Welcome to Mas Thomassy

One thing I've learned in the few years we've been doing house swaps is that there's a certain amount of ambiguity I need to be okay with. That certain amount is a lot. A. Lot. That said, here we are. After 28 hours of travel which alternated between seeming very smooth and really not, we are in our new home.

A bit of history about Mas Thomassy: A mas is a Provencal farmhouse. The oldest part of this mas dates back to 1447. From the 15th century until 1960 it was a 77-acre winery, making “vin de table”.

In 1996 the current owners bought the property which was, by then, practically in ruins. Over time, the property became shared by three generations. In addition to the main house, there are 3 attached barns. In the first is son Jammy and his wife and two teenaged sons. In the second is daughter Nathalie, and her husband, Peter and 4-year-old daughter, Nelson. In the third is Nathalie's grown son.

We are staying in the home of Nathalie, Peter and Nelson. Peter happens to be a green architect and he spent two years gutting and rebuilding their barn into a modern apartment. His sensibility and attention to detail is gorgeous. We couldn't be happier with our temporary home.

We've only been here two days, so these are just a few first photos to give you a brief look around. Tomorrow is the big marché, where the entire main street is closed for the weekly market. Needless to say, we're very excited to check it out!