What is a day house and dog sitting in the South of France really like? I thought I’d give you an example of one of mine, as most of them over the course of 3 weeks were pretty much the same, all wonderful… About 7am I awaken to the sound of doggie nails scratching on glass as the pups let me know it’s time to get up and take them for their walk. They sleep in their beds in the kitchen with a glass-paned door in between them...

How would you like to stay in a beautiful home in the South of France for 3 weeks for free?! Lounge by a pool with a view? Is this possible? Yes, it is, through house sitting! House sitting jobs exist all over the world, and there are several websites on line dedicated to helping homeowners and house sitters find each other. It’s a win/win situation, as it gives homeowners on holiday peace of mind that their home and beloved pets are...

Tours, France is a great home base for touring the chateaux of the Loire Valley, but it’s also a nice city to visit in and of itself. It’s full of outdoor cafes, and amazing markets like Les Halles, with 10 million kinds of cheese (okay, I might exaggerate slightly) and the best cherries and raspberries I’ve ever tasted, along with everything else you need for a picnic. The cathedral, is magnificent, tall  and gothic and...

The Loire Valley is covered in castles, and after my inadvertent indentured servitude, I set out to see several. With dozens of castles, how do you choose?! 42 chateaux make up this UNESCO World Heritage area. Without a car, I was reliant on either a tour, trains, or buses, so for my first foray into fairytaleland, I opted for a tour. I usually avoid them, but this was a small tour of just 8 in a mini-bus, which stopped at 3 castles, or...

As I sat in front of a cold, dark fireplace, in a dank, dark cave shoveling ashes, while all around me there were castles, I thought to myself, why does this scenario seem so familiar?! This is a cautionary tale. The name and exact locations have been changed, not to protect the guilty, but to protect me from the guilty, for telling the truth of my tale. The story does not include a prince or a glass slipper, but there is a fairy godmother...