We have been in this paradise for a little over a week.
Nestled just above the hillside village of La Garde Freinet, overlooking the bay where the famed port and resort of St Tropez lies some 15 km away.
Photos of the luxury villa that now lies in our charge for the next five months scarcely do it justice with it's slightly faded and crumbly terracotta walls, light blue shutters, steep layered garden and stunning views.
Yet as I lie here in the large cottage (one of three living areas on site) with the faint sound of Harley Davidson's grumbling up and down the winding hillside roads, perfectly smooth Tarmac under their thick tyres, I realize it has taken until now for us to even begin to relax and consider that our change in fortunes had been for the better.
They say that fortune favors the brave and time will tell whether we have been brave to continue our seasonal forays into property management.
I hope, and feel that after a cold, harsh and ultimately bitter winter, a springtime of healing and adjustment will make way for a life affirming summer.
We have already made ourselves known in the village, freeloading at a patron saints day party, meeting Frank and Inge, Canadian-Hungarians who own a beautiful house in the village, and making inroads with the local wine merchant.
We have been to St Tropez and been stung for beach furniture and cocktails and ridiculous traffic jams, and we have attempted to traverse swimming pool issues in French.
They do not teach that at GCSE level.
Natasha has even got to grips with a rotary iron as we belatedly begin cleaning the villa. Without guests of a boss on site self-motivating has proven tough here.
Who knows what the next week will bring. What I do know is that when I wake up and open the curtains I will be met with the same stunning view of the bay of st Tropez and I will smile.
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