This is a lovely and compact Gîte complex set next to most of the burgundy vineyards and very close to the Cote d'Or region. It is surrounded by cow fields which ensure delightful country sounds of mooing cows and birds and little else. The complex has 6 Gîte that surround a small court yard with a central flower bed boasting a bird feeding station that ensures there is always some bird action to be seen and heard. Behind the court yard is a well seized swimming pool for those hot days in summer. The yard is covered with shingle so the sound is sometimes broken by a guest walking across the stones making sounds of stones on a beach. Beautiful red flowers adorn the many flower boxes and flower beds, with vines growing along the Gîte walls and around the windows. The Gîte I stayed in is called gamay and is one of three that sit above the owner’s house with a front and back veranda, affording views to the rear with the cow fields and the front overlooking the central court yard. Inside gamay there is an entrance hall off of which is the bathroom and shower, the hall opens up to the lounge and dining area with a small kitchen tucked in the corner through a large doorway. An open staircase leads to a mezzanine/gallery bedroom up in the eaves of the exposed roof beams, with a double bed and wardrobe. The wooden beams being of the lighter coloured oak variety and white washed walls in between make for a light open and airy feeling. The quiet and calmness is intoxicating and it is hard to not to be relaxed here.
My Gîte had a magical book shell of old books that had been left behind by previous guests or had been acquired from some old book shop for next to nothing. The books were old and well thumbed. There is something about old books that brings about the inquisitiveness of one’s mind. I had no time to read a whole book in the three days I was here but I did enjoy reading a page or two from each of the books. The books ranges from the very old Dumas' Man in the Iron Mask and Miss Betham Edwards' home life in France (1914) through to some Stephen king, Wilbur Smith, Jeffrey Archer et al; Of particular interest to me was the few old French travel guides, which were so much more distilled to the essentials without trying to be too flowery unlike today's current books. I even found it interesting to browse the foreign language books in German and French. It was like my own little book shop on the corner in my Gîte.
The complex has five other Gîtes called; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pigeonnier, Pinot Blanc, Gamay and Aligote. Plenty of new options for future visits!