Réalville : Tree house fun

This summer will go down in history as the summer that saw no summer. We spent an incredibly rainy week in the Tarn et Garonne at my in-law's summer house. Since we couldn't really go in the pool, we were lucky there were donkeys and cows around the house and plenty of puddles to jump in. And there was a surprise for my treehouse loving husband.

J is an architect and has become increasingly interested in treehouses and cabins. He built one out of cardboard that's been in our house for almost 5 years and is the best toy any kid can have: it's cheap, easy to repair and packs flat (ok, that's for the parents). He should copyright the plans. But I degress...

So to celebrate our anniversary this summer, I booked us into a treehouse for a night. (At first, I was trying to find a family treehouse for a week or so, like Swiss Family Robinson style but everything was booked).

What I found, by going through the Bienvenue à la Ferme site - my favorite site for all things farm and fun- was an amazing treehouse in a 200 year old oak tree on a truffle far, surrounded by rolling green hills and vineyards. The farmer, George Delcasse, is warm and welcoming. The treehouse - cabane perchée - is amazing : it has a kitchen, a shower, a pull out sofa, a terrasse equipped with plancha to cook your dinner, an outhouse at the base of the tree. He lends you a tandem bike and provides tons of information about things to do. Unfortunately, it poured rained and was windy the night we stayed in the treehouse - which swayed back and forth which I guess added to the effect of sleeping in a tree - but we able to drink apero and eat our breakfast out on the deck, which makes you feel like you are on top of the world.

To get to the tree house, you have to climb up a set of stairs, duck under a large branch, climb more stores and then lift the trap door. Once you're inside, with the trap door closed, you feel like you're cut off from the world and that you're sitting on top of it.

I highly recommend it if you're ever in Réalville in the Tarn et Garonne.