Auberge des Baous

With friends at Auberge des Baous

I am not lucky. I don't win prizes. They are always won by somebody else!

So, it was an immense surprise when I heard from Babette that I had won a weekend stay with one of her host families in Provence. After much preliminary discussion about suitable dates and times, I was able, eventually, to enjoy my prize in September.

I flew to Nice from Gatwick and stayed at The Frog's House with Benoit and Corinne (both French) in St Jeannet, a little village north of Nice high in the mountains. The house and the village were an absolute delight and Benoit and Corinne excellent and welcoming hosts. Breakfast, lunch and evening meal were all included in the package.

I was surprised by the number of activities available in the area and the numerous attractions.

The accommodation, a former hotel, has been completely renovated to modern standards and could only be described as excellent and extremely comfortable. Benoit and Corinne have obviously gone to considerable lengths to provide for their guests. Nothing is too much trouble.

I am forgetting. The purpose of the visit wasn't to live in the lap of luxury, nor to enjoy the delights of the surrounding countryside. I was there to improve my French!

From the moment I arrived, we had one basic rule - speak French and French only. I had done considerable preparation for my visit, often to the annoyance of my husband who was desperate to watch something on the TV other than my French language video tapes!! So, I drew on everything I had learned to communicate with my hosts in a way that they might understand. No mean feat ... and I was soon in difficulty! But Benoit and Corinne both had a virtue worth its weight in gold. Patience! They were always there to help and advise both with my pronunciation and vocabulary. Oh! And my constructions, too!

In no time at all, my hosts had built my confidence and I was away! There was no stopping me. Language is about communication and I found that I could communicate with them in a way that they could understand.

But, all my time was not spent in the house. On one occasion Benoit took me into the local village to indulge in a little wine tasting (just a little.... I think) and to see the production of olive oils, with a little sampling of those, of course. The spoken local French and accent was often too much of a challenge for me but all the time Benoit took great pains to explain everything to me in French that I could understand, and I was learning all the time.

Back at the house I was able to witness Corinne's passion for cooking and good food in her extremely well equipped kitchen - the kind that I will only have in my dreams. I, and other guests, were treated to a cookery lesson in French. What great fun! We prepared the starter, main course and dessert and I also prepared pesto for the first time for myself. No more the need to spend £3 a jar for the manufactured version. I should perhaps also mention that Corinne excels in the making of her own jams and much of the wine and other food items are locally produced.

A visit to the market in Nice was also on the agenda. This gave me the chance to practice my French when buying a few souvenirs, sampling the goodies in the market and enjoying lunch. Lunch was had at a shop that specialised in traditional Nice style snacks. It was truly French with not a tourist in sight - they go elsewhere it seems - and we were all able to share a traditional French experience.

Eventually, my stay had to come to an end. There is never enough time when you are enjoying yourself so much.

Now that I am back home again, I have some superb memories and I have resolved to do my best to build now on the whole experience and in particular, of course, the exposure to French life and language and all that I learned.

Find out more about Auberge des Baous.