I never thought I would end up living in Paris but - you see, I met a man. On a ski trip - Alps - chalet - fireplace - well, it has been over 20 years. I still cannot give you the complete insiders guide, (I believe that takes 3 generations) but I can give you an ex-New Yorkers guide to this fabulous City of Lights. Our first studio was my husbands, where we lived once we decided to share a continent. We were there until our son was about negative-one-month old, and we didn't want to have to convert the bidet into a bassinet. We moved and I started renting out that apartment - everything fell into place. As an architect, I love the renovating, and as an ex-pat, I love meeting the people who come. Songbird Sanctuary : We fell in love with an old house in Civray de Touraine that had some caves and I first became aware of this troglodyte region. My sister and bil being geologists, I had a spelunkers appreciation for the stone and couldn’t believe the magnificent spaces, and it is right near Chenonceau! Clos Lussault : Now, we have found these 3 ramshackle houses all connected by caves, next to Amboise. We have renovated them into a series of vacation homes, the perfect place for 1 to 20 people.

Spacious, elegant luxury found in a part cave, part ancient stone house! These have been gloriously combined to create an ideal vacation home. You enter a sun-drenched veranda with a full kitchen, go up some steps to a wide open dining room and living room in a cave – or go into the stone house part, where you have a downstairs bedroom and bathroom, and an upstairs ‘under the eaves’ bedroom and bathroom. This house has a small patio, and right across the road we have our private parking, and a much larger private garden area. This house is the first of a series of four vacation homes that we will be listing. We are still finishing the others on the property next door, but this one is entirely separate and private. I would love to give you a tour of the others, though, and show you what we have accomplished (I am busily assembling a whole “before and after” book that will astound you!)

Lussault-sur-Loire is a small village right next to Amboise, the Loire River is just down the street from our Clos Lussault. So much to see and do! The wine region is the well regarded Montlouis wines, we are right next to Vouvray and many other wines. The house is directly on the bicycle route of the Loire Valley. There are hot air balloon flights, canoe rentals, horse rentals, we are a short walk from the Grand Aquarium and a short car ride from the Beauval Zoo Park. Amboise is a must-see on any Chateau tour, not only the impressive Chateau, delightful town, but also my personal favorite – Clos Lucé, where Leonardo da Vinci spent his last years, and which houses a museum that will delight young and old alike, with a garden where you will find mock-ups of many of his inventions, and a delightful restaurant, L’Auberge du Prieuré, which specializes in renaissance cuisine. Everything they serve is from the epoch, they dress accordingly and tell you all about the food and drink that they are serving. They should have some wandering minstrel type of entertainment, also – at least in high season. It’s a tiny bit kitsch, but thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyable and rather unique. I hope to get a chance to meet you and tell you about some of my favorite walks, places to go and things to do!