This 18th-century “mas” is located in an authentic Provençal site, in the heart of a centuries-old olive grove in the hills of Nice just 13 km from the city. 3 rooms available. Breakfast served on the terrace or in the garden.

The road climbs and twists, lingers sometimes and quickly resumes its upward progression. Little by little, the Var valley disappears in the distance. At one of the sharper bends, one can still get a climpse of the Mediterranean glistening in the distance, motionless as a permanent backdrop.

Finally, one reaches the top: a sheer rocky ledge,"Le Pas", a long jump over the mountain brow, but also an ageless break in the mountain through which wild boars have for centuries passed from one side to the other. The Cote d'Azur, with its palaces and casinos, has by now completely receded behind the moutains, the misty brows of which follow upon one after the other in a graduation of blue and gray shades, perennially re-creating those age-old landscapes which irresistably bring China to the mind. The mists soften and blur the outlines of the ideal landscape born out of the slanting rays of an already setting sun. It is a suggested rather than a real landscape; one that is always dreamed of forever renewed in its arid splendour.

The road has now become a moutain track that runs down to the river. Pink cistus, box trees and rosemary in full bloom gently touch the car; the gravel crackles under the tires; the wheels throw stones in all directions; the lane is but a succession of bends offering alternating vistas of sloping vinyards and patches of "garrigue"; a peaceful and solitary retreat from the world. Finally, hidden in the folds of the vale, the house comes into view, surprisingly small but obviously of a robust and rustic construction. The first step out of the car brings immediate sensations of the heat and the strong scent of pine trees. A gurgling fountain alone breaks the silence of this abode. A quick look around shows a moutain vista, still suggestive of China, on the left a well with a stone wall discoloured by God knows how many suns...The well, the trees and once again the house...