Simplicité: La ferme d'Annemarie

For a very long time I have dreamed of living in France for an extended period. A month. Two months. 6 months. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayles surely nourished the idea. Last January, my friend Joanna and I were having lunch in Schomberg and I threw the idea at her: "Jo, how about a month in the South of France?" Without hesitation she said yes. Yes. I latched onto this word and by the next morning had located a lovely farm house in Burgundy. Not quite the South but it was France and the house oh so lovely. We agreed on the month of October, nine months away.

After travelling by plane, train and automobile, a total of 17 hours, we arrived at La ferme d'Annemarie yesterday, October 1. Exhausted but exhilarated.

Dating back to the 19th century, one side of the house is flanked by a typical mâconnais veranda. Stone was used in the construction as it was and still is an abondant resource of the mâcon countryside. The ground floor is reserved for the cellar. The second floor or "maison haute" is made up of a large room with a great hearth and a large adjacent room. At the end of the veranda, stairs lead to the attic.

Without a doubt this house was the home of a "vigneron" or winegrower. His was a simple existence, his only tool a pick used to care for his vineyard. Following the harvest, the grapes would be taken to the local château or the house of the local bourgeois.