| Kathy and Tom (USA) |
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We are two people, from Minnesota in the USA, looking for an adventure in our retirement years. We planned to find a town in Europe and plant ourselves there for a number of weeks to try to blend into the spot and live like the citizens. We found the website of Wysteria Gite, read the description and reviews and booked it. Of course it surpassed our anticipation.
The place was spotless, convenient, private and very well equipped. Our hosts were extremely helpful whenever we needed translations, suggestions and assistance. We visited the information service in town often and always received more than enough help.
We had no auto, so used our feet and public transportation....the free city bus in Mazamet, the 2 Euro regional bus to sites in the Tarn region and the train. The bakery and butcher just around the corner were frequent stops for us as well as the open fresh markets intown and the super market (grocery store). We hiked up the Black Mountain, over the green trail, all around the town, up to the Haut Poul. Every person we had contact with was cheerful, helpful and polite as we traded language attempts.
The entire experience was a dream and we would love to repeat it every year. Kathy and Tom Schulenberg |
| Val and Jon (Australia) |
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Val and I have been back in Sydney for almost 3 weeks now, and whilst we are pleased to be home, we are also unsettled and a little sad to have left Mazamet.
When we set out on our 4 months adventure, we were not sure how things would turn out, what Mazamet and France would be like.
Well, it exceeded all our expectations.
Things started well when we were pleasantly surprised by the size of the gite, the up-to-date amenities and the privacy of the garden. Being a short walk to restaurants and shopping was a bonus.
We found Mazamet to be a very pretty and pleasant town, with everything you need from local produce to large convenient supermarkets, but with a distinctive and lively village feel. In the three months we were there, on our periodic expeditions we visited or passed through over 300 villages and towns in France, and there were only a handful to compete with Mazamet.
Despite our appallingly bad French, which our delightful teacher Gael struggled to improve with mixed success, everyone in the village without exception was friendly and helpful.
We will remember Mazamet with great affection.
The Tarn country side was as pretty as any we saw in our travels around France - Lautrec, Montagne Noire, Boissezons, Minervois, Cordes, Carcassonne, to name a few places, are all delightful and close.
Finally, we were blessed with almost boringly good, warm sunny weather and deep blue South France skies.
We would like to thank you for your warm, helpful and discreet hospitality - we always felt very comfortable as your guests.
We will be very happy to recommend Gite Wisteria and Mazamet to any of our friends. |
| Fredi and Georgina (UK) |
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Fredi and I flew to Toulouse and travelled down by car to start our new life in Southern France. It was the last day in February and with great trepidation we arrived in Mazamet. Within a short time we realised we'd landed on our feet when we were greeted by Christina and Mike and taken to what would be our 'new home' for the next nine weeks.
The gite is superb and very cosy. It is home from home, everything you will possibly want, and more. Before unpacking we were whisked up into their grand home for a welcomed drink and chat. We knew at once we'd made the right decision. We also stayed in the apartment at the top of their house which is equally spectacular. Good nights equal good beds,
we slept like babes. Every thing is fully equipped. Linens, towels beautifully laundered. We were able to sit out in our small secluded garden and eat lunch, perfect.
Mazamet is conveniently situated within five minutes of the gite so we were never short of fresh bread and croissants!
We eventually found our new home in May but were reluctant to leave our cosy gite.
Christina and Mike helped us no end with places to visit and local information.
We left relaxed and full of happy memories, thankyou Christina and Michael.
With love and thanks,
Fredi and Georgina. |
| Bill and Lynda (Canada) |
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It has been an amazing, wonderful five weeks. Although the weather disappointed us in Mazamet (grey, morning fog & cool), we always managed to drive up the valley or over the Montagne Noir to see a few hours of sunlight.
What has surprised us the most about France?
The French are very friendly and always helpful, despite our limited vocabulary and egregious Canadian “anglais” accent. Smiles and laughter always greeted us. People made an extra effort to explain things to us if we didn’t, at first, understand.
Food is very, very important in France. Bread, cheese, meat, wine plus a pastry or two (and let’s NOT forget the chocolate….) - the shops and supermarkets are bursting with an amazing selection. Personally, I think any country that has one entire supermarket aisle just for the display of chocolate has their priorities in the right place.
Of course, wine takes at least two or three aisles. And dairy products!!!! Who knew that there could be so many yogurts, dairy desserts, soft cheeses, hard cheeses, grated cheeses, packaged cheeses, sheep cheeses, cow cheeses, goat cheeses - and of course, that does not include the cheeses available at the “deli counter.”
For the past five weeks, we have watched the greens and golden oranges of October turn to mid-November browns. Now, the bare branches on the forests and trees of southern France surround us so it is au revoir to Mazamet and Languedoc-Roussillon.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 |
| Barry & Theresa (Australia) |
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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. |
| Peter and Karen (England) |
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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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