Valentine's Getaway

For Valentine's Day, C & I decided to do a little weekend getaway.  We wanted something within 1-2 hour of Paris, in a quiet area and with a cozy fireplace.  I started looking around on AirBnb and came across this adorable place.

 

We had the whole house to ourselves, and it was absolutely lovely.  There's a little river just behind it, so with the window slightly open, we could hear the water running by and a whole host of birds singing.  The covered patio on the left of the house had heaters and there was also an area for BBQing. 

The inside was adorable - the owners used very high quality materials to renovate the place, and also left a lot of the originals architecture in place - exposed beams, the fireplace, etc. There are two bedrooms upstairs (one with a bathroom), and the beds were soooo comfortable.  

I never got a chance to talk to her about it, but apparently the owner is half-American, and had mentioned her grandma had been staying there.  She must have been the American grandma then, because there were a lot of American books, magazines and products lying around (like Centrum Vitamins), so that was kind of funny and made it feel a bit more like home.  The kitchen was also extremely well-stocked and had much more than your usual rental apartment. We definitely had everything we needed to cook a nice meal.

We were mainly there to relax, but we took a nice walk around a nearby lake:

And there was also a château just down the road:

As well as a super adorable village about a 15min drive away:

The only two downsides were the breakfast (which was pretty sparse) and the cost.  This place was a bit more than we were wanting to spend, so what we did was have C sign up for AirBnb so he got an 18€ credit to use on his first rental (and as a bonus, I got an 18€ credit too).   As a side note, if you're not signed up for AirBnB yet, you can go through my link and get the same bonus offer off of your first rental here!  I haven't used AirBnB that many times yet, but so far it's been a great way to stay in some unusual spaces at a reasonable cost (and usually with more room than a hotel room).

All in all, it was an excellent spot for a relaxing getaway from Paris, and I would definitely spend another weekend there.  If you don't have a car, I think I remember seeing that she will come pick you up from the local train station for 5€/person, which I thought was a nice offer.  The place is also close to Beauvais, so it would be good for an overnight stop before a flight.