CHATEAU Studio Apartment, Close to PARIS in Seine-et-Marne

The lovely Studio at the Chateau de la Trousse has authentic antique features: classic high
ceilings, antique hand-made cabinet doors, beautiful proportions, a tall shuttered window, antique
French oak dining furniture, French oak flooring, miles-long views from the chateau's ornamental
pond and 17th-century buildings to countryside vistas of horses, and furniture that belonged to the
count--a genuine chateau experience. The antique elements are superbly maintained, and modern
elements include the studio's modern kitchen and full bath, 24-hour security (not needed in this
quiet rural area, but soothing), on-site food delivery and taxi services, heated pool, tennis
court. The count was here until the 1990s, so a stay at the studio blends modern style and comfort
with genuine antique beauty.

Birdsong throughout the day, silence at night, starry skies, and clear air make the chateau on its
hilltop like another, better world. Please make yourself at home on the terrace at sunset and enjoy
the infinite view with some fresh bread, local brie, and a glass of wine within easy reach....

The complex was built in the 1600's. In 1864, the chateau itself was razed and replaced by a new
building. Stables, orangerie, and other outbuildings from the 17th century are still in use.

The 16-hectare (about 40 acres) grounds include beautiful old stonework and elaborate antique
wrought-iron gates, a long allee of tall ancient plane trees and another of chestnut trees, other
huge ancient trees and structures, ornamental pond, herb garden, rose garden, garden with espaliered
fruit trees, mature orchard (enjoy the fresh fruit), small forest, greenhouse (glass house; its
ornate iron roof is below), cobbled courtyards, tennis court, heated swimming pool, and other
unexpected good things.

Guests have free use of all this and of the petit salon, stone cellars, and other shared areas in
the chateau itself, where the studio apartment is on the 2nd floor. The chateau is never crowded--
there are only a few apartments, and your neighbors are terrific. Guests share also the stone
cellars with a kitchen with fireplace and refrigerator/freezer, and coin-operated washer & dryer.

The studio is fully renovated, heated, furnished, and very comfortable, with a ceramic tile bathroom
(with toilet, sink, and shower); tiled kitchenette with coffee maker, refrigerator, oven, microwave
oven, hot plate; comfortable double-bed sofa with birch slats and high-end mattress that's so
comfortable that I replaced my supposedly high-end bed at home with one just like it; single aerobed
and foam hassock-bed so guests can sleep separately or share the double bed; two wicker chairs;
antique French-oak dining table & 4 chairs; kitchen, bed, and bath linens; and everything you need
for kitchen and dining except the food.

The area abounds with quiet walkable and bikeable roads, music and art performed in ancient
buildings, restaurants, beautiful old structures, and river and canal vistas and activities, and you
can enjoy Paris while staying in a beautiful, restful haven, 45 minutes from Paris by train and 30
minutes by car. Easiest is to park a rental car at Meaux and take hourly trains in and out of Paris
from about 5am to about 1 am. We can point you to a rental car at Charles de Gaulle Airport at
about $300/week.

Or walk or bike whenever you feel like it to the station at Lizy, 1.8 miles away. Lizy has the
shops you'd expect in France--great bakeries with fresh bread twice a day, butcher, etc., and also a
supermarche with everything you possibly could need--food, wine, maps, even clothes,.... The
supermarche has amazingly good refrigerated (not frozen) dinners we've seen only in France, offered
by the great French chefs. So you don't have to cook OR go out to eat well. The local restaurants
are terrific--some on gardens, some on rivers, some on both--and their prices are much lower than in
Paris--e.g., €11 for a 3-course meal.

Please see the description for amenities of the chateau itself, including the heated swimming pool
and tennis court.

The nearby town of Lizy-sur-Ourcq has its quaint and lovely center with everything you'd hope for
(and at provincial prices). A quaint canal and the lovely river banks and swans of the Ourcq are
here. Also in Lizy are a great cheap gas station, outlet store, and supermarche with everything
from local wines, cheeses, and other farm produce to non-food items and everything you could need or
want. The quality is excellent (though bread's best at the bakery in Lizy's center) and the prices
are low.

Transportation:

Driving in France couldn’t be easier. You just have to remember that stop signs and stop lights are
set on the near side of the cross street, rather than the far side as in the US. Roundabouts with
signs point you to any town and any direction, and if you’re not sure, you can go around again. Gas
is expensive but most cars get good mileage.

The Lizy-sur-Ourcq train station is about 3 km or 1.8 miles from the chateau, an easy walk, a bus
ride from the gate, or a quick taxi ride. M. Inesta, owner of the Lizy taxi, can be called on his
mobile telephone. A bigger train station is at Meaux, about 10 km or 6 miles away. From Paris,
Lizy is about 45 minutes by train, with a stop in Meaux, a few minutes away.

To enjoy Paris from the chateau, you can use the chateau's own taxi and delivery service, public
taxi, take the bus from the gate, or walk to the station at Lizy and return from Paris around 8 at
night, when the last train leaves Paris’ Gare de l’Est for Lizy (sncf.fr). To stay later in Paris,
you can use the Meaux station and take hourly trains in and out of Paris from around 5 am to about 1
am. You could park a rental car at Meaux or use other services from Meaux.

We reach the chateau from Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG) by car in about half an hour. CDG is one
of many sites in Europe of our national-brand, $300/week rental cars-—compare to as much as $1400
from other vendors. The N2, N3, and other major highways, go directly into Paris from near the
chateau.

We're happy to help you find inexpensive tickets, too.

At the chateau: beautiful grounds to explore and relax in--pull out one of the lounge chairs
provided and enjoy. Have your lunch outside in the cobbled courtyard or on the chateau terrace.
The chateau offers a heated pool by an ancient wall, tennis court also backed by an ancient wall,
landscaped pond and grounds, small forest, moat (with grass, not water), glass greenhouse, vast
pleasure gardens, mature orchard, many quiet roads for walking or bicycling (some with almost no
cars at all). Guests also are welcome to share the ancient kitchen in the cellar, with its
fireplace and refrigerator/freezer. Shared coin-op laundry also is in the cellar.

The caretaker lives in a lovely old house on site. The site offers quiet, clean air, peaceful farms
nearby, skies brilliant at night from stars rather than street lights, days full of birdsong--beauty
and history with total comfort.

About 1.8 miles away, the town of Lizy provides all the pleasures of French towns: wonderful food
in lovely ambiance at low prices, shopping of every kind, picturesque and beautiful vistas of fields
river and canal, friendly and charming people. Nearby towns offer river-front dining and every
other pleasure.

About 6 miles away, the city of Meaux offers the stately Marne River, ancient building, beautiful
cityscapes, movies, shopping, restaurants, etc. Meaux' old-fashioned weekly market yields a
cornucopia of treasures, culinary and otherwise.

And Paris! Paris is an easy ride away by train or car, and the Lizy station has a taxi stand.

You're also within easy reach trip of 14 golf courses, the Champagne region (where you can taste as
well as explore; 1/2 hour away), a pedagogic farm that welcomes visitors, Eurodisney (20 minutes)
not to mention Versailles, Fontainebleau, Vincennes, Saint-Germaine-en-Laye, La Malmaison, Courson,
Vaux-le-Vicomte, the race course at Chantilly--the Romans were here, too, leaving 2nd Century
aqueducts and amphiteaters. There are too many beautiful places to explore--enough for a lifetime.

Prices in US Dollars (approximate):
November through March, except Christmas and New Year's weeks: $1,275/month

April thr. June, Sept thr. Oct, Christmas and New Year's weeks: $1,700/month

July through August: $2,115/month

Prices in Euros (exact):
November through March, except Christmas week through New Year's: €900/month

April through June, September through October, Christmas week through New Year's: €1,200/month

July through August: €1500/month

One month is the minimum stay, and the studio can be rented for 182 days of the year--any days you
choose--for €5000/year (about €417/month). The rest of the year, the studio would have no guests,
so you could leave your things there safely and just treat it as your own.

We welcome credit cards, cash, cashier's checks, money orders, direct deposits, or personal checks,
in dollars or euros. Payment by bank transfer, personal check, or money order is ideal. If you pay
for conversion to dollars or euros, any currency is fine.

A deposit of €200 will hold the studio for you. The caretaker will collect a €200 damages deposit
and refund it when you leave. We've never kept a damages deposit, so it's nothing to worry about.
There is a cleaning charge of €35, which we ask for in euros so the caretaker can use it.

Guests pay for telephone service they use (Most use their mobile), but we pay for electricity. The
apartment is heated by electricity. If the electricity cost is more than 150% of usual, we ask
guests to pay the excess. This is to encourage guests to avoid wasting energy, as when someone goes
out with the heat on and the windows open.

We're glad to help find rental cars (about $300/week at Charles de Gaulle Airport rather than the
usual $1000+/week) and inexpensive flights.

We provide bed, bath, and kitchen linens, pillows, mattress cover, comforter; pots, pans,
coffeemaker, utensils, microwave that also browns; tableware--just unlock the door and make yourself
at home. We're happy to try to adapt to any preferences you may have.

Please e-mail me for more photos and information or if you'd like to have a call.

PHOTOS: The studio is in the chateau (first photo). Other apartments are in the 17th-century
stables or orangerie (shown), some of the lovely 17th-century buildings on the estate. Other photos
show the swimming pool, the studio itself, a mother deer and fawns among the huge old trees on the
estate, a sunrise view from the studio window... Discoveries from nature and from the 17th century
abound on this amazing estate that you will treat as your own, to enlighten and move you. Most
residents (few are there at a time except in summer) and the caretaker speak English, and the
caretaker is happy to provide food delivery and taxi service and bicycle rental.