Huttopia

When my son opted to go somewhere unusual for his birthday instead of having a party, I was relieved. Parties are a lot of work- the activities, invitations, treat bags, etc. However, when he suggested camping, the work load wasn't necessarily going to diminish, but then I found Huttopia on the Internet. Huttopia is an organization that offers camping in scenic natural settings, at all different levels, from pitching your own tent, to RV camping, to renting "cabanes" and "canadiennes". Cabanes are really just groovy cabins complete with a stove and DISHWASHER, not to mention BEDS! A canadienne is (in addition to what I call myself when visiting certain regions of the world) a sturdy year round wood and canvas tent that has an elevated sleeping area with mattresses. They even include the linens along with the cooking equipment. There are three Huttopias in France and quite a few in Quebec.

We stayed at Huttopia Rambouillet which is the former royal hunting grounds to the kings of France. The area was quite scenic with a pond and many kilometers of bike paths through the forest, some of which we experienced with our rented bikes. The accomodations were charming and our son and his buddy were quite excited about their tent.

Nearby we found an adventure course in the trees "accrobranche" as it is called here. The whole family really enjoyed it, even our little girl was way up high in the trees stepping from log to log. She is a tough cookie.

Our boy had a great birthday, and we enjoyed the beauty of nature while getting a good night's sleep.