Esther and Sèverine

Judy. We have been fortunate to have had some truly wonderful Airbnb hosts on this trip. I was afraid that Jerry and Elaine in Scotland would spoil us for everyone else, and they are still top-shelf. But our Périgord hostesses have given them a run for their money! 

The front porch at Maison Monet

We forgot to take a photo of the lovely Esther, so she kindly sent us one. 

In Meyrals, Esther welcomed us to her countryside gîte, Maison Monet, with a lovely bottle of local wine. Our little house was located in a field near her home, so if we needed her, she was right there. Most Airbnbs request that you not light candles—and I get that—but she had candles everywhere, which came in handy the night we had a fierce storm that knocked out power! The little porch had a beautiful view across the fields, and a view of the sunset. 

Such peaceful evenings

One afternoon Esther contacted us to ask if we wanted a side of wild boar. Yes, seriously. Her neighbor had just shot one, and had still had some meat in his freezer. She offered it to us, and we did our usual, “Why not?” After much laughter with her and some hard decisions, Ted used only part of it and made a delicious stew—enough for two meals, plus some for Esther and her husband. She’s not a great fan of boar (it WAS pretty darned delicious) but left it for the next visitors to Maison Monet, who thanked her deeply for the wine and for the tasty stew! 

That was one big boar!

Moving on to St. Léon de l’Isle, our tiny cottage, called Gîte Pierre Forte, was hosted by Sèverine, who, in her small plot of land, had a pool, a hot tub, a hammam (steam room), an outdoor summer kitchen, chickens, two daughters, and a lovely dog named Vaya.

Gîte Pierre Forte

The delightful Sèverine

Stepping into our warm and cozy space, we found she had left us a huge bowl of tomatoes and peppers, grapes, figs, and eggs, all from her garden! This time it was my turn, and I made ratatouille, one of our favorites, from her bounty. Plus we had omelets from her eggs and tomatoes. We hardly ate out at all that week, because we had so much food! 

Some of the bounty from Sèverine 

And what we did with it. Love eating local!

One night the Wi-Fi went out. Jade, her daughter, figured out it had to do with a broken booster. Within an hour, they were back with a new one! At night! 

Good morning from Gîte Pierre Forte

As with Elaine and Jerry, we had a bit of a chance to know them and their world. And that makes all the difference when you visit someplace new.