date : Wed Feb 11 19:32:40 2009
email : lumet2@aliceadsl.fr
name : Bertrand
comments : J'aime votre website parce que... nous connaissons cette maison, qui est fort agréable ainsi que ces sympatiques propriétaires. Tout est mis à disposition des locataires pour effectuer un séjour agréable à Varennes sur Fouzon. C'est joie et bonheur, que nous encourageons tous les futurs voyageurs a venir dans cette maison des rêves. Merci Elaine et Steve, pour votre convivialité que nous aimons partager avec tous vos amis. Sincèrement ANNE SOPHIE et BERTRAND
date : Thurs Sept 28 19:43:13 2008
name : Susan and John Robertson.
comments : I like your website because ...John and I have been to this wonderful house several times. We particularly love the orchard garden and the elegance of the house. The area is a dream and suits everyone, from the wine buffs, foodies, fishermen, walkers or plain lovers of the good life. We have spent many holidays in France, but never have we felt so at home with both Elaine and Steve, ensuring that everything is set up to ensure you a wonderful holiday, and the local villagers who are delighted to show you the wonders of their area. It is a must to visit the most superb local vineyards where wine tasting is elevated to a way of life and to eat at superb local restaurants - Le Crepiot at St. Aignan an epicurian treat. We will return to this house as often as we can, Thank you Steve and Elaine.
date : Fri Jul 4 20:18:49 2008
email : LynnKessel@cox.net
name : Lynn Klein
comments : This is Joel's wife, Lynn. I also wanted to take time to sign your guestbook. Our family truly enjoyed our stay at Maison des Reves. After long days touring and sightseeing it was such a pleasure to come back to your comfortable home. As Joel said, our daughters loved exploring in the garden and we enjoyed several evenings relaxing at the outdoor table with a good bottle of wine. We hope to come back in the future. Thank you again for everything! Lynn
date : Fri Jul 4 16:51:13 2008
email : joelklein@cox.net
name : Joel Klein
comments : Hi, We stayed at this wonderful place for a week recently (June 14th - June 21st) and I could not have found a more relaxing and comfortable place for my family and I(actually I have to give credit to my Wife for this). The house is charming and was very comfortable. If you enjoy cooking, grilling and drinking great wine, then look no further as you have all the facilities here, local markets and wineries to accommodate your needs. Our 9 year old twin daughters just loved the garden and the rest of the house. The people at The Mairie, which is the Mayors office just 2 blocks from the house, (The Mayor and his assistants) were absolutely wonderful people as were the local shop owners. The house is central to so many towns, villages and destinations. The owners, Steve and Elaine are a pleasure to deal with and very accessible. When afforded the opportunity, we will be back and certainly recommend this place to all our friends that travel to France. Thanks again to Steve and Elaine!
date : Mon May 26 12:15:32 2008
name : Hartvig, Hanne, Ms. Smilla and FiFi
comments : Dear Steve and Elaine ! We are now well back home, and want to express our satisfaction with our stay in your nice house........... We will gladly recommend your house to other people. A PERFECT place to to stay - and bring a dog or two. Probably our best experience until now.
date : Tue Apr 29 16:50:24 2008
name : Michael Walker
comments : Steve and Elaine Just to let you know that we had a very pleasant stay at Maison des Rèves and found the house to be very comfortable, pleasantly situated and well-equipped. My son especially liked the log fire which we used two or three times
date : Mon Nov 26 14:15:12 2007
name : Nicky
comments : Many thanks for a wonderful week. We loved the house and the village was perfect. We cycled around a lot and saw a few of the Chateaux in the area - all absolutely beautiful.
date : Tue Nov 20 22:24:33 2007
name : Ian
comments : The holiday was fine with the weather not really having much of a bearing on our enjoyment. We had sun, cloud but not much rain. UK was much much worse we believe. Varennes is a very friendly place and Chabris is really charming. We 'did' ten chateaux including the most famous. Moulin is however really special and the guide was most helpful with his translations. Montresor and Loches are excellent. Gargilesse - Dampierre to the south is super. We bought wine at Vouvray, Chenonceaux and Chateux de Quincay near Meusnes. We thought that Tours wasn't really worth the hassel in getting there. Euro-Tunnel was great however the badly signposted diversions on the A16 in both directions were a nuisance.
date : Thu Jun 21 20:40:45 2007
name : Linda Kinnamon
comments : Dear Elaine, Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful vacation home!!!!! We had an unforgetable trip. Daniel makes a great host. He took us around and introduced us in the village, and responded promptly when we had an issue with one of the electric breakers. We loved the house, the garden, the village, the location, everything! After going into the more touristed areas around the Loire, we were particularly grateful to be staying in Maison des Reves. If my French improves, it could be considered terrible. There's not much chance to practice in Texas! However, that was never a problem. Everyone, from the local wine makers to the post mistress, was patient and accomodating. Thanks again for sharing your house of dreams, and making our dream vacation a reality!
date : Mon Feb 26 13:23:00 2007
email : rob@jenkinslaw.co.uk
name : Robert Law
comments : We stayed here for a weeks holiday in Feb 07 and had a great time. This house is lovely and has lots of character. It is also well located to the rest of the Loire region. A great place to have a relaxing holiday. Rob
date : Tue Dec 5 19:51:42 2006
email : ericmarilyn@free.fr
name : marilyn
comments : J'aime votre website parce que... c'est joliment présenté, chaque chose est à sa place, c'est clairement expliqué. Et en plus, cette maison et ses propriétaires sont charmants. Bisous
date : Mon Oct 16 18:15:26 2006
email : djgorgan@hotmail.com
name : David Griffiths
comments : I like your website because it is very well laid-out with all the information we need. ...
date : Tue Jul 25 13:26:31 2006
name : Marc & Jessie
comments : We had a fantastic trip. Your house in the Loire Valley is a gem. Daniel is definitely an asset to you. He is very nice and keeps a good eye on your house. Thanks again, Marc & Jessie
date : Sun May 28 22:22:57 2006
name : Kathryn and Hans Jorgen
comments : Daniel was helpful and put up the parasol over the table and brought out the loungers for us to use. When it rained, Hans removed the parasol and then put it back up when it cleared. We did take it down and put it into the garage before we left along with the loungers. It was a little dry when we first arrived and Hans watered the plants once or twice and Daniel came and watered with the hose one day. After that the rain fell just enough to water naturally. Daniel also mowed once while we were there, just after we arrived. We loved the little meadow of wildflowers on the grass under the orchard and I think we have a picture of that as well. Your lettuce is growing right along but just a little too small to harvest. Perhaps, your next guest can take it. Also your flower baskets and boxes were really beginning to fill in by the time we left and looking very pretty. The roses were just ready to pop open too. We made good use of the kitchen knives but I'm afraid they are not as sharp as we found them because we put them to a lot of use. I used the washing machine twice with no problems and got the line filled with clothes twice.. I also used the dish washer this time and it worked very well. We bought a few extra staples: like toilet paper and paper towels that your new guests can use as well. We found the Marmalade and Yorkshire Tea and enjoyed both every morning. Used the bath robes too.....they came in handy! The only small thing about us must be our feet so we did not use the slippers because they were too roomy. We enjoyed your new DVD Player and watched ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE and the Inspector Morse Series and really enjoyed the THREE TENORS. Hans and I are opera fans and we loved listening to the satellite classical radio station from Germany. Hans also enjoyed looking at the German TV stations. And of course we watched the BBC world news.....mainly for the weather. For real news we bought a HERALD TRIBUNE at Chabris or Sells sur Cher almost every day. The whole trip was what we wanted. We ate well and drank the wonderful wine.....enjoyed the country air as well as the pace. Hans said......"you know Kathryn, I really enjoyed this trip".....that speaks for both of us.
date : Wed Mar 15 14:38:50 2006
name : Jane Haddow
comments : I thoroughly enjoyed my holiday in your house last August (2005). The house is beautifully maintained and was spotlessly clean. It is very well equipped and lacked nothing.It is in a very pretty village and the bar restaurant on the corner provides excellent food and very reasonable. Very handy for visiting the lovely Loire valley and surrounding towns and villages. I'm looking forward to revisiting at the end of May (2006).
date : Wed Mar 15 14:34:09 2006
email : haddow@surfonwater.co.uk
name : Jane Haddow
comments : I like your website because ...it is very well designed. Colourful and very informative showing lovely photos of your gorgeous house and garden
date : Tue Oct 11 19:09:00 2005
email : k.gundersen@comcast.net
name : Kathryn and Hans (USA)
comments : Dear Elaine and Steve, Hans and I found your home very charming and agree that the name "THE HOUSE OF DREAMS" suits it to a "T". Your directions took us right to the door with no problems. What a welcome......table in the garden set with fresh flowers was greeting us as we drove in through the gate. It was such a friendly and comfortable house. We had a little jet lag, coming from the USA; but by the next day, we were ready to really start exploring. Hans walked over to the local bread store and got our bread for breakfast. What a treat...both fresh baked bread and marmalade were on our breakfast menu every morning. That first Monday, we took advantage of all your tips. We had a visit to SUPER U and found it did, indeed, have almost everything we needed. We had a very nice trip to VALENCAY. Visited the chateau and had lunch there before driving on to Montre'sor. We found time in the evenings to watch a video from your library. We especially enjoyed the series of ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE. Tuesday, the 6th we drove to the magical chateau of CHENONCEAU and I must admit......I think it was my favorite. We had one of our best meals at the L'Orangerie terrace on the grounds. Enough said about everything we saw. Hans and I both have a sense of history and it was such fun seeing the wonderful places we have read about. We took some lazy days too......Hans painted and I read. Both of us enjoyed looking through your picture books on the Loire Region. I read a very enjoyable novel by Joanne Harris while I was there, FIVE QUARTERS OF THE ORANGE with a setting in the Loire Region. Hans found your home to be a nice motif to paint. We will send a copy in an email soon, along with some photos taken around your house during our holiday. We took advantage of the garden to eat out several times. Hans made some very nice meals with fresh fish that we got at the morning market in Sells. We also enjoyed the community and did a few walks just around the neighborhood. One day we walked by the little river and ran into a flock of sheep and goats. The Sheppard and his dog were out overseeing them as they grazed. It was an adventure for us to be surrounded by the pastoral life.....we loved it. Oh yes, and a word on the local hotel. We found the proprietors so friendly and ate there twice. Unfortunately they were closed most of the first week, but we both thought their food was really good for the value. Needless to say.....we enjoyed everything!!! Having now been to your French Home for two weeks , we can appreciate how much you must love it there. Hans and I have even begun to dream of someday having a home in the Loire Region of France ourselves......see, how you inspired us! We are hoping now...that we can revisit Maison-Des-Reves next year. All in all.....it was the perfect house for a perfect vacation.
date : Thu Sep 15 19:27:17 2005
name : Kathy
comments : Hello Elaine, Just wanted to let you know that we had a lovely time at your house last week and had no problems at all. It was extremely hot while we were there and got up to 36°. I hope it's all right that we assembled and used one of the fans you had in the small toilet area. It was staggeringly hot and hard to sleep with no breeze in the bedroom. The fan works well and is fairly quiet.We did not visit any chateaux, as we have done that previously in the area. However, we did spend Bastille Day evening next to the chateau in Valencay, where they had a charming community dinner and dancing with an accordion band, and beautiful fireworks with the chateau as backdrop. Lots of fun.We did find two very good restaurants while we were there. Restaurant St. Vincent in Oisly was excellent and the chef and his wife couldn't have been friendlier. Auberge du Cheval Rouge in Chisseaux, near Montrichard, was also very good food and had a lovely terrace garden for dining, where we could watch a hot air balloon sail overhead. Closer to the house, we had lunch one day at Les Plantanes in Fengenaud (sp?), which is a lovely little place with hearty traditional food. I would have to say it was better than the hotel restaurant in Varennes sur Fouzon, in our opinion, where we also ate once. We met Jean-Noel and Nathalie and they were both very nice and spoke highly of the two of you. I can see why you would like to retire there. The house and garden scream with potential and I had a good time daydreaming of what I would do with it if it were ours. Someday we also hope to live in France. Right now, we are not yet in post holiday blues because we are actually in Paris continuing our vacation till the end of this week. Too short still!!! Anyway, just wanted to let you know that we had a nice time at the house. Thanks, Kathy and Nixon
date : Thu Sep 15 19:11:07 2005
name : Lynn
comments : Dear Elaine We are back in wet damp soggy UK after having such a wonderful time in the Loire area. The weather there was still a little bit of summer, we had some lovely warm days and were able to sit at your patio table enjoying the last of the sunshine whilst drinking a few glasses of wine. We wanted to compliment you on your house, it was lovely just so perfect. It seemed that everything that you had provided from crockery, cutlery , videos or books were just what we would have put in the house. We were curious as to whether you are in the same age group as mid/late 40's ? The standard of cleanliness is 100%, you have a great asset in Rosita, if she ever wants a job she can come to the UK and clean my house !, as usual we came armed with cleaning material including Mr Muscle and wipes, but did not feel the need to do anything. If fact I could not find a speck of dust or dirt anywhere, which believe me is quite unusual these days. Rosita came to greet us even before we had put the key in the door and she showed us around the house which was really sweet of her. Please thank her and Daniel who introduced himself to us as well. Varennes and the surrounding area was just perfect for us, we enjoyed fishing either in the local area or further afield (sadly, did not catch any fish, but we enjoyed trying) . As it was getting towards the end of the season, places were quite quiet but it all helped make the holiday more relaxing . We liked the church bells chiming even in the night !
date : Thu Sep 15 19:07:17 2005
name : Alison Neil and Family
comments : Hi Elaine After our phone conversation this evening, here are the details I mentioned. As I said on the phone, we had such a lovely holiday - really interesting and exciting and really relaxing as well. The Pagode de Chateloup is a couple of k's outside Amboise - a really unusual and interesting place to visit: a 230 year old spindly pagoda (with original ricketty wooden steps - do NOT climb up all 7 stories if you get vertigo!!) and as I said the parkland is devoted to all things oriental, as well as there being lots of really unusual games to play - all made out of wood and on the large side, ie giant skittles, patience, etc. Really entertaining. The cave is on the main road to Montrichard, just after Bourre and is called Monmousseau. They run tours of the cellars which are in the tunnelled out cliff and give you a free taste - ours was all about the sparkling wine which is just the same as champagne and of course, much cheaper! The one thing about this place is that you need a cardi or jumper as it's really cold in the tunnels - our girls were freezing! Where else did we go? Chateau marathon - Valancay, Cheverney (Tintin exhibition really great), Chambord (great horse 'spectacle'), Chenonceau (no picnics allowed in the grounds there!) Amboise, Loches (old and new so counts as two), Clos Luce (also near Amboise - Leonardo da Vinchi's last home - really interesting and with a super park full of models made by IBM of his inventions) and Montresor (where we were greeted by the owner who still lives there - tres charming!) Also - Mini-chateaux Land and the Val de Loire Aquarium (near Amboise, reduced price if you visit both), Beauval Zoo (brilliant day out). We didn't waste any time! So, it was a wonderful holiday and we understand completely why you named your beautiful house as you did - a really special place!
date : Wed Aug 3 21:30:55 2005
name : Mike and Sue
comments : Hi Elaine, Yes thanks, the wedding went very well and was great fun, but we didn't realise that French weddings went on for so long, the meal lasted nearly 6 hours !! As for the house, it has lovely tradional french character and we thought it was well suppiled with every day items that you really need (such as the fly swatter !), books, guides, salt etc .. you've obviously put alot of thought into things that are needed. The directions where great, no problems finding the place and we did get a couple of visits from the housekeeper and the gardener, sadly neither myself or Sue speak much french at all, so conversation was limited, if not fun, they both seemed very friendly !! Things we really linked about the house: The kitchen was great and we did spend alot of time in this room, I especially like to cook, so the facilities where excellent, great gas hob,all of the equipment you could need fridge, oven where both excellent as was the microwave. We both loved your dining table and during the week had the Bride and Groom over to dinner, they liked the house to and as the Bride has family colse by might consider Maison des Reves for a good base. One thing, you might like to leave a note on how the shutters worked, it's a bit tricky for those who have not met such things before. We also did end up treading alot of grit into the house, I'm not sure how this could be solved as you did have to mats outside. We didn't use the second bedroom, but it looked good. The bathroom was fantastic, especially that shower, always a winner, we did however get some "back smells" when entering the bathroom in the morning, we found that the best way to solve this was to flush a couple of times before bedtime, we came to the conclusion that the outlet pipe for the bath was letting some smells back up. Bedroom was fine, very comfy bed and we liked the shutters at the windows (boy did we sleep !). Very quiet area to, well .. except for that church clock !
. Living rooms was nice, good to see a DVD player and a wide set of videos, we even used the chess board. You might want to put a note about the fire out to folks, we didn't use it (to warm) ... but in earlier or later months folks might and I'm not sure that would have been a good idea as I think you might have a nest in one of the flues. I guess if we did have one dislike it was the couch, a bit "dusty" and needs something large (?) .. different (?) .. not sure. Oh while I'm on furniture the chair in the kitchen was fantastic Sue loved it and wanted to bring it home, most comfortable ! Outside was fine, the lamps where good to have, the orchard was nice, wow ..lots of fruit, actually the day the bride and groom came over for dinner we cooked a pear tart using your pears .. very nice .. and sue liked the plums, we bought a few back home for some jam. Again the equipment was good and had all we could want. The ground could do with a little less gravel and a little more "hard-standing", but on the whole was very tradional with character and you really should make a "water feature" out of the water pump. The village seemed to be on holiday, so sadly we didn't get to try the restaurant, but the instruct plate was great for finding the SUPER-U. The country side was very lovely and we did take a walk out and about, it would have been useful if we'd have brough some bikes as the lands pretty flat and we are both keen cyclists. So, the bottom line is that we'd certainly stay again, and our friends where impressed enough to take your details, so they could have a place to stay themselves, instead of staying with family, which is often not easy. A few minor points, but value for money is spot on, keep the tradional look to the place, the modernisaton you've clearly done is very welcome and adds to the charm. Can I be cheeky and ask how much the place set you back ? Hope this is enough to go on, many thanks for all your help, it was one of our most relaxing holidays ever ! date : Tue Aug 2 19:24:07 2005
name : David & Mhairi - Edinburgh
comments : Hi In August 2004 we stayed at your lovely 'Maison Des Rever' in Varennes Sur Fouzon. What a lovely house you have; full of original period features and set in its own secluded private grounds. Whilst we were there, it was achingly hot but we could take shade under the old fir trees in the garden. Many a long lazy evening was spent sat at the marble table in the garden, drinking wine until the sun had set and the pears started to fall from the trees in your orchard. The days would begin with sun pouring through the open windows and a trip down to the local bakery for fresh croissants. There a many places to visit within a short easy drive; Chenonceau, Parc Leonardo Da Vinci, Villandry, to name a few. After a couple of days, I took of my watch as time became meaningless...I still havn't put it back on. We're thrilled to bits to be coming back again next month. It's a lot more than just a base for day trips; it's somewhere you want to spend some time. The house is certainly fully equipped; all you'll need to bring is your straw hat! Thanks
date : Tue Aug 2 15:54:30 2005
name : Lyn
comments : Dear Elaine We are back in wet damp soggy UK after having such a wonderful time in the Loire area. The weather there was still a little bit of summer, we had some lovely warm days and were able to sit at your patio table enjoying the last of the sunshine whilst drinking a few glasses of wine. We wanted to compliment you on your house, it was lovely just so perfect. It seemed that everything that you had provided from crockery, cutlery , videos or books were just what we would have put in the house. We were curious as to whether you are in the same age group as mid/late 40's ? The standard of cleanliness is 100%, you have a great asset in Rosita, if she ever wants a job she can come to the UK and clean my house !, as usual we came armed with cleaning material including Mr Muscle and wipes, but did not feel the need to do anything. If fact I could not find a speck of dust or dirt anywhere, which believe me is quite unusual these days. Rosita came to greet us even before we had put the key in the door and she showed us around the house which was really sweet of her. Please thank her and Daniel who introduced himself to us as well. Varennes and the surrounding area was just perfect for us, we enjoyed fishing either in the local area or further afield (sadly, did not catch any fish, but we enjoyed trying) . As it was getting towards the end of the season, places were quite quiet but it all helped make the holiday more relaxing . We liked the church bells chiming even in the night ! Thank you for all your help in making our holiday such a great success, and we do hope that we visit the area again, if we do we will definitely try to book La Maison Des Reves again. In the meantime, I will put the key in the post to you tonight.
date : Tue Aug 2 15:13:05 2005
name : Pat (USA)
comments : Very interesting trip around your lovely French house and the area. Hope to get over there one day.
date : Tue Aug 2 14:58:20 2005
email : stevegarry@blueyonder.co.uk
name : Steve Garry
comments : I like your website because ... We did it Ourselves and this is just to get the guestbook going.
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