We had a wonderful holiday at Suzanne and Jon's Maison Fleurie from July 5th
to July 26th 2015 It was perfect for the whole family-grandparents,children and grandchildren as was the weather -an average of 85F

Janine and Jurgen,the caretakers, are lovely people and were very helpful to us.They are both English

The House has great rooms-large with high ceilings.
Two sitting rooms,a dining room with a table, which can seat at least 16,
a very well equipped kitchen,four bedrooms with very comfortable beds and beautiful linen,a great bathroom with bath and shower and a further separate toilet
The large balcony is ideal for outside dining and overlooks the pool and countryside
down to the river-altogether perfect

The self contained Annex downstairs is equally lovely-sitting room,dining room.two bedrooms,a wet room and a separate toilet-just right for the grandparents ie us!
The patio outside is right next to the pool

The Pool-
It is the largest pool we have ever had and it is heated to 26% C!
Everyone really enjoyed it in particular the grandchildren who spent
hours in it

The Gardens
There is a beautiful garden surrounding the pool and an adjoining large
garden for games etc
At one corner is a large covered BBQ-the domain of our son-in law!

Garage
This is an internal games room with table football
and table tennis
Excellent for wet days-not that we had any at all!

A short walk away
The ancient streets of Aubeterre with a lovely square with shops
and restaurants,the underground church-quite remarkable-we attended
a concert there which was truly uplifting
The Dronne river has a sandy beach with a children's play area and a bar/restaurant
for the hungry and thirsty-it has a good wine list.You can hire canoes

Restaurants
We loved La Taverne which is across from the house-the first time I had a perfectly cooked
Magret de Canard with green beans and Charlotte a Sole Meuniere-also perfect
The grandchildren were well catered for -our granddaughter,Maisy who is 6,only eats
fish so fish fingers and frites was well received
The steaks,lamb chops etc were also very good
Excellent wine list from Patron's wine cellar
There are many other restaurants in particular Morel's,a gourmet experience at a reasonable price, in the Hotel Du Perigord just down the road,a pizza parlour and takeaway and creperies in the square as is the Brasserie with very good hamburgers

Things to do in surrounding area
St Aulaye close by also has a sandy beach and river swimming and children's playground,cafe
and large swimming pool
Poltrot at Nabinaud is an adventure play ground for all ages
Riberac market on a Friday is huge and is will worth a visit as is Chalais's
more local farmers' market on Mondays
Aubeterre has a small market on Sunday's
The reproduction neolithic paintings at the Grotte De Lascaux II at Montignac are a bit further away-reproductions
of paintings are shown to preserve the originals
The lakes at La Jemaye and Parcoul are worth a trip if children are restless which ours were
certainly not with all the local activities
Perigueux and Brantome are the larger towns-we really enjoyed them both

Wine
Bergerac and St Emilion to the south have many wonderful vineyards and,of course,the Gironde/Medoc to
the west of Bordeaux is the home of the great Chateaux -Margaux,Lafite-Rothschild,Petrus etc

Maison Fleurie and its surrounding area gave us one of our best holidays yet
We are planning to return next year

We stayed for ten days, and wished that we had booked in for longer so enchanted we were by the house and it's setting. The house is more spacious than it looks from the outside, is tastefully furnished and very comfortable. We spent a good deal of our time relaxing on the terrace above the pool, which spends much of the day in sunshine. The owner appears to have thought of everything, from ample crockery and cutlery to guides to the local restaurants and places of interest. We enjoyed the stroll up the hill each morning to the bakery, although we were caught out by its closure on Mondays! We tried most of the restaurants in the village, with the Taverna situated overlooking the property being our favourite. We. Hope to book a return visit at a time when we can make better use of the enticing pool and nearby beach.