Where to Stay in Provence: Mas 9 Romanin

It was 2018 and Romain Avy was living in the UK, working as a mechanical engineer, when he got the call to come home to Provence. 

After farming the same land for four generations, his family had made the extremely difficult decision to give up on agriculture and convert the buildings on their vast St. Remy property for tourism.

This month, Romain (now 35), his brother Laurent and his dad Remi will put the finishing touches on the sixth (and probably final) cottage on this idyllic, historic domaine. Provence is filled with fantastic places to stay and year to year it’s impossible to keep up with all the new ones. But I recently visited the Avys' place for the first time and knew immediately I wanted to tell you about it!

Mas Neuf Romanin (aka Mas 9 Romanin) consists of six houses and apartments of various sizes, five of them with private pools, all built in and around the enormous old farmhouse and its outbuildings. Surrounding them are 50 hectares (120 acres) of farmland that once produced vast quantities of apples, pears and wine grapes. Back in the day, the Avys also made and sold their own wine.

But as the years passed, it became clear that, for a number of reasons, farming here was no longer sustainable, at least not for this family. Today virtually all their fields are laying fallow.

As far as family farms go, 100-plus years is a very-good run…but still. 

Although no one quite knows when the big mas (farmhouse) was originally built--there’s a Roman fountain on the property--Romain’s great grandfather Roger starting farming here around 1910 or 1920. Later, when Romain’s grandparents decided to move off the property and into the village, grand-père Robert was still at the farm every day. Romain grew up in a house across the street, where his mom now lives. He remembers playing hide and seek in the gite that’s now called Mamy, in honor of his grand-mère.

Romain earned his engineering degree in Toulon, then took himself off to the UK at age 22, primarily to improve his English. His three-month stay became five years and he was happily working in the auto industry when that call came beckoning him home. With help from a small crew of local artisans, he and his dad set to work and the first gite, called Papy, had just been finished when Covid hit France in early 2020. Tourism came to a screeching halt but construction did not; by the time people could travel again, a few more pretty gites had been finished…just about one every year. The sixth will be ready for renters next month.

Ranging in size from one to five bedrooms, they’re bright, warm and inviting…blending rustic charm with relaxed elegance while grounded in the farm’s rich history. Old materials were repurposed when possible. For example Romain fronted new kitchen drawers in one gite with wood from the old building itself, while wood beams from an old roof were transformed into a dining table. One set of bedside tables was crafted from a massive fallen plane tree branch; another was made from Romain’s grandmother’s travailleuse, which stored threads and needles for sewing.

Each gite is unique but common elements include art-glass lighting, splashes of color, pretty wallpaper accents and natural materials such as stone, rattan, terra cotta, leather and wood.

Sandrine Chabaud, a family friend, helped with interior design.

All the gites have modern kitchens, dishwashers, washing machines and convertible air conditioning/heating units which means they can be rented year round. The largest gite, which sleeps 12, has a grand fireplace.

With the exception of one on the second-floor of the mas, the cottages all have private outdoor terraces with dining tables and a barbecue or plancha. And all but one have a private pool.

While other family members are involved in the business in various ways, it’s Romain who runs the show. He’ll confirm your reservation, answer your questions and probably be there to greet you and get you settled. He’ll be happy to suggest restaurants and the best sites to visit, around St. Remy and across Provence. While the lodgings here are marketed as “self-catering,” Romain will do whatever he can to make sure you have a wonderful stay.

Guests are welcome to wander into “the museum”: an open barn filled with relics such as a pre-war Caterpillar D2 (hidden successfully from the Nazis by Romain’s grandfather) and a boat motor that the family says was used during the debarquement, in either Normandy or Provence. Romain also remembers hearing that the pétanque pitch was originally dug out by German POWs. A huge old scale that weighed fruit-filled tractors sits in the forecourt.

The artist Christian Manoury has his studio at one end of the property and is happy to show his work and talk art with interested visitors. (To reach him: +33 6 75 09 72 89, insideout13@wanadoo.fr, @christan.manoury).

Mas Neuf Romanin is located on one my favorite roads in St. Remy: gently curving, heavily wooded, very agricultural and very beautiful. When heading home from anywhere east of St. Remy, I often turn off the D99 and take this old road, the Ancienne Voie Aurelia, instead. Beautiful horses graze in pretty pastures to the north; farms and old homes, framed by old plane trees and towering cypress, line the road on the south…the Alpilles Mountains in the distance. The light, particularly just before sunset, is stunning.

This is a beautiful area for hiking and biking. The 12^th-century chapel Notre dame de Romanin is a stone’s throw away.  At the Aérodrome de Romanin, our tiny airport, the Aeroclub de St. Remy offers “baptismal” glider flights and a flight school for beginning and advanced glider pilots. On days when the wind and weather are just right, you'll see the planes circling gracefully over the mountains.

All around Mas 9 Romanin, other farms are still producing apples, pears, olives and wine grapes. In fact the Avy’s neighbors include two of the finest wine producers in the region: Domaine Hauvette (not open for visits, tasting or sales) and the historic Chateau Romanin (very much open for all three things and more). Not far away in either direction you’ll find the wineries Domaine Milan, Domaine d’Eole and others.

And even though his family is no longer farming, Romain still has his hand in, through a side business he launched last year. Called Mon Petit Market, it’s designed to promote the products of local farms and food producers, mostly within a 30 km radius. Paniers (baskets) with different themes can be delivered to guests on the property and elsewhere. He plans to give back a portion of proceeds to local producers.

What will happen to the Avy family’s fertile farmland in coming years remains to be seen. It sits in the Alpilles Natural Regional Park and, as a result, is highly protected, with strict rules about what it can and can’t be used for. Romain and his partner Amandine welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Eloi, in February, but Romain says it’s very unlikely that the fifth generation will ever end up farming here.

In the meantime, the agritourism business is thriving: bookings are strong and reviews are great. So if all of this sounds appealing to you, check the website and reserve soon! And please tell Romain I sent you! I’m so happy he shared his family’s touching story with me…and I wish him much happiness and success in the years to come! 

Mas Neuf de Romanin 
Mas9Romanin.fr/en

contact@mas9romanin.fr
+33 (0)6 17 61 40 62
13210 St Rémy de Provence, France

Photos: Old Farm, New Tricks! (1) The gite called Evasion. (2, 3) The old family mas from the garden, Romain in front. (4) Romain at the fountain, which dates to Roman times. (5) The gite called Papy. (6) Kitchen counter in Evasion. (7) The gite called Fontaine. (8) Living room in the gite Alfredo. (9) Bedroom in the gite Mamy. (10) Bathroom in Evasion. (11, 12, 13) All the gites except one have private terraces and all but one have private pools. (14, 15, 16) In "The Museum," relics from farming days gone by include a sign for the Avy family's wine business. (17) View of the farm from above.

Provence Paradise is for Sale

After creating it and running it for 18 years, my friend William Moore has decided to put his beloved Provence Paradise on the market.

This is a historic hamlet of vacation villas on the outskirts of St. Remy, one of the prettiest, most-popular villages in the region.

Comprised of seven separate homes across five buildings—with 17 bedrooms total--Provence Paradise is being sold fully furnished, complete with an eclectic collection of antiques, art, books objets and tchotchkes, collected across France and beyond.   

All the buildings have new roofs, new electrical and plumbing, and reversible gas heating/AC. The roofs and insulation were redone in 2008 and 2021.
 
“There’s even a large, open-air terrace,” William says, “that’s just right for further development. Maybe a small bar and restaurant? The possibilities are numerous!”

This is a wonderful opportunity for anyone interested in taking over a thriving, turn-key vacation village…where guests enjoy the amenities and privacy of private homes but the community feel of a resort. Provence Paradise has a 5.0 “Excellent” rating and great reviews on TripAdvisor…and a large loyal following with many guests returning year after year. William is happy to include his commercial assets (the Provence Paradise name, the website and a client list of roughly 2000 names) in the sale agreement, if wanted.

Or, the property could be divided and sold as private homes, individually or in clusters, or be converted to long term rentals. 

Originally from Chicago, Willy had lived in Europe for many years before buying the property in 2004 and setting out to bring its crumbling buildings back to life. For 350 years, the Tourtet family made traditional roof tiles and bricks here…but the business collapsed when the men went off to fight in WWI...and either died or came home disabled. The oldest home on the property is La Tuilerie, which was added to piece by piece over 150 years, beginning in 1621. 

“We’d finish one house at a time and then start renting it,” Willy remembers, “which helped finance the work on the next house.  People would say ‘oh what a beautiful house!’ and I’d say ‘want to see what it looked like before? Look over there!’

“It was a total labor of love,” William adds. “You wouldn’t have done it otherwise.”

My clients who’ve stayed at Provence Paradise over the years love the welcoming spirit that William created—through Tuesday cocktail parties by the pool, for example—and unexpected, gracious touches such as the homemade first-night dinner awaiting all tired travelers and the fresh bakery delivered to every house each morning. 

But they also loved having all the modern comforts (washer/dryers, dishwashers, air conditioning, WiFi, etc.) in homes that hadn’t lost their traditional, Provencal feel…with thick stone walls, ceramic tile roofs, vaulted ceilings, beams, fireplaces, painted furniture and Provencal linens. The property itself boasts Roman relics, an ancient aqueduct and a large wine cellar. 

The seven units have fully equipped kitchens, living and dining rooms, and terraces surrounded by plantings that ensure privacy for all. They range in size from one to four bedrooms each and are modular, meaning certain spaces can be expanded for special occasions. The total “built surface” of almost 1000m² includes 780m² of indoor living space. 

All together there’s roughly 2800m² of land, fully landscaped with mature trees, vines, flowers and an automatic watering system. 

In the middle of the property there’s a large swimming pool (6m x 14m, with salt filtration), plus a hot tub, summer kitchen, loungers and deck chairs. The pool and hot tub are heated by hidden solar panels. 

Provence Paradise has three entrances and parking for seven cars but William says that could be expanded to ten or even 12 spaces.

The neighborhood is residential and quiet…but just a 10-minute walk to the heart of the village. 

St. Remy is a vibrant, historic town of 10,000 year-round residents, in the Bouches-du-Rhone department of the PACA (Provence Alpes Cote d’Azur) region. Spread out across the foothills of the Alpilles Mountains, it’s roughly three hours south of Lyon and one hour north of Marseille. Hugely popular with travelers and second-home owners, St. Remy is known for historic sites (including the excavated Greek/Roman village called Glanum), its appeal to artists of all types (Van Gogh painted 150 canvasses in the year he spent here), its festive summer events calendar and traditional local festivals, the quality of its produce and the natural beauty of the landscape. Paris is roughly three hours away via the high-speed TGV train from Avignon, 20 km north of St. Remy. 

Many of Provence’s best-known places—including Les Baux, Arles, Aix, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the Pont du Gard, the Luberon and Nimes—can be reached in an hour or less. 

Intensely passionate about historic preservation, William says that giving this old property a new life, and sharing it with guests from all over the world, has been more rewarding than he could ever have imagined.  But considering he'd already spent 36 years in international manufacturing before he began building Provence Paradise--and that he had never really planned on a demanding second career as a full-time, hands-on innkeeper in the first place-- he’s definitely ready to turn the page, to focus on family (his four kids and 11 grandkids all live in Europe now) and on travel. 

He's also thinking he may do up a few more more old buildings, like the ones he recently transformed in the nearby village of Noves. "There's magic in old stones," he says, "and they definitely get under your skin!

"This slice of paradise—Provence Paradise--has survived since the reign of Louis XIII!,” Willy continues, “and it’s definitely time to pass the torch. My hope is of course to pass it on to someone who’ll cherish it as much as I have."

For more info: williaminprovence@gmail.com, +33 (0)6 07 82 66 63.

Where to Stay: Moulin de la Roque in Noves

In 2002, Gaby Janney came to stay at Guy Fallon's Moulin de la Roque...and stayed. It's a very-beautiful, historic property--a hamlet of vacation homes--and I wanted to 

share the story with you.

A River Runs Through It: The Anguillon borders Moulin de la Roque. Until 1977, it powered the centuries-old mill, which remains on the property, fully intact.

Today the historic property offers nine vacation houses and apartments on 12 lush acres, a short walk from the village of Noves.

Entering the property. Welcome! We have tarte and rosé for you!

Guy (at right) bought the run-down property in 1994 and his first business was quince; he knew nothing about farming. In this photo from 25 years ago, he talks shop with a neighbor and his "five drunk workers" found at the local bar.

To make a few extra francs per kilo, Guy regularly drove this tractor 25 or 30 km, with three tons of fruit in the trailer...and no brakes. 

Eventually Guy decided to convert the property to welcome travelers. Here's the main courtyard, before renovation. Guy's mom took one look and said: "Guy! You bought so much roof!"

The same courtyard, today. They must adore Guy and Gaby 

at the local garden center!

The Manor House and mill, before renovation and today.

Grain grinders and a turbine in the mill. The grinders replaced earlier stone ones and boosted production four times over; the turbine replaced a water wheel in 1870.The turbine's cogs are wood; if one were to break it could be replaced quickly without 

having to shut down the mill for too long.

The three-story mill building is a dusty and evocative time capsule, with cool things to photograph everywhere. Guy knows all the history and will give interested guests a tour.

Milling remnants remain across the property.

All the original buildings served the mill in some way; there's been no new construction. The house called La Bergerie used to be a sheepfold; these photos show before and after.

The house called La Tuilerie, before and after.

Les Cigales, before and after.

In the house called Mas des Oliviers, high kitchen counters are topped with wood from an old barge. Gaby found it in a field and dragged it home.

 Terrace of the house called Maison de Meunier, in spring.

The magical property just after dusk, shot by a guest through a window. "Whether the sky is cloudy or clear and full of stars," Gaby says, "there's a curious and beautiful light 
that bounces off the cliff."  

Leaving the property, towards Châteaurenard and Avignon.  

"Arrive as a guest, leave as friends or don't leave at all," 
Gaby says.

For a couple years I had heard there was an American living in Noves, a small village roughly 15 minutes from my home in St. Remy. Not that there aren’t plenty of Americans around but most are on vacation or have second homes; not so many stick around all year.  “So who’s the American in Noves?” I asked my friends at lunch one day. “Oh, that’s Gaby!” they said. “You have to meet her!” I sent an email, Gaby said please come visit and we’ve been great friends ever since.

Gaby's partner Guy is the owner of Le Moulin de la Roque,  a beautiful and very-unique estate on the site of a former flour mill dating to the 15^th century.  The property has a vast garden, a large Roman-style pool and several lovely historic homes for holiday rentals. They call their place “a little Provençal village” but that doesn’t really convey the “wow” I found when I first ambled up the tree-lined lane. I could see immediately why travelers come back here year after year…and knew immediately I wanted to write about it.

Le Moulin de la Roque sits deep in the countryside, a short walk from the village, in an area known as La Roque (meaning cliff, in Old French). Nine separate accommodations--all renovated from existing historic buildings which once served the mill in one way or another--range from a small studio apartment to an eight-bedroom home. There’s a pétanque court, badminton, volleyball, two large trampolines and plenty of safe space for kids to run around. The beautifully landscaped 12-acre estate nestles up to a rocky, forested cliff (with 750 acres of hiking trails) and is bordered by the pretty Anguillon River, which fed water to the mill for hundreds of years. It’s all very secluded but just a five minute walk from the closest boulangerie for your morning croissants. The old mill is still largely intact.  (For more about the property’s history, click here.)

For 400 years or so, this was one of the most prominent properties in the region. Twenty-five years or so years ago it was a total ruin.

And that’s where our story begins! That’s when Guy Fallon, his then-wife Christine and their three kids came down from Belgium, looking for a slower, sweeter life and a two-year sabbatical from Guy’s career as an oil trader for Petrofina.  

Trained as an engineer and passionate about the outdoors, hiking and adventure, Guy originally thought they’d spend their break in the Alps or near Lake Annecy. “But every time we went house hunting, it was pouring rain or snowing like crazy in either place,” he remembers. “And every-time we visited friends in Provence, the weather was absolutely beautiful. It was Christine who finally said ‘Why don’t we try Provence instead?’’’

The last thing the couple visualized was buying an abandoned 500-year-old mill and undertaking a massive restoration project. But when Guy laid eyes on the old property...well you know already how that went.  The land was very green and lush, home to a small vineyard and some 1500 quince trees, and Guy loved the idea of agriculture. The still-intact mill appealed to Guy’s engineering side...and the kids could attend good schools in nearby Avignon. Plus, the property seemed to have infinite potential.

Back in the day, at the peak of production, eight full time millers were producing seven tons of flour here per day,  as well as electricity for themselves and part of the village. The Roux family, which had bought the property in 1682, grew very wealthy from milling and when they rebuilt the manor house in 1910, they gilded the balconies with real gold. “They became a little bit fancy,” Guy says, “and called their home Château de la Roque. They were a bit showy but the property was definitely industrial.”

Flour production ceased in 1962 and the mill began producing electricity exclusively. That ended in 1977, when a stone dam on the river was destroyed to prevent flooding, leaving nothing to power the mill. As various Roux family members died or became estranged, the property fell into disrepair and they finally sold it in 1984.  There were two subsequent owners and when Guy bought it ten years later, all the rustic outbuildings were crumbling: a tuilerie or large stone kiln for making terracotta roof tiles (tuiles), a bergerie (sheep barn), a large building for storing grain, a miller’s cottage.  Along with the purchase Guy inherited an alcoholic caretaker, which somehow lent to the charm (until it didn’t).

When Guy signed the contract in 1994, his mom—having being raised in old Belgian châteaux with always-leaky roofs--proclaimed “Guy! Are you crazy? You bought too much roof!”  Today he says he’s in total agreement!

The first order of business was the orchard and Guy set out to learn everything he could about quince. “It’s very unusual in Provence to cover a field with quince trees,” he reports. “It’s a very old-fashioned tree and the market for the fruit is narrow. But since the trees were already there, I figured I might as well do something with them. I told myself, how hard can it be? Selling a barrel of oil or a ton of quince...same thing...it's just selling!"

Guy dove into quince farming with abandon, doubling production his first year. Which of course led to the next problem: what to do with 36,000 kilos of quince? "I had absolutely no idea who’d buy them," he remembers. "I now knew how to grow and treat them but had no idea how to pick or sell them."

So Guy’s caretaker asked around at the local cafe and “five drunk guys” came to help. Together they haphazardly harvested the fruit, Guy watching in horror as they tossed quince from one to the other, dropping most on the ground.  And then off Guy went off to the wholesale food market in nearby Châteaurenard, the biggest in the region, his ancient tractor and trailer overflowing with quince. Only then did it become apparent what a true outsider he was: a city slicker and gentleman farmer who—word had it—was actually a Baron back in Belgium (true).

"I was not of this world!" he says, laughing. "There were 5,000 trucks there...and just two of us on tractors: an old guy who looked like he would die any minute and one crazy Belgian."

Soon Guy hired a more-professional crew and the word spread that the crazy Belgian in Noves was producing lots of beautiful fruit.  That’s when he got a call from a wholesaler in Pernes la Fontaine, 30 minutes away by car. “He wanted three tons of quince in one go...quite tempting!” Guy remembers.  “I was picking two tons a day, more or less, and if you don’t sell them within two or three days, you have a warehouse full of quince.  He offered me an extra franc per kilo but only if I’d deliver. But all I had was my ancient tractor!  To go 25 or 30 km on a two-ton tractor, with three tons of fruit behind you and no brakes, is totally stupid but of course I did it: across the river...across the big bridge...down the big N900 towards Apt, one of the busiest roads around... then down a big hill...no way to stop...and all that fruit behind me. And then every day the same guy wanted the same tonnage, so I did it over and over again. It was really, really dangerous.”  

Guy eventually bought an old truck and quickly became the biggest quince-grower in Provence, producing 50,000 kilos each year. And then after seven or eight years of quince-shlepping, the royal Belgian farmer said basta...he was ready for a new challenge. 

Guy had already begun to think about renovating the property and as many other farmers in the area were renting farmhouses to summer travelers, he thought, “why not?” Christine, on the other hand, decided the “Green Acres” life with paying guests was definitely not for her. So she moved to Avignon, the kids stayed at the Moulin with Guy, and the couple divorced in 1998.

From that point on, Guy went full steam ahead, transforming the property for tourism. “I read A Year in Provence like everyone else,” he recalls, “and I knew how complicated a large project like this was going to be.” With a cranky local “builder” he renovated three houses over three years, repairing old broken stone walls and transforming the interiors into beautiful homes. Fairly rustic at the beginning, the houses got nicer and nicer as time went on. Guests came...and came back...and brought their friends. Traveling couples loved the relaxed atmosphere and authenticity of the “real Provence,” while families loved the space and the activities for kids. Painters found the property to be the perfect backdrop for art workshops.

In 2002, Gaby Janney showed up from Virginia, a guest in one of these workshops. Turns out Gaby was having her own mid-life crisis—similar to Guy’s ten years before--and she was hoping that some painting time in Provence would offer a nice reprieve. “I was in a big transition and I came to France to lighten up my life a bit,” she explains. So the pretty blonde American landed in Provence, all set for her restorative vacation, but her luggage never turned up. As Gaby had no transportation and spoke no French at the time, Guy the charming host jumped into action: taking her shopping, calling the airline, doing everything he could to help.

Gaby fell quickly in love: with the property, with the region and with Guy.

With a background in business and marketing, Gaby’s passions have now shifted to Provence and all that it offers: from fabrics, cuisine, antiques, decorating and art to the people, culture and history of rural France.  She loves to share her knowledge with guests; she herself is a painter and she enthusiastically welcomes artists and workshops on the estate.

A few weeks ago, Gaby and Guy invited me for dinner by the fire in the house they call Mas des Oliviers...and I mentioned that I loved the old wood they had used to top a high kitchen counter. “These planks were part of an old barge that I found in a field and dragged home,” Gaby told me. “The workers thought I was nuts when I told them what I wanted them to do with it!

“Everything here is historic and original,” she continued. “We’ve done no new construction at all. We use old materials wherever possible to keep the traditional Provencal charm and style.” 

The various layouts and sizes of the accommodations make Moulin de la Roque a terrific option for large family vacations and other gatherings that require lots of rooms. The largest house (eight bedrooms, seven baths) has a large atelier perfect for workshops, reunions, meetings and receptions.

Whereas guests stay in typical Provencal farmhouses or cottages, Gaby and Guy’s house –the one the Roux family and the villagers called a château—is more noble, the type of grand Bourgeois home commonly built by wealthy families in cities such as Avignon or Aix. Dating to 1910, it has soaring ceilings, Italian marble, mosaics and beautiful tile floors, all done in the Art Nouveau style which was very in vogue at the time.

In the area surrounding Moulin de la Roque, the late afternoon sun is dazzling as it bathes vineyards, orchards and olive groves in light; biking in the area is fabulous. In the early evening, guests love to hike up the hill to see the sunset, gathering wild rosemary and thyme.

Guy and Gaby welcome all guests personally, with a fresh seasonal tarte, a nice bottle of rosé, a tour of the property and a where-to-go guide filled with their favorite “secret” places. They often host weekly cocktail parties which allow guests from all over the world to mingle. A huge number of guests are repeats, including some who met here originally and now schedule their trips to coincide.  

When Guy’s daughter was married here two years ago, the Priest came from Belgium and brought a white dove to be released during the ceremony. But instead of flying off as he was supposed to, he decided to stick around. Given the name Bello, he's now a pet and the happy mascot of the Moulin.  Which is of course just perfect, given Gaby and Guy's motto of warm hospitality:  “Arrive as a guest, leave as friends or don’t leave at all!”

Moulin de la Roque is just a 20- to 30-minute drive from many of the most-interesting, most-popular sites in Provence: the Luberon,  Avignon and the Palace of the Popes; Châteaufneuf-du-Pape and the Southern Côtes du Rhône wine region; the Pont du Gard, Arles and Les Baux. It’s 45 minutes from Aix and just over an hour from the Camargue and charming seaside Cassis.

For more info, see the website here,  their TripAdvisor page here or email: moulinprovence@gmail.com.