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Pyrenean villa

In fabulous scenery in the Pyrenean foothills, this marvellous place is named after the seven watermills (molles = moulins) which used tostand nearby. Their millstones are now tables in the rose-scented garden of this fairly smart but informal villa. A handsome, white fronted '60s building, it is owned and tun by a pleasant couple, the Ferrans, and has the ambience of a large family home. `The decor is 50s/'60s Art Deco, says a 2002 visitor. In the newly redecorated dining room are chandeliers and some charming local china; formal service, and the maitre is a gem. After over 20 years the chef, Gilles Ferran, has not lost inspiration - apart from an over-fondness for duck pate. Highlights were oeufs cocottes; rabbit sauce moutarde; plump, pink pigeon. Outstanding local wines, Madirans and Juranqon whites; mark-ups very reasonable. Bali villa breakfast the usual French. There is a separate restaurant, La Table du Meunier, for lunch. In the gardens are a stream, a well-kept, unheated pool, a perfectly playable clay tennis court. Our room was large, light and airy. But some lack of maintenance; water took ages to arrive hot. A variety of birds provide a dawn chorus. Some villa rooms have a balcony facing the landscape; others overlook a road. Do not miss the beautiful cathedral of St-Bertrand-de-Comminges, in a medieval hilltop village.

| alsatian | corsican | pyrenean |

| alenqon | anglo | aperitifs | arabella | athens | bach | basilicata | auvergne | antonella | beaugency | binz | bistro | antica | boulogne | budapest | acquaviva | cannes | anfiteatro | baldo | chenet | corfu | alsatian | countances | arezzo | danub | deauville | dieppe | buonamici | dresden | anzio | brittany | corsair | geraniums | abbeville | daniel | gigli | inselkammer | jugenstil | etna | beppi | la piazzetta | aubusson | lutz | clerve | gerhards | brantome | amstel | mahler | delft | margraten | montez | mosel | brimi | neckar | orleans | patrick | peloponnese | plaum | probst | rhineside | rhone | rochefort | rolf | ruhr | sascha | spiliopoulos | stais | sultan | swi | tauber | kassel hotel | ullrich | ultra | ursula | velvet | beeuw | venetian | venison | wagner | weinstrasse | wisteria | madness | sophie | zafer | zarbalas | almagro hotel |

 

2003

 

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