Holidays… who doesn’t love a good holiday?!
I absolutely do and need them to recharge but since having kids they have become a somewhat military operation to plan!
Contrary to 10 years ago where it was all about kicking back for 2 weeks by a pool, now it’s about the balance between calm and chaos and with entertainment mixed in between somewhere!
This year we opted for an Airbnb - Chemin Des Mésanges - in the beautiful French Provence. I’ve always been a little sceptical about the reality of the accomodation you get versus the images you see online, but this time we were not disappointed.
Having driven down some crazy narrow roads and over rivers, we did question whether our navigation had seen better days. But when we finally drove up the beautiful road to get to our holiday home we realised we had definitely chosen something special. Lined with palm trees and beautiful floral bushes, the drive was only the start of good things to come.
Greeted by fabulous hosts Clare and Alan, we were showed to our beautifully decorated living space for the next few days. There were two double bedrooms – which were perfect for us and meant FINALLY we could have our own bedroom on holiday – a bathroom and small kitchenette space with a fridge, microwave and tea/coffee making facilities.
The downstairs floor of Clare and Alan’s villa was for our sole use and was so well thought out. The décor and feature walls in each room, the neutral colours, tiles and furniture all very fitting for where we were. The outdoor dining area and seats that soaked up the last of the day’s sunshine were perfect, not to mention the gorgeous swimming pool. We knew with all this we had picked something special!
One of the major plusses to this Airbnb before booking was knowing that we would be provided with a Continental breakfast every day on Clare and Alan’s Terrace. This was the ultimate luxury. From cured meats to fresh croissants and fruit, there was such a huge selection for breakfast that it was hard to know where to start! The boys were in their element too with specially bought in cereals for them and hot chocolates made every morning. And that view from the terrace of the mountains.........absolutely stunning!
We spent most our days lazing by the pool which was perfect, but we did also treat ourselves to a few trips out. One of those was a day at Plage Keller, Antibes. It’s a personal favourite of mine with reserved sunbeds on the beach and the restaurant just behind you for lunch……what’s not to love!
We also took ourselves off for dinner one night in Cannes which was lovely. Perhaps not enough of a visit, but a walk by the marina and along the beachfront to find the restaurant was enough of a taste of Cannes to make us want to go back for more!
And a Provence holiday wouldn’t be complete without a trip to one of the local towns and a wander through the markets, so we headed to Grasse which was about 15 minutes away from the villa. From the cobbled streets and beautiful umbrella decorations through to the beautiful fresh produce at the market, this was a lovely morning out and way to complete our fabulous family break in Provence.
I'd love to hear your recommendations and experiences, feel free to share with me! And if you haven't already, please sign up to my newsletter.