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MAISON DU SAULE

Maison du Saule is a unique property, tailor-made for the small group or family wanting to immerse themselves in the slow rhythms of Provence while enjoying a spacious village home that offers complete comfort, beauty and privacy. No need to always jump in the car to buy provisions: just stroll down to the local épicerie, where there are basic groceries and fresh bread and croissants from nearby bakeries are delivered daily. On the way drop by La Poste to mail the postcards you have written to envious souls back home. There is even a doctor's office in the tiny little village in case the youngest member of the family has an earache. And flowers for tonight's dinner on the terrace after a swim in the extra-long pool? Off you go with a pair of scissors to the garden, enclosed by stone walls and lush with flowerbeds, lavender, shade trees and a magnificent weeping willow, and presto - a beautiful arrangement for the table.

The anonymous community in question here is tidy little Le Paradou, a blip on the map off the highway between two altogether charming villages - Maussane-les-Alpilles to the east, and Fontvieille just to the west. Serenity reigns here, yet the TGV station at Avignon is a drive of about 35 minutes, one can be on Le Cours Mirabeau in Aix-en-Provence in three-quarters of an hour, and it is an hour's drive to Marseille-Marignane Airport, which has several flights daily to London and Paris.

As for restaurants, the number of splendid little bistros and Michelin-rated establishments in the immediate area is unequalled anywhere in Provence. Within strolling distance of Maison du Saule are two of the Alpilles' most popular restaurants - Le Bistro du Paradou just at the end of the village, and a few steps further the one-star La Petite France, where in the summer stylishly dressed couples consume equally elegant cuisine on a candlelit terrace. About a five-minute drive away is L'Ousteau de Beaumanière, a two-star establishment and one of the best-known restaurants in France.

And should the visitor be seized by a passion to go exploring, any guidebook to Provence will reveal a multitude of things to do within an hour's drive. In the immediate vicinity to the west are the Roman amphitheatres at Arles and Nîmes, and to the north the beautifully preserved ruins at Glanum just outside St.-Rémy-de-Provence. The ramparts of Les Baux-de-Provence, scene of bloody wars in medieval times, are minutes away. Wine regions covering no less than three appellations, among them Coteaux d'Aix, Côtes du Lubéron and the many variations of Cotes-du-Rhône, all lie within a drive of less than an hour.

But principally Maison du Saule is about relaxing, about unwinding in an environment where genuine Provençal character and solid creature comforts trump excessive modernity and luxury. A beautifully equipped kitchen, pretty tiled bathrooms, large, firm beds, tasteful decor drawing on traditional Provencal motifs and a garden that with its oversized pool is like a little corner of Paradise - these are the qualities that imbue Maison du Saule with its special character and charm.

Maison du Saule is on two levels. On the ground floor are the entry hall, a large living room with big stone fireplace, and the kitchen, which has a full array of good-quality appliances, including a four-burner stove, conventional and microwave ovens, dishwasher and large two-door refrigerator. A wide passageway leads from the living room to a cozy library with bookshelves. On the other side of the entry is a separate dining room that opens onto a lovely terrace shaded by trellis of vines.

The principal master bedroom suite opens from the dining room. The bedroom has a king-sized bed, graced by a long white canopy, and the commodious ensuite bath has a sunken bathtub, hand-held shower and WC. From the master bath there is a door to a studio, also accessible through a private entrance from the outside, with a 145 cm (57" across) sofabed. A second bathroom with a stall shower and WC also opens off the dining room.

The upper level, which has fine views onto the garden, has two bedrooms with canopied beds. The larger, which could also function as a master bedroom, has a queen-sized bed, and the other a single bed. A newly renovated bathroom with tub and hand-held shower opens from the hall. The WC is separate.

Among the modern comforts at Maison du Saule are a flat-screen television with DVD player and satellite reception, including CNN and BBC. There are two small stereos, one in the studio and another in the upstairs large bedroom.

The pleasures of this warmly furnished, typically Provençal house are complemented by the garden, which for a village home is unusually large and sumptuously landscaped. The 5 M X 15 M (16.5' X 49') pool is surrounded by a well-maintained lawn dotted by huge ceramic urns brimming with flowers. Here and there are shady nooks with benches.

While it is most celebrated for its restaurants and Roman ruins, a fact sometimes overlooked by travel guidebooks is that Alpilles villages in the immediate vicinity of Le Paradou have for centuries been a source of inspiration for artists and writers. Alphonse Daudet wrote his Lettres de Mon Moulin, obligatory reading for every French school child, while living in a windmill just outside Fontvieille in the mid-19th century. In Maillane, 22 km north of Le Paradou, there is a museum to the memory of Fréderic Mistral, Provence's most celebrated poet. Gauguin and Van Gogh were in Arles together. And some of Van Gogh's most powerful canvases were created during the year immediately preceding his death (1890) when he was a patient in a mental institution at nearby Saint-Rémy.

The cultural tradition of the region is reflected at Maison du Saule, where a sense of permanence, a respect for traditional Provençal aesthetics and a relaxed pace of life go hand-in-hand with modern comforts.