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La Madeleine, Lioux, Provence
Beautifully decorated, 1-2 bedroom house in a hamlet high above the valley
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| The house looking east to the cliff of Lioux | Master bedroom, with 1.6m-wide bed |
La Madeleine is in a small, quiet hamlet between the villages of Lioux and Joucas, north of Roussillon and south of Murs, and has been designed and decorated for those who love preparing good food, or exploring a special part of the world, or experiencing a slice of life in Provence.
Living rooms
Downstairs the living room has a 3-seater sofa, CD player, satellite TV, some guidebooks and recipes to inspire travels and creations.
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| Above: the living room from two angles. |
The owner of this house grows ancient tomato varieties that are much sought after by restaurants around France. He is a dedicated advocate of the beauty of simple, natural produce, quickly prepared, which is why the kitchen is carefully fitted out with good-quality equipment and utensils.
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 | He could have chosen more economically for a rental house, but the right tools are important to him: the feel of a well made chopping knife in the hand, the use of a top-of-the-range 5-burner stove. This is a gourmet's paradise. |
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The kitchen includes a 5-ring stove, oven, microwave, dishwasher, clother washer, Smeg fridge-freezer, and the cupboards contain various basic ingredients.
Bedrooms
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The master bedroom is decorated in calming tones and has windows on two sides. |
Upstairs is the master bedroom with a 1.6m-wide bed (6'6" x 5'3"). This has a view over vineyards to the dramatic cliff at Lioux. There is also a writing desk and a closet. There is a passage to the second bedroom, or reading room, with the bathroom. There is no door between the two bedrooms so it is really best suited to one couple, who may prefer two rooms. Or perhaps a couple with a child who do not mind the lack of privacy. The second bedroom has a bed which is 1.2m wide and 2m long, which can also serve as a sofa with cushions. |  View from master bedroom over the vineyards |
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Second bedroom, or perhaps the reading room, is next to the master bedroom, and leads to the bathroom (above right). |
 |  | The bathroom comes off the second bedroom (see above right) and has a walk-in shower, basin, WC and window. |  |
Garden
At the back of the house, accessed under an old arch, is a small garden with table and chairs, which catches the sun in the morning and is shaded by lunchtime. The table is under the fig tree, for shade and tasty treats.
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The garden is flavoured by the plants and herbs of the region which you can cook with or add to herbal infusions. There is also a BBQ and an outside shower to cool down with. |
 | The house is in a small hameau (hamlet) which is largely uninhabited and very quiet. A hameau is a grouping of houses smaller than a village, and this one was originally built for the farmers who were dependent on the landlord in a nearby castle, now ruined. Long ago the house would have been a magnanerie - where silkworms produced silk. |  |
The owner lives in another part of the hamlet, close enough to help with any problems or give advice on anything from the abundance of hikes all around the hamlet, to the best way to prepare the food you have bought at a local market.
The Location
| The closest village is Lioux. It is too small to have any shops or restaurants, but it is a lovely place to visit, as it is built right at the foot of the massive Sainte-Madeleine cliff. This is 2km from the house. In the other direction Joucas is 4km away and is one of those villages not on the tourist trail that you are happy to discover. Winding cobbled streets, old stone houses, a cafe-restaurant and small grocery, but also some good restaurants in the countryside below. Joucas faces Roussillon, which is very much on the tourist trail, and with good reason. One village over from Joucas is Gordes, the biggest of the Luberon hill-top villages. Also nearby are Bonnieux, Menerbes and Lacoste, all members of the Most Beautiful Villages of France association, and all within 20 minutes. |
| SENANQUE ABBEY | GORDES | ROUSSILLON |
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There are hikes right from the door of the house exploring the surrounding countryside, or you can go by mountain bike. Village markets take place in a different village each day of the week.
The Luberon is the blessed plot of Provence characterised by vineyards, olive groves and fruit orchards, specked with perched villages, that held Peter mayle in its thrall when he wrote 'A Year in Provence' here. It is also where Russell Crowe inherited a vineyard in the movie 'A Good Year'.
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Lioux
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Weekly Rates
| July - August | 820 euros |
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| All other periods | 720 euros |
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