Italian Villas Are Great. So Are French Chateaus.

A few months back I was sitting on a couch in The Villa (my school), having a chat with my program director, Kevin, who mentioned a house he owns in France. Upon further investigation I learned that this house is part of the Chateau du Malerargues, in Southern France, which happens to be the home of the Roy Hart Theatre Company (of which Kevin is a member).

Well of course I couldn't resist asking if some of my classmates and I could stay there for a while over the winter holidays. You know me and seizing opportunities. After jumping through hoops, navigating logistics, riding a couple trains and planes and a rental car, we arrived here:

A simple sign led us into an amazingly peaceful and beautiful escape

This was my front door. Rowan and I stayed in the first floor apartment in Kevin's house, while Sophie, Taylan, Nicole, and Ryan (Nicole's boyfriend who had just moved to Europe) stayed in the upstairs apartment. This window is part of the upstairs living room.

Kevin's house is just one of many buildings on the grounds. This is the main building, which is full of apartments, a common dining room and kitchen, a library, and secrets.

Please look at this staircase outside the main building:

WHAT?!

The Chateau used to be owned by Henri Meyrueis. This is above the front door:

He had an eye for detail.

So did the Roy Hart company members who took over 40 or so years ago

Oh. and there is a hedge-labyrinth. We had fun in it:

Orange trees...

and old windows...

And gorgeous wildlife:

As the home of a theatre company, naturally there would be performance and rehearsal spaces. The building on the right is full of them. Interior photos to come in my next post.

Oh, and of course, a pool. because why wouldn't a badass chateau also have a half-olympic-sized-pool?

It's only been out of commission for 2 years. Wouldn't be too hard to restore i think... Apparently in the summer it's unbelievably relaxing.

Luckily for us, the chateau is unbelievably relaxing in the winter too, which is exactly what we were hoping for. It was a perfect place to spend a few days sleeping and doing NOTHING but recovering from our first ridiculously-demanding semester.

Once we'd regained some energy, we did a bit of wandering. There are mountains all around, rocks to climb, paths to hike, streams and rivers to follow. More photos of these things coming soon. For now, I'll leave you with another view of the chateau, from the top of a rocky outcrop I climbed: