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The Farmhouse


Bij aankomst waren we verrast over de grootte van La Ferme. Het was nog ruimer dan op de foto's en het filmpje op internet. Ook mooier en lichter. Onder begeleiding van Christian konden we het voor het eerst betreden. We hebben het erg naar onze zin gehad en voelden ons direct thuis. De bedden slapen geweldig lekker, de keuken is goed voorzien van servies, pannen, schalen hulpstukken enz. Na wat probleempjes met de toiletten (die door een stevige Engelse dame waren vernield) hebben we erg genoten. Christian konden we dag en nacht roepen voor hulp en advies. (Ook Jan was goed te spreken) We hebben veel jeu de boules gespeeld. We denken dat de baan nog iets harder moet worden door te walsen.
Uitstapjes naar Puy Mary (die wij oneerbiedig de puist van Marie noemen); Salers, de oude stad; het zwembad in Riom-es-Montagnes; Murat; de barrage bij Bort les Orgues; 2 x een boswandeling met hoogteverschillen en mooie vergezichten, nogmaals naar Puy Mary en daarbij helemaal naar de top geklommen; naar de kabelbaan in Super Besse, vanwaar je prachtig ver kunt kijken; naar St.Flour om te weten hoe lang het rijden is naar de A75, voordat we verder reizen naar Alicante in Spanje.
Na elk uitstapje was het goed thuiskomen en iedere keer als Christian langskomt, te voet of per auto, valt er wel wat te grappen of grollen.
We wensen de familie Boon veel geluk met dit mooie huis en hopen het ooit nog weer te bezoeken.
Hartelijke groeten, Fam R de J uit Wormer, Fam J C van der L uit Amsterdam


 



 


 



July 2003
The farmhouse is amazing! It would be a great place to live in - it's more than adequate for a holiday home.
The location is perfect - once the daytime murmur of the tractors and crickets has gone it is pretty much silent, and the valley is beautiful.
The region is a bit sleepy, but the activities that we found were all great - the spa at Saint-Nectaire was very enjoyable -(we were a little bit disappointed that it has no classic architecture-it's very modern) and the nearby mini golf was a good laugh too!
The view from Puy Mary is wonderful and the view of Le Claux that you get if you go para-gliding, as we did yesterday, is awesome. It's well worth trying - it's not scarry at all, and about as close to peeling like one of the local kestrels as you are likely to get.
Thanks to Christian for being helpful and very funny too!
K J Nottingham, UK

We had a lovely time celebrating our mothers 50th birthday here enjoying the tranquil surroundings. The house is very well equipped and my only suggestion would be to maybe reduce the temperature of the hot water as it could be very dangerous!
I would not repeat my brothers's comments above but I agree with his opinion.
R A(mother) and K J. -Bristol, England
July 2003


 



14th -28th June 2003
After six years of staying in our beloved Vercors, we have finally come to the Auvergne.
Our usual travelling companions have been unable to join us this year, hence the opportunity to look at another part of this amazingly large country.
Eybarithoux and the farmhouse have been a revelation. The standard of accomodation is the highest we have yet encountered. We, too, would have appreciated some mugs, however, but otherwise we have wanted for nothing. Except less heat.
France has melted in temperatures that have exceeded all records. This is not unusual for June, now. We have been in France in previous Junes, when there has been une caniculaire. Apart from one wettish day it has generally been wall-to-wall sunshine. Eybarithoux offers a cool retreat from the heat of the day, and two alternative patios for meals in the shade.
We have tended to do our walking either very early or very late in the day. We were on top of Puy Mary at 7.00am on midsummers day - avoiding both the heat and the crowds!
With the heat and the sunshine has come the hay-making. The valley below has been a hive of activity and we have been entertained by the well-practised choregraphy of tractors and balers as the grass has been cut, tumed, baled and wrapped, often in one day. Various tasteful shades of polythene wrapper now adan the valley.
Recommendations for places to visit, to shop to eat are overleaf.
To visit
-Salers. An hour's drive away. There is a leaflet in the drawer. Use the carpark on the immediate left as you enter the town- and find the shade of the trees in the grassy area. Les Tampliers (marked on the leaflet) gave us an excellent lunchwhilst La Martille, is La Place is good for afternoon people-watching over a drink of iced tea.
-The maars. Although a long trip (130km), it is worth going to visit the crater lakes, especially Lac Pavin, the signature maar, hidden within a volcanic ring.. A honey pot -yes. But walk around the lake-allow an hour. Picnic on the basalt columns. Travel by the D678, Riom, Condat, Egliseneuve. Wide and well-engineered.
Shopping
The village shop is OK for pain, croissant, pain au chocolat and cheese.
The proxi in Cheylade has a wider range and choice, especially cheese. There is also a good patissereie in Cheylade. There is an excellent butchers in Riom, next to the small Casino which is good for most things, except some vegetables. Marked on the Riom map, in the drawer. And Riom has pharmacies, the Cheylade one being closed.
Eating
Le Saint-Georges does excellent regional lunch meals (Euro 11,50 -19,00). Marked on the Riom map.
Hidden nearby delights
The two cascades, le Lac des Cascades, the church in Cheylade. And look for the lovely pool in le Bois Mary where the forest road crosses La Petite Rhue river. Park at the hairpin bend near the (derelict) teleski site and walk 1,5 km to the fork.
Warnings
Very hot water in the taps. Children should note.
This is an agricultural area with animals closeby. This means an accompaniment of things that fly and bite. We had an invasion of fleas -not helped by the heat. The pharmacies in Riom will do a roaring trade in Apisgel and Dermofenac. We begneath to the farmhouse the electric mosquito zapper -it seemed like a good idea when we bought it, but we are not sure that it works. Buy a fly swat.
We also begneath
-a walks booklet, based around Riom. The circuit from Valette is good, even if the cascades are elusive. Park by the school/mairie, near the starting point
-salt and pepper
-regularly watered tubs of geraniums and nasturtiums
B B and G N.
Nottingham and Wokingham, England


 



May 19th -June 5th 2003
We have had a fantastic holiday here. This was an area of France we have only driven past before and we do not regret staying here one bit. The first few days were overcast and cold, but suddenly the sun came out and the skys cleared and we were confronted with the most stunning scenery and countryside. We have fallen in love with this area and look forward to returning again. The farmhouse exceeded our expectations and was ideal for the children (all under 6). They have had such fun and enjoyed freedom that they don't get in Manchester(Stockport). The facilities here are great and we were very impressed with the high standards and cleanliness. (The tumble dryer was great!). The childrens favainte place was the woods down the road (Bois de la Bragouse) on the ski-routes. Playing in the streams and meadows was brilliant -we had many picknics there. We really enjoyed going over to Super Lioran (the drive was spectacular) and had a real treat when the cable car started and we were able to go to the top of Plomb du Cantal with views for miles.
Thanks for finding such a fantastic setting, it has been the ideal place for us to be relaxed again and have spend many evenings enjoying watching the cows come and go from the farm down the hill.
We can think of two suggestions - 1 an inside drying rack for things that can't be tumble dried and 2, mugs- may be it's just us British, but we went and bought some as the cups were too small!!
Hope to be back next year.
A + L D. J(6)G(4)R(3)J+Z(18mth)


 



10 May 2003
We have spent a very enjoyable week at Eybarithoux. The farmhouse has been very comfortable and the surrounding area is nothing short of stunning. The weather has been changeable with extremes of sunshine and very low cloud.
The wildlife has been great with many sightings of beautiful birds of prey, wild chamois and my first ever sight of a wild hare. Sites worth a trip are - Puy Mary, La Boudboule, ruined chateau at Apchon (bit of a climb) ridge walk above the valley.
All in all we have a lovely relaxing stay - exactly what we had in mind.
Many thanks to Jan Boon and Chrstian.
R and S C.


 



12th - 23rd April 2003
We have had a lovely stay and the weather has been good for the time of year. We are a family of 2 adults and 2 children (13 + 17) and we really enjoyed the solitude and took the opportunity to play music. We have seen lots of wildlife including birds, badgers, snakers and a lot of horses. We thought the quality of everything in the farmhouse was of a high standard and we are already planning our next trip to here. It is worth noting that a lot of the mountain passes are closed at this time of year and the mountains are not easy accesible. However those that you can get to are beautiful as they are covered in snow. Thanks to Christian and Jan Boon for helping to make our stay so enjoyable.
R G J and K


 



27 december 2002
Derde keer dat we naar de huisjes in Frankrijk gingen. Deze keer in "de Ferme". Echt mooi huis. Veel leuker dan Nord. Ik had het alleen nog maar gezien als een paar stenen muren, maar het is echt heel mooi geworden. We hadden gehoopt op sneeuw. Helaas kregen we dat niet. We hebben dus ook niet kunnen skien/snowboarden. Dat vind ik wel heel erg jammer. Verder wel goed weer gehad. Deze week maar 1x regendag. 's Avonds af en toe wel veel wind. Maar ja alleen ik werd er wakker van. De kerstboom die er bij aankomst al stond was ook leuk. Het viel me op dat er in de tuin bij de andere twee huisjes dat er een hek zit en een picknicktafel. Daar hadden we natuurlijk niks aan maar was wel leuk.
Mijn vader en moeder hebben ook nog gewandeld over de Puy Mary en met mijn zusje, en ouders zijn we naar de waterval geweest. Hij was best wel groot. Het was een rustige en gezellige week. Maar ben blij dat we vandaag weer naar huis gaan.
groetjes, T. de L. en ook van de rest: H.C.C. en F.


 



7-21 September 2002
We have enjoyed an excellent fortnight at Eybarithoux. The level of equipment and comfort at the gite have been very impressive. The views of the valley with its farming activity, and further the mountains has been superb.
We have had very good weather, with 5 days of unintempted sunshine in the middle of the fortnight. Rain (and thunderstorms) have very considerately only occurred at night. We have had several barbecues (we suggest to future guests that they pile the charcoal at one end of the barbecue to concentrate the heat, unless, of course, they are prepared to use vast amounts of charcoal!)
We have eaten out twice. The Hotel du Peyre-Arse at le Claux was very good, and very reasonably priced. The 5 course menu cost only Euro 15. Le Saint Georges at Riom-es-Montagnes is a little more expensive (but still quite reasonable) but had a more sophisticated feel and excellent food.
We enjoyed many walks beally, particularly so for our labrador, Defa. The many Petit Randonees marked on the 1:25000 (top 25)maps provide a good choice of easy day walks. We particularly recommend the PR at Marchastel. We also walked here to the woods to the South. There are many choices of route here but you will need to watch the map carefully. For the more adventurers there are high level routes along the mountain ridges. We walked from Pas de Peyrol over Puy de la Tourte, Suc de la Blatte and Suc Gros and back. You can see Eybarithoux from these peaks.
For shopping we recommend the Champion in Riom-es-Montagnes over the Intermarche. More choice and better layout. The alimentation & boucherie in Cheylade are quite adequate for small shopping trips, and not too expensive. Good local places to visit are the Lac de Cascades near Cheylade, la Font Sainte above St Hippolyte and the local waterfalls. Cascade de Pont d'Aptier, about 1 km South of Collandres is particularly nice with a small picnic area with the tables well sited to see the waterfall.
I'm particularly interested in Natural History (particularly dragonflies) and we saw many good birds. 10 different species of dragonflies seen (good for this late in the season), Lac des Cascades good for these.
Also more butterflies than we have seen in the UK this year. I hope to put some photos of the area and the wildlife on the web once I get home. One final note about shopping. For those wholove lait Frais with their cup of tea, the farm immediately below the gite. The cows are milked at about 17.30 and it costs Euro 1 for two litres.Take a bottle!
Finally, thanks to Christian for his warm welcome and friendly help, and to the Boon family for allowing us to share their wonderful house from home. We will be back!
G, L & D M.


 



Friday 6th September 2002
We have enjoyed a comfortable stay in this beautiful environment. It has been pleasant to be away from the constant movement of cars and lights that are now so much of life in the South of England. Town-wise Murat, Mont Dore and Salers have been particular favourites. More than the towns though we have enjoyed the countryside and mountain views -even when the countryside means being stuck for 15 minutes behind a herd of cows!
Luckily for us the bad weather has mainly circulated round the edge of the Massif Centrale daytime, so we mainly have seen sunshine or light cloud. Unfortunately at night we have had cloud cover except one. A pity as the stars are so spectucular away from the light pollution exastronomar has grown used to nearer home. It is many years since I have seen the milky way with my naked eyes. As a curligation we have lost something wonderful in our desire for 24 hour opening and constant haste. The stars remind us that Gods un.... is so much bigger and more strange than anything we could imagine left to ourselves. As others have said the quality and equipment of this house have surpassed most gites we have known. A standard other owners should aspire to.
To Christian, Jan Boon and family thank you. To those who follow enjoy your stay.
P J M & A D. Burwell Cambridgeshire, England

Friday 9th August 2002
We have had a lovely stay here, never tiring of the beautiful views across the valley. We haven taken lots of pictures of the wild flowers and have enjoyed looking at the many birds of prey. We all walked up the Puy Mary on Monday but then the weather turned against us, with low cloud and rain.
We still enjoyed visiting St. Flour and Murat.
The house is a fantastic place to come home to - warm and very comfortable - not quite the slant we had planned for the middle of August, but nevertheless much appreciated!
Both the children have really enjoyed just being in the house and have asked to stay here when we have suggested an outing!
We would definetely like to come back here, as we feel there are many more beautiful walks to be done, which the poor weather this week have prevented.
Thank you for the extremely high quality of all the decoration and furnishing - yours is a really lovely house.
Regards to Christian for his kind help and to Mr Boon and family.
H N P and N B. - Worthing -England


 



Friday 28 June 2002
It was a pleasure to have my own bedroom (without having my brother sleeping with me).
It was fun seeing all the bulls and cows. I have never seen so much in my life!
I liked it most when me and my brother got candy and fanta. (I really liked the fanta).
It was fun riding the horses.
from Deep Rivers, Ont, Canada
from Simone D. (8 years)


 



Friday 28 June 2002

It was a friend -originally from France - in our home town who recommende the Massif Centrale region for our holiday.
For outdoor-minded Canadians, she felt avoiding the built-up coastal areas and keeping instead to the off-the-beaten-track ones would suit us best. So we fell to surfing the web and were struck by Jan Boon's lovely photos and excellent descriptions. It was our first booking ever, over the internet.

Eybarithoux fulfilled our expectations, and then some. The kids (ages 8 and almost 7) promptly gathered daisy bouquets, found 5 toads in the shed + 1 lizard, not to mention a little bird on her nest of eggs. The cows and horses were a hit too.
All the same, it was a challenge keeping the kids occupied - Bob and I would have preferred reading novels and fine dining everyday, but it's pointless even trying. Some activities for kids then (recommended for future guests):
swim at pool in
Riom-es-Montagnes or Murat
horse-back riding,
climb Puy Mary (watch for sheep at the top1),
Maison de la Faune in Murat,
play in little creek in Le Claux (between "downtown" and the camping),
visit Chateau de Val (kids play on beach while parents have coffee on terrasse; castle is worth visit too),
grocery shopping (especially at boulangerie)!

The renovation of the farmhouse is intriguing - couldn't help noticing the Dutch features: WC near the front door, Brabantia utensils in the kitchen, bedding from the Hema. The stonework of the walls is lovely, as are the timbers of the main floor ceiling.

Some suggestions (since this is indeed called a "livre de suggestions") although I must emphasize that the farmhouse is very well equipped and comfortable: we could not find enough clothes hangers in the wardrobe, it is odd that the cleaning cloths are provided in the kitchen but not tea towels for drying, we searched for the instruction manual for the washing machine, but instead had to guess from the symbols how to use it, a drying rack would have been very handy for laundry or wet bathing suits and I suggest providing salt and pepper in the kitchen.

Overall Eybarithoux is truly a little gem in the heart of a special region of France. It has exposed us to new things, opened our minds a little, and given us time for reflection - everything one could hope for in a vacation.
H.R. and B.D. Eric and Simone from Deep River, Ontario, Canada (near Ottowa)


 



This is the first time we have visited L'Auvergne, and we have no idea what it would be like; the mountains are beautiful. We have travelled around the area quite a lot for a new home in France. In the end we think we have found it in Limousin so we will just have to be satisfied with visiting the Auvergne!
Our thanks go to Christian for being so helpful. He is a pleasure to meet. He made us feel so welcome.
We are leaving a little early because the weather forecast is far more snow ~ perhaps a meter this weekend ~ could make our return journey to the UK a little difficult!
G and D H.
12-19 January 2002


 



A Dutchman, Werner, a Dane Karen and the two New Founlanders Micka and Semamiring once again in Auvergne. The Dutch speaks English and I the Dane spreek ook een betje Nederlands, maar een beetje; so in English:
We men went to France numerious times; often on motorbike -without dogs! - and the plan is a house in France one day. I was for a long time in love with Greece and a small island named Foligandios. Now!... we are both in love with Le Claux.
Coming back up north after a week at the Spanish coast we were absolutely delighted with what we found. Our compliments to the owners foor the wonderful restoration of the house, the obviously careful selected items and good taste interior decoration. What a wonderfull contrast to an absolute disappointment in Spain. We both feel so much at home here! So comfortable all together. Since the weather isn't much to write about we have appreciated great kitchen facilities, cooked wonderfull meals with delicious cheese from local "Fromageries" had Pastis in front of glooming fires, enjoyed "onze boeken meegenomen" etc.
Where can we buy such a house??
Untill then, we will come back. And when we do we suggest such a smart thing you put between two single matresses forming a king size bed -it is more romantic!
Lucky you's I hope fully you get to enjoy this pearl a lot yourself.
W.E. Gulpen NL and K.S. Copenhagen, Denmark
September 2003


 



We hebben al zo'n 20 jaar huisjes gehuurd met de vacanties, maar dit huisje spant echt de kroon, zo ruim, gezellig en zo compleet; prachtig gewoon. Het weer speelde ook nog mee dus is het niet moeilijk voor ons, volgend jaar komen we zeker terug.
Ook nog een bedankje voor Jan en Chris ze zijn zo attent en behulpzaam geweest. Chris is zelfs nog mee naar de tandarts geweest na alle afspraken en zo voor mij geregeld te hebben. Jan, Chris hartelijk dank en tot volgend jaar.
S en C R en een poot van Kaj
25 mei 2002
 

 

 

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 Familie Boon · Valreep 2 · 1186VZ Amstelveen · The Netherlands

Telefoon 0031-(0)20-4533201 · Fax 0031-(0)20-4533202

E-mail · Info@franshuisvakantie.nl