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There are 42 entries in 5 pages
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15/07/2008 08:57:45 |
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| Amazing! Wonderful! Comfortable! There are just not enough words to describe our recent vacation to Mazamet, France. Mike and Christina welcomed us with open arms and made us feel like family. Their well-appointed gite accommodated six travelers (five women and one man!) with ease. An early morning coffee in the private sunken garden or a short stroll to a local café, made the cottage a perfect place to enjoy all that is French. We loved the people, the markets, the area, our hosts; everything was perfect. You simply cannot afford to miss this gem of a place! |
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Pamela McGuire
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From: Aurora, Colorado (IP Recorded) |
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10/06/2008 07:51:19 |
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Mike & Christine are wonderful hosts. They welcomed us into there home for a well earned beer after a long motorcycle ride from Boulogne to Mazamet before showing us around this lovely Gite which is located in a sunken garden. The area has some stunning scenery and visitor attractions. Mike & Christine made us feel like long lost friends. The roads in the area are fantastic for motorcycle touring and the Pyrenees are little more than an hour away. The Gite is located on the outskirts of the small town where we spent a few evenings taking in the relaxed café culture of France. Mike is an avid motorcyclist who is not only to happy to offer any advise you may require but also a helping hand if needed. We WILL be returning, the sooner the better.
GARY & SHARRON JUNE 2008 |
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Gary & Sharron
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From: UK (IP Recorded) |
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06/12/2007 10:05:52 |
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| Bill and Lynda have created a most excellent blog with info relating to the Gite and the area, it can be found at this web address http://paintingbooks.wordpress.com |
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Bill and Lynda
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From: Canada (IP Recorded) |
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24/09/2007 09:26:51 |
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| We spent a very enjoyable month at Mike and Christina's where everything was spick and span and they went out of their way to help us meet people and feel at home. The month disappeared rapidly as we strolled Mazamet, explored the Montagne Noir and struck out farther. The Pyrenees and the Mediteranean were only an hour an a half away and there were countless historic villages and Carthar haunts to explore. Add our pigeon house and vinyard trips to the other exploring and we had a very busy and fun time in the region. Add a trip to see the bridge at Millau and we can truthfully say we had one very memorable stay. |
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Zeke & Barb
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From: USA (IP Recorded) |
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04/08/2007 11:11:26 |
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Mazamet is quite a well kept secret. It’s a small market town situated in the middle of a triangle made up of Carcassonne, Beziers and Toulouse - so, strategically well placed.
It used to have a thriving tanning and wool industry, and remnants of these past glories are dotted about throughout the town and environs. Its industry was made possible by the specific mineral content of the river that runs through the town centre, particularly well suited to particular tanning and curing processes.
Mike and Christina’s gite is in their back garden - but totally private (no need to see them if you don’t want to, although they’re lovely, so no reason to avoid them!). It has its own entrance and its own little patch of lavender scented garden; the gite is south facing and gets the sun all day - you could just bask like a lizard if that’s what you felt like, and admire the bosky green mountain climbing away above you towards the sun.
If you stay in this gite, you are within easy walking distance of the town - fab market on a Tuesday, it rained when we were there, but it was still well worth a visit. The town itself is full of interesting little shops and fascinating buildings.
Because of its position, nestled at the foot of the Black Mountains, there are also wonderful walks to be taken - maybe up to Haut Poul, which straggles down the sheer cliff in an unbelievable way, clinging on for dear life to the rock face - or maybe just to the Wood Village, nestled further down the mountain, a good place to visit with children and/or a picnic.
The gite itself is well-equipped and comfortable - well positioned for a short stay, but also ideal for longer stays if you’re lucky enough to have a France based project in mind! |
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Viv, Peter & Becky
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From: Wales (IP Recorded) |
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23/06/2007 11:35:18 |
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Booked our holiday at Mike and Christines Gite to relax and recharge the batteries.And relax is exactly what we did. The town of Mazamet is typically
"French" and very hospitable. We enjoyed the markets with a great variety of produce on sale, and had a drink at several of the towns pavement bars.There
are also a couple of the more traditional supermarkets for the items not available on the street market.
The area is superbly situated and we spent a couple of days driving round the "Black Mountains" exploring all the little lanes taking us to yet
another spectacular vista.Best of all, we hardly saw another car.We found little gems such as Hautepoul, Lastours, and a couple of lakes way up in the
mountains.The area is very beautiful, and as you drive down from the mountains back into Mazamet, take a few minutes to stop at the viewpoint to
see Mazamet.
As for the Gite, it is a credit to Mike and Christine. Very clean , very tidy and fully equipped. You have every thing you need. Thanks guys, we had
a really great time and left fully recharged. Only problem was, should have booked 2 weeks.
Dave and Shirley |
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Dave and Shirley
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From: UK (IP Recorded) |
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26/02/2007 08:13:08 |
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Television in both French and English, high speed internet, central heating that works efficiently and just a short walk to town. Far more than one expects from a gite. When you add the remarkable hospitality of Mike and Christina and the sites that can be visited within a very small radius of Mazamet you are set for a wonderful holiday.
When we first booked the gite, we had an idea of where Mazamet was situated but knew nothing of the history surrounding the town or the natural beauty of the surrounding environment. We were simply looking for a base that would allow us to explore southern France and Northern Spain. We could not have found a better place. There is just so much to see and do in the area.
We originally booked from mid October 2006 until end November 2006 but enjoyed ourselves so much that we extended our stay until we were due to return to Australia at the end of January 2007. We even went through the cold of a European winter but found the gite to be as warm as toast, despite it being a little brisk for Australians outside.
Overall, we would recommend the gite to anyone.
Thanks again Christina and Mike. |
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Barry & Theresa
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From: Australia (IP Recorded) |
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09/09/2006 20:53:53 |
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By the time the 4th week of our "holiday of a life time" had arrived, we
were sure nothing could top the experiences that had dazzled us for the past
twenty odd days: Sailing the Adriatic, swimming in crystal clear water under
towering cliffs on the Dalmatian Coast, strolling down Unter Den Linden in
Berlin, romantic night trains... but, oh, how we had underestimated the
little corner of France where we were to spend our last few days.
We arrived in Mazamet in a bit of a daze, the night train from Berlin to
Paris WAS romantic, but not necessarily restful! I had left my directions
back in Canada so we were more than a little lost on the evening of our
arrival- trolling the streets of Mazamet for the address we had, but no idea
at all where it may have be, save a vague memory of the gite being in the
south end of town. Finally we were flagged down by Mike who had seen the
five of us drive by looking lost. He showed is where to park and met us by
the gate to Gite Wysteria.
The gite, situated in a lovely sunken garden, proved to be far and away the
best accommodation we had experienced in all of our trip- the 33 foot sail
boat in Croatia, the apartment in Munich, the high-rise in the Tiergarten in
Berlin- all were great for various reasons, but all-as we had anticipated-
fell short of perfect. That's life right? I guess not, because Mike and
Christina's little corner of Languedoc was perfect in ever way. Spotlessly
clean, completely equipped, perfectly located, and marvelously hosted. In
every way better than we had bargained for and, indeed, should have ever
expected.
If you are looking at this site, I can assume you don't want Paris. Maybe
you want to find great undiscovered wines? Get REALLY behind the scenes of
the DaVinci Code and stand in a medieval castle sacked by Simone de
Montfort? Maybe just mingle with the incredibly helpful, friendly people of
the region in one of the many open air markets and picnic later on the edge
of a beautiful river. It's all there to do, and it's all within an hour or
so of Mazamet and Gite Wysteria. And it's better than you could imagine! The
experience opened our eyes, and spoiled us forever.
Mike and Christina: Thank you so much! |
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Nick, Ingrid, Sam, Sarah, and Will
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From: Canada (IP Recorded) |
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08/05/2006 09:08:39 |
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16/04 06 to 24/04/06
Where do we begin, what a great holiday. Stayed in Christinas and Mikes gite whilst following our son play rugby around the region.
Uneventfull flight with Ryanair. Great link up with car hire at Carcassonne airport. Good directions to Mazamet supplied by Mike. Beautiful first look at Mazamet as we decended down the mountain.
We fell in love with the gite at first site and were warmly greeted by christina and molly at the gate. The wysteria was in full bloom (picture post card). The gite interia left you wanting for nothing,spotlessly clean and beautiful french doors in everyroom. The welcome pack was most welcome (particulary the red wine, as we had arrived on easter Sunday and shops were closed)
We visited many places including Perpingon, Albi and Castres all within easy reach and each with plenty of beautiful sights to see. The drive through the Black Mountains to the lakes was well worth it, as was the walk round the Medieval village of Hautpoul.
The town of Mazamet itself is lovely and exploring it makes a welcome break from driving.I must also point out that the people of Mazamet are very hospitable.
My brother and his son joined us for the last few days and particulary enjoyed a sing along in the Woolpack bar one night. They just wished they had booked the whole trip.
Cant thank Christina, Mike,kate and Violet enough for making our first visit to France so enjoyable nothing was too much trouble.
Very much hope to go back soon.
York. England. |
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Jayne and Mark Jones
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From: England (IP Recorded) |
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13/04/2006 17:41:28 |
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Gite Comments from Peter and Karen Howard; Bournemouth.
Following a difficult drive down due to ‘vehicle problems’ we were very relieved to arrive at the small town of Mazamet.
Having arrived at lunch time; we knew enough not to interrupt lunch in France! So we decided to have a walk around the town before we made ourselves known to Mike and Christina. But we needn’t have worried as they couldn’t have been more welcoming and helpful.
The tour of the gite was exciting as instantly it was clear that a lot of thought had gone into making us as comfortable as possible, as quickly as possible, including a much appreciated ‘bottle of red’, a fresh baguette and a few other essentials to get us started.
The gite was well equipped and we had a few evenings ‘in’; which is not like us but we felt very at home from the outset, thanks to both Mike and Christina, and enjoyed ‘playing at being French’!
We agree with other comments that have been made on the web site that the gite is ideally located for trips to many different fascinating places such as Castres; Sete and Albi; as well as mountains and lakes.
The only down side is that we can’t get back out there for a while! However, we are already planning the next trip and subject to availability we definitely intend to stay with Mike and Christina in their lovely gite.
Many thanks; we had a wonderful time and hope to see you soon! |
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Peter and Karen
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From: England (IP Recorded) |
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