ABBAYE DE VILLELONGUE

The four guest rooms are not ostentatiously luxurious, but have a charm all of their own, with furniture found in local second-hand shops, delightfully old-fashioned wallpaper and stencilled friezes. With the arrival of summer, beds for children, cushions and deckchairs are set up under the cherry trees between the pool and the church, and the art of the siesta takes on an almost sacred meaning. Birdsong mingles with the sound of babbling water. In August, when the squash are well formed, Jean will set up a series of blue chairs in his kitchen garden (painted by him, of course), where his little protégés will take their place and continue their growth above the soil in a manner which borders on land art. Breakfasts are served in summer under the cloister or on the south-facing terrace under a pergola of wisteria, lavender, jasmine and oleanders.