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Midginbil Hill 160 hectares of botanical gardens |
   
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Swimming pool and colonial-style house, flowers, birds, imposing trees and space. Despite all these comforts, the owners have retained their adventurous and dynamic side.
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Midginbil Hill 160 hectares of botanical gardens |
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Swimming pool and colonial-style house, flowers, birds, imposing trees and space. Despite all these comforts, the owners have retained their adventurous and dynamic side.
Big 4x4, up at 6am, smiling and spontaneous welcome. Annette and John are true hosts, with everything arranged tastefully and without excess. They have worked on this magnificent property for 25 years. A sort of peaceful island in the country. Do they draw their energy from their history as 200-year-old adventurers, or perhaps from the bounty of nature?
John and Annette Flower will be coming to La Bastide Puylaurent in September. They'll soon be retired and will be taking their time to travel at their leisure; 2, 3 or even 6 months. I've already spoken to them about La Garde Guérin, with its 11th-century medieval tower, and Les Vans, a small town full of charm and sunshine between the Ardèche and the Gard.
Unlike Peter and Sherry of Benbellen Farmstay, they don't want to bother with animals. It's true, as Annette says, that a dog and a cat around here and the birds have disappeared. And there are birds of every colour and song.
At the top of the hill, under this huge tree whose name I've forgotten, John got off his horse and put a knee to the ground as if by intuition he was looking for a trace. The photographer was ready, the light was just right and the shot...... was a success.
Welcome to Midginbil Hill Resort!
Beautiful professional kitchen with large cold room, bright, sober and spacious dining room with beautiful exotic wood flooring. The balcony, or rather the patio, is an ideal place to relax. A few phrases come to mind here, like finding the right key to open the right door; the exchanges give me the opportunity to open a really nice door and access a valuable dynamic.
Annette and John have nothing left to prove, they are themselves. They employ around ten people during the season to run camps for young Japanese, American and Australian students, which can number up to 150. Annette has a generous smile, she makes you want to take part, she's always moving forward. There are also 7 very pleasant rooms overlooking the flower-filled garden.
Small seaside restaurant located half an hour from Midginbil Hill, served by two handsome smiling boys who, despite the small number of customers, offer us 5-star service. John is laughing and Caroline is on a little Australian magic carpet... Another glass of this very good Australian wine.
Like many of them, they are eager to discover the real France; the France that is so little talked about. At last, to no longer be seen as 'customers' or 'tourists' but as friends, guests and colleagues. I feel I can meet their expectations and... they trust me.
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Tomorrow, we leave for France for a 5-week trip from Bribane to Paris via Tokyo and Moscow. On arrival, we took the TGV to Nîmes via Lyon and the regional train (Le Cévenol) to the village of La Bastide-Puylaurent, which lies to the north of the Cévennes in the Massif Central.
Here, we'll be staying with our friend Philippe, who visited us in Midginbil. He runs a guest house, a friendly inn that mainly welcomes hikers passing through (following the GR®70, the route that Stevenson followed for 2 months in 1878 with his donkey Modestine) or staying for a week. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a book about his journey, Voyage avec un âne à travers les Cévennes.
Philippe has set up email exchanges between innkeepers in Canada, Australia, the USA, Poland and Morocco. As L'Etoile is only open for 4 months of the year and he is an enthusiastic bachelor, he is free the rest of the year to travel the world to visit innkeepers who offer the same style of friendly welcome that you find at L'Etoile.
An excellent idea when you only work 4 months a year. Sharing our time with Philippe gave us the opportunity to discover the French countryside, and especially good food and good wine! This discovery will teach us a lot. We'll also have time to discover Provence, Marseille and the Loire Valley by following the route of the painters of the time.
We also had an excellent trip to Amsterdam, where the tourist office booked us a double room in the city centre. We visited the Van Gogh museum and the Rikjsmuseum. We stayed for 4 nights in a B&B in Edam, half an hour's bus ride north of Amsterdam. Like Bruges in Belgium, we really enjoyed the architecture of Amsterdam and the other small towns.
After Edam, we took the train to Paris, which we loved. We would have liked to spend more time in Europe, so maybe we'll come back, especially to L'Etoile, our favourite stopover.
Philippe, we had a wonderful trip with lots of different and rich experiences. Without you, who was the centre and motivation of our trip, we would probably never have gone! What a shame that would have been. Thank you for everything you did for us. We loved staying at L'Etoile and seeing with our own eyes how you managed your guest house; magical! Taking care of L'Etoile all by yourself, cooking meals every evening, baking, cleaning, welcoming guests, etc.!
It was also great to meet Pierre from the Auberge de La Garde Guérin, Eliszabeth in St Laurent les Bains and the Abbaye Notre Dame des Neiges where we picked up wine and then cheese in the little village of Le Thort. We also loved cycling down to Pied de Borne.
Walking the Stevenson Trail for 2 days was unforgettable. So many highlights, like sitting comfortably on the veranda with a good beer before dinner. We enjoyed your company and your sense of humour.
We accompanied you to Brussels (via a visit to the cellars of Champagne Mercier just during the grape harvest), not forgetting the warm welcome from your 2 brothers who touched our hearts.
Say hello again to Serge and Deria, and to Daniel, and also Annette if you are in contact with her. I enjoyed her company and your customers, especially Denis and Maree-Edith. She tried so hard to communicate with us using all the English she had learnt at school.
I have to go Philippe. We'll always have fond memories of our time together and look forward to your visit to Australia. Keep in touch. To our friendship! Annette and John
Annette and John Flower, Midginbil Hill Resort, Uki, New South Wales, Australia - Map 
Former resort hotel with a garden on the banks of the Allier River, L'Etoile Guesthouse is located in La Bastide-Puylaurent, between Lozère, Ardèche, and the Cévennes in the mountains of southern France. At the crossroads of the GR®7, GR®70 Stevenson Trail, GR®72, GR®700 Regordane Way (St Gilles), GR®470 Sources and Gorges of the Allier, GRP® Cévenol, Montagne Ardéchoise, Margeride, and many day loop hikes. Ideal for a relaxing and hiking stay.
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