Les Colonnes

Saint Romain en Viennois

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some answers to questions people have asked about the house, the village and the area.

As you can tell from pictures and descriptions, the house itself does not have a pool. The following paragraphs provide information on swimming in the area as well as information on several other places in the commune (outside the medieval village) which offer pools.

Vaison-la-Romaine (2 miles) has a large public swimming pool easily accessible at the edge of the Roman ruins. Nyons (15 km to the north) has a new swimming and water park on the edge of the Eygues river, again, easily accessible by car.

In Nyons (15km) is Soleiado, an aquatic complex with 1200m² of swimming area including lagoons, rivers, wave pool, waterfall, wading pools and slides… plus evening concerts and decks.There are also several attractive places in nearby rivers designated for bathing. For river walking, flipflops or waterproof sandals are recommended. The river beds are stony and gravelly - hard on the feet. The water, in various pools and cascades, is cool and refreshing. Sometimes after rain it can be slightly silty but overall it is usually clear.

If a pool is essential and Saint Romain is the desired location, then there are several other gites for rent which have shared pool facilities: Opposite our house on the outer edge of the village is Le Mas de la Guite with several 2 and 3 bedroom gites opening to an attractive shared salt pool (non-chlorine). There are also 2 maisonnettes and a house for rent on the opposite hillside with a shared pool at Les Residences du Claux . There are 2 campgrounds nearby with pools and cabins or trailer homes for rent. Camping du Soleil de Provence **** Saint Romain en Viennois Tél. : 04 90 46 46 00 and Camping de l' Ayguette *** Faucon Tél. : 04 90 46 40 35.

A note about swimming costumes: for reasons we do not yet understand, shorts-type swimming trunks for men are not allowed in Nyons and Vaison. While the signs give us the impression that the only choice is nude swimming for men, we know that's not the case. What is allowed is 'slips', the small trunks that professional swimmers use. Don't ask us what it's all about!

You can enjoy lovely cool water by paddling down the Gardon River under the Pont du Gard - quite a thrill. The water is calm and the Pont is so spectacular that it is wonderful to float under and around it. Another fun option is to go horseback riding at 'Trois Rivieres' near Entrechaux and galop up the rivers - wonderful splashing.

Our village has a small restaurant called La Route des Vins. The lunchtime set menu is 11.50 euros. Dinners are about 22 euros. It is a simple unpretentious French local restaurant. Next door is Chez Martine, the bar. Here you can get drinks of all sorts and some snacks. On Thursday evenings "Chez Roberto" pulls up outside Martine's. Roberto has a van with a wood-burning pizza oven in it and he makes the best pizzas anywhere. (I am prepared to claim they are the best in the world!). They cost about 6-8 euros. It takes only a few minutes to cook them. In summer you can eat at one of Martine's tables. In cooler weather, take the pizza home to eat on the terrace or indoors depending on the weather. In the unlikely event of having any leftover slices, you can eat them tomorrow or freeze them and eat later. They are still delicious.

The village itself has no shops. Tony comes with his bread van each morning at 9 a.m; not so good for early birds. There is a big Intermarché supermarket about 1 km just up the road. It's open 6 days a week, all day. You can get everything you need here and, if not, Vaison town centre, another 1-2 km down the road, has plenty of shops.

The good news is that we installed a washing machine in August 2007. Phil put up some clotheslines in a sheltered part of the courtyard and there are some clothes drying racks inside also. In the summer at 30 degrees, clothes dry fast. There is also an iron and ironing board. But having the washing machine now reduces the opportunities for wonderful encounters at the Laundromat.

I love the laundromat in Vaison. First, it has a full-fledged laundry attached. You can take everthing there, have it washed and ironed, and just collect a few days later. That's my favourite way of dealing with laundry. All you have to do is deliver, collect and put away.

My next favourite is the laundromat. There you meet lots of interesting people. We have met a lot of tourists and anglophones who have second homes nearby. I also met a local shepherd who has a flock of 500 sheep and was about to take part in the transhumance north of us going up into the Vercors mountains, and a wonderful dynamic tiny French lady of a certain age from nearby Malaucene who was thrilled and excited about using the laundromat for the first time (cheap way to wash duvets [7euros as opposed to the laundry doing it for 25 euros]). She was too short to reach the top of the machines and kept jumping up and down, recruiting the help of everyone and just sharing the thrill all around. Another time an agricultural worker was in to do wash. She had a clothes catalogue with her and we all advised her on what to buy to wear at a wedding in Normandy. When she left she distributed fresh giant zucchinis to everyone. But if there is no excitement like this, I also get a lot of embroidery done. If you don't want a quiet read and you don't do needle work, you can go around the corner to the cafe for coffee, croissants and people-watching.

Our local pharmacist recommends factor 50 during the summer - especially for Northerners. During the rest of the year, Factor 30 is advised. If you are not able to buy these before you arrive, you can get them locally. Children should also always have sun protection. The sun is very strong in the area. Factor 15 is not adequate.

Opposite our house is a space big enough for about 4 cars. It is something of a race to find a space, but this is what we try for most often. Nearby is a public car park. There is no charge for this. All the village parking is free. After unpacking your luggage, the village car park is often the best place to leave the car. Should you bring the car inside the village? There are some models that will fit. We have taken our Citroen C5 in, but it's a real squeeze in some places where there is space for a piece of paper between the wing mirrors and the walls. We don't recommend trying it unless you have a Smart car or a very trendy small sports car.

The house now has electric radiators in each room. They can be set at a variety of settings and temperatures. It is possible to make the house very comfortable, as we confirmed during the Christmas 2006 holiday season and as our tenants also found during December 2007/January 2008. There is also a wood-burning fire in the salon that you can use. It heats the room very nicely. There are other fireplaces in the house but they are not functional and are closed off.

During the winter and autumn seasons, electricity is charged to you at the rate we are charged by EDF. A reading is taken at the start of your stay and at the end of it. Payment is in cash. In the winter, the cost can be in the vicinity of 70 euros per week, depending on how warm you make the house. There will also be a charge for firewood. Firewood is about 65 euros per cubic meter. Unless you stay for a long period, you are unlikely to use as much as 1 cubic meter.

On the other hand, we do not have airconditioning but we do have some room fans if there is no breeze coming through your room. You can also sleep on the terraces if you want to move a sunlounge chair or an air mattress outside at night.

Wifi is available at a modest charge per visit of 4 weeks maximum. This is not connected to the telephone. If you need the telephone, this is by separate arrangement. It is a good idea to either buy a local portable phone or a French sim card for your own phone. Alternatively, there is a phone box next to the school which takes phone cards. This is often a good way to make occasional calls, even overseas.

In Place Montfort, Vaison, there are 2 cafes. Festival Cafe now has a free wifi hotspot if you have your own laptop and it has a wireless card. Next door at the Cybercafe you can buy time on their own computers. It's about 1 euro for 15 minutes. Beware the keyboards: French keyboards reverse several letters and you need the shift key to access numbers. This makes your letters very interesting and slows your typing speed! If you need to do serious work, you can go to Net &Cie in Vaison and book time. They have US/UK keyboards and lots of facilities but are not open in the evening. Details are at our house.

The nearest ATM is a free-standing one at the Intermarché, two minutes' up the road. It takes most cards. In Vaison there are ATMs at the Post Office and at several banks along Ave General de Gaulle and towards the Roman Bridge.

We prefer payment by bank transfer and supply details on our Terms and Conditions. We hope in the near future to be able to accept credit cards or Paypal payments, but we haven't quite achieved that yet. Normally you would pay a 20% deposit to guarantee your booking and the rest 8 weeks before you arrive. However, if you book quite late, then full payment is required.

Refunds are available as follows:

In the case of cancellation, any payments, including initial deposit, will be refunded as follows:

Up to 8 weeks in advance of arrival: full refund, apart from a small cancellation charge.

4-8 weeks, 50% of payment " 2-4 weeks, 25% of payment "

Less than 2 weeks - 0%

Note: in any case, if the property is re-let for the booked period, there will be a full refund, apart from a small cancellation charge.

Unfortunately, yes. Although the transport by rail and air is excellent to the major cities, our village is in a rural area and there is no effective local transport.

Travel to Vaison (we get off the motorway at Orange Sud and follow signs to Vaison). Take the D938 direction Gap and Nyons. At the Intermarché supermarket roundabout, turn right onto the D71 signposted for Saint Romain en Viennois. When you arrive at the village, you are in front of Chez Martine (Bar on your right). Pass Martine's and bear up to the right circling the village on the outside. If Martine is at 6 pm on a clockface, go up to 9 pm and find a space to put the car, either opposite the houses or, temporarily, just in front of the opening you will see into the village. Walk into the opening following first to the left, then right. In front of you will be the house. On the way you will pass Andre's house just inside the opening on the right on Rue de la Tour which you will be following. Our house is just below the apse of the church on the east side, facing onto rue Belles Fleurs, the 'inner circle' road. It has columns on the top and blue shutters. Our name is on the door. When you confirm your booking, we will send you a map of the village.

We have added a Casio Privia 700 digital piano to the salon. This is a good quality instrument with sampled grand piano sounds. It also does other tricks. You are welcome to use it if you play piano already. I hope that professional or accomplished amateur musicians will also find it attractive if they want to spend some time rehearsing in a pleasant environment. There is some music available to borrow, including some for adult beginners. Because of the climate variations from winter to summer, we decided not to buy a 'real' piano and have it suffer from the changes.

No minimum period, but there is a minimum rental fee based on the weekly rental fee. Short rentals are negotiable on an individual basis. If your visit is shorter than 5 days, we recommend staying at our local B&B called La Calade.