24 August, 2006

Paris - Inspection Trip - by Jill

Well, the summer is almost over and I’ve been working on the new Paris site between trips down to Positano and up to Umbria. I’ve been very fortunate to have had help from my daughter Ava who is a confirmed Francophile at 18 years and thank goodness she speaks pretty good French, so she is accompanying me on this trip to help out and do all the talking, we even managed a trip up to Montmartre which was gorgeous and some very kind Australian tourists too this rather fab photo of us in this wonderful local cafe


Our project for this trip was to photograph all of the apartments for the site and eat well .... We were very lucky to be staying in the apartment Francs Bourgeois in the Marais, I mentioned in my last blog, you know the one with the famous blue walls and the incredible location - right opposite Muji - and a few steps from Chez Marianne. I forced Ava into sitting for a shot against those fabulous walls too, irresistable backdrop.


Not only is the interior of this property sensational, but also the common areas are incredible, each time I opened the heavy door from the street to enter the apartment, all passers by stopped to look in as even for Paris the courtyard is looked upon as something special. The courtyard is so wonderfully manicured and as we entered the entrance hall there was the strong perfume of beeswax from the wooden staircase and banisters, all quite magnificent!





We photographed all of the apartments in a few days, there are going to 12 apartments to begin with and we will add to this slowly just a we did with Italy-Accom, handpicking the apartments as we go, this is a great start though as the quality of the properties we saw was really superb, we have some cute little inexpensive studios, like St. Sauveur in the Montorguiel area and a specious 3 bedroom apartment just off the Champs Elysees called Bassano that I am sure would not disappoint even our most fussy clients in search of Luxury accom in Paris. All in all, I think we have a great cross section of sizes, there should be something to suit the needs for all of our clients, couples, families and groups traveling, so I look forward to getting back to Rome and launching the site at the end of September.

17 August, 2006

Positano - August Surprisingly Tranquil! - by Jill



This August as mentioned in my blog on Casa Sara, our family ended up in Positano for our summer break, this was not our fist choice as we normally try to find the most tranquil of places, however having teenage daughters the choice is no longer soley ours and if we are to actually get our girls to come with us, then we have to swing their way. So we reluctantly agreed to spend time in Positano to at least get us all together in one place. We were very surprised to find that half of the beach (back rows) were all empty, we could hire chairs in the front row each day, tables were easily organized in any restaurant we desired and apart from that tight squeeze in the town around the bottom of this hill (easily avoided) then it was truly a tranquil holiday,and could be about the only part of the coastline in Italy that could be described that way in August...

15 August, 2006

Positano - A Stay at Casa Sara

This August we had the great fortune to stay for our second time in Casa Sara in Positano. Our family has fond memories of our first stay back in June 05 and I think most of you will agree, when you repeat a holiday it doesn't always quite cut it the second time around - I am pleased to say that I now know for certain that I can repeat this experience as often as I can make it down to Positano - another perfect holiday in one of the world's most unique locations. Day one, I I actually didn't leave the apartment for the first 24 hours, I just stayed out on the terrace which overlooks the Spiaggia Grande, I could just make out my family who had somehow managed to snaffle front row seats at the beach, so I lay out on the sun lounger all day only getting up to use the convenient outdoor shower on the terrace when I got hot... and do a bit unfinished business using the adsl connection they have in Casa Sara. We ate in for a few nights and made use of the barbecue on the terrace and bought fresh fish at the bottom of the steps going down to the beach, those nights were sooo relaxing and our girls were satisfied to stay at home as there was the luxury of cable tv so we were all happy! Casa Sara is by far one of our family’s favorite holiday destinations in Italy and I highly recommend it to all…