In January 2009, when John needed to decide if he was applying for the grants, etc., needed for a study leave out of the country, when we were still jetlagged from Japan and didn't want to go anywhere farther than the grocery store, we arranged to meet for coffee since we weren't making any good plans at home. The idea of organizing another BIG trip sounded horrible -- but we had also heard from enough of John's colleagues that time away to do research (and recharge) is one of the best benefits of what can be an often gruelling, never-really-ending job. We had been talking about France but weren't sure where to go -- and so said "why not Paris?"
And indeed, why not? It's a wonderful city that we had both visited several times back in 1993 (and on earlier trips), and we loved the museums, restaurants, music, and nightlife. And that became our mantra for a few weeks -- why not Paris?
So I started looking on a website that, to anyone who loves real estate and travel, is a bit like how I'd imagine taking cocaine would be -- addictive, thrilling, and with the potential to be very expensive (why stop at France? Look at what's available in Italy! And Greece! And London!). It's called Sabbaticalhomes.com and lists short and longer-term rentals around the world (usually furnished, often but not always posted by other academics also on study leaves). I started looking in Paris. There were tons of beautiful places there -- but many of them were, at most, one-bedroom and more importantly (as we had been living in a one-bedroom place in Japan), many of them stated explicitly that children were not welcome.
We did find a slightly bigger and child-friendly place we liked just outside of Paris, and started looking around at what it would cost for Metro tickets for five (as the girls are *just* old enough to require their own tickets), where they might go to school, what daily routines might be like, etc. And we started thinking more practically about what our life is like these days -- not one of dashing to museum openings and concerts and late night dinners with friends, but rather one filled with long walks and family meals and day-trips.
And we decided that if you are young and in-love and childless, Paris is probably THE place to be. But if you are not-so-young (but still very much in-love) and have three energetic kids... it might be wise to expand the search.
So out of curiousity and because I loved it 17 years ago, I plugged in DIJON in the Sabbaticalhomes search engine. And this website came up. It looked perfect. I got in touch with Laura and was thrilled to find out the place was available. She and her husband immediately began helping us as we made our plans. Laura (who I've never met in real life but feel like I know quite well thanks to her blog about life running four vacation rentals in Burgundy (as well as wonderful stories about her husband and children)) is a Canadian who went to France right out of high school and fell in love with a French man. I believe we were both in Burgundy around the same time (I like to think that we passed each other on the street or in a smoky brasserie); we both have three kids, write, love Burgundy (the region and the wine) and juggle family and travel and more.
And everything just fell into place -- but even so, all of the pictures and descriptions and emails didn't prepare me for the beauty that awaited us in Villers-la-Faye and at La Maison des Chaumes.
The village of about 400 is a 10-minute drive north of Beaune (which, when I was Dijon, was described to me by many French people as the wine capital of the world... not France, but the world) and a 30 minute drive south of Dijon. It's nestled in vineyards, and to get here you wind up a hill along a twisting road bordered by rock walls and grapevines for a few miles. The village was built at the intersection of five Roman roads... and that sense of history, of life and stories and tradition -- all of that is evident by stepping out the front door, or looking out any of the windows over the valley of villages and vineyards below.
And about that front door and those windows -- well, I don't know the whole story of this house, but I know that Laura and Franck had renovated much of it and made it their own family's home while running their other vacation rentals in Burgundy (and before returning to Victoria last summer). It feels like a real home. It is sunny and bright, with lovely tile floors and huge windows that open up onto a large wrap-around deck and amazing views in every direction. The kids felt at home immediately here, and John and I did too.
