Vineyard Cottage - an Hour from Bucharest

The dancing light makes this place special. The vineyard, the beautifully mornings, the shady terrace under the ancient winding apricot tree. It’s a renovated two bedroom, two bathroom, historic cottage sitting in a garden surrounded by vineyards. The kitchen is big and bright, with a cozy farm-style dinning table for six people on one side and the cooking area, fridge, working island, sink and second wood-fired oven and hob on the far side. Access the cottage and the terrace from the French-doors off the kitchen and look out onto the vineyard and the hills above from this special space. While the market is perhaps a bit small for us to focus on exclusively, it would be an excellent space for a writer to come to focus and think and write for a few months, but I hope you understand the vibe I'm, trying to convey?

Functionally, access to the cottage is through the kitchen and as the house is of a wagon design you will walk through one bedroom to reach the second bedroom through the living room. There are two full bathrooms, both with shower, one attached to the front bedroom and the second in the back of the house off the living room and close to the second bedroom. We have a dishwasher, although I actually prefer washing the dishes in the sink looking out at the hills and the vineyard as a sort of dish-washing therapy. Some, perhaps only a few, will understand I'm sure! The heating for the house is done with either electric oil-filled heaters, one for each room, or wood-burning terracotta ovens. If you're going to use the ovens get them started early (by 3pm) and get them hot for the radiant heat to work best and longest through most of the night. They work well and I supply the wood. We bought the cottage and the vineyard and refurbished with an eye towards respecting the unique, story-telling bits while also introducing comfort and quality. The sheets and bedding are all 100% cotton, the bathrooms are modern and the furniture comfortable and we hope in good taste.

For activities and excursions, how about a farmers-market on Sunday mornings in the nearby village, the salty baths and pampering massage at Sarata-Monteoru, wine tasting at the best wineries in Romania. To eat well, I can send you off to intimate bistros. local family joints and even a rowdy local bbq joint. You can also enjoy bike riding in the village as well as cross-country excursions. Mushroom hunting in the hills above is popular and for the truly adventurous there is para-gliding off the big hill behind us. A pool is open in the nearby village for the paying public. If you're the more sedentary type, well how about sitting around the fire pit at night with a good bottle of wine, cool tunes and just counting the shooting stars overhead.

My wife and I take a lot of pride in hosting folks and I hope my time working in wineries, restaurants and resorts back in the Napa Valley, where I grew up, is of help?