Thomas and Angela Demarliere have a stunningly beautiful gite in little Cailhavel, a town so small even the French I spoke with didn’t know where it was – and that’s saying something. Most French know their territory extremely well. With this tastefully decorated gite you’re actually staying in your own house with a panoramic view out across the entire valley. Out back, there are vineyards and sunflower fields and Montreal far away and although there are houses on either side, it’s very, very quiet; the beauty of rural France is here. If you look carefully you can see the Chateau of Saissac. Other amazing Cathar castles are close, just to the south in the Pyrenees; Las Tours, Queribus, and Peyreptertuse are particularly awesome.
This gite is pristine, super-clean, with a very large, well-equipped kitchen and living area and two capacious bedrooms with good beds. We absolutely loved the ‘best-ever’ view of the montagne noire from the back patio area where we sat each evening. Bring some binoculars with you! It was wonderful to walk the Chemin de Ronde or take a shortcut through town to enjoy a tasty full English breakfast at Dotty’s, run by friendly, affable ex-pats, Keith and Lisa.
Angela speaks perfect English, and Armenian, and French, and was really prompt to return our e-mails, almost immediately, as we communicated about the reservation and as we contacted them the day of our arrival. They are both genuinely kind people and we would love to return and stay with them again at this lovely gite.