Fontblanche, but I've spent so much time raving about it to everyone I talk to that I forget to send you the same feedback!

We all loved your property; it was even better than described! We all felt that the pictures don't do it justice. We knew we were in for a treat right from that first bend in the road while driving towards the property, where you suddenly see Gordes right in front of you and the valley to your right. We fell in love with Fontblanche from the moment we took our first drive through the wrought-iron gates and saw the views of the valley spread out ahead, and stepped out of our cars to a lavender-scented breeze. It was just perfect.

There were lots of rooms to choose from, my husband and I got the best one (we think), in the Bergerie. There were lots of common spaces for us to hang out as a group, mostly we stayed close to the kitchen on the upper terrace. We also loved the loggia area under the grapevines, where we had many good meals. All the kids had a fantastic time, thanks to the toy room, DVD player, and tennis court, and of course the pool too. Just a couple of incidents with one of the pool metal stairs having a sharp edge (my 4 yr old daughter couldn't get her foot wet for 1 1/2 weeks because her cut was so deep- poor thing), but it didn't stop her from enjoying herself. The men enjoyed the built-in BBQ too.

Florence was very helpful too, and she booked us a chef at short notice to come and cook for us, so many thanks to her for arranging a great meal prepared by Giuseppina! And our housekeeper was great; we managed to have some nice conversations with our limited knowledge of each other's languages - it was good French immersion!

A couple of us followed your advice and went up to Gordes early in the morning a couple of times to buy freshly-baked pastries, still warm from the oven, and they were heavenly.

We found the location to be very central too; we went to Bonnieux (la Flambe) and Roussillon (bistrot de roussillon), and were only an hour away from wine-tasting in Chateauneuf and Gigondas. We also visited Pont du Gard, Avignon and Isle sur la Sorgue/Vaucluse, which were close by.

Overall, an outstanding holiday and we will definitely return someday, if just to hang out at the property for the entire week! Your family is very fortunate to have such a wonderful property.

Missing it already...