Nelly Vintage Homes: loire valley

I thought about titling this post The Deyrolle Hotel but thought it might be a little confusing. The Château de la Bourdaisière hotel is however owned by Prince Louis Albert de Broglie, the man who resuscitated Deyrolle in Paris twice. Once in 2001, when he bought it and again in 2008 after a fire ravaged most of the shop and its contents. He's also an avid gardener which is why I now realize the Le Prince Jardinier shop is on the main floor of Deyrolle. The entire story is told in the WSJ magazine where a few of these photos originated. The rest are from the beautiful website for the Château de la Bourdaisière in the Loire Valley that was turned into a three-star hotel by the Prince and his brother. The chateau and surrounding gardens are so romantic and beautiful that it's moved Château de la Bourdaisière to the top of my must visit list. Now, I just need someone to come along and drive the French rental car.

Photos by Beatriz da Costa and via Château de la Bourdaisière

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Chic Chateau Had at Me Hello

I'm not usually that impressed with the homes that the New York Times features but this 17th-century chateau had me at hello. It was a bit run down when Giuseppe Laviani and his family bought it for $500,000. They put $500,000 worth of renovations into the 9,000 square foot chateau on 20 acres. To a New Yorker used to crazy real estate prices, that seems like quite a bargain. Probably helped that Giuseppe's son was the architect. Their life seems like my dream. So much so that I just might have to consider retiring to France someday. To read the entire article, click here.