A Day Into Dordogne's History

When planning my 60th birthday celebration, my sister and I stumbled upon France Just For You, which saved us from the potential nightmare of traveling with 40 strangers on a bus. As a result, my sister and I, along with our husbands, experienced a trip of a lifetime! From the beginning, Emilie was extraordinarily responsive, informative, and more than accommodating to our wishes, both before and during the trip. For example, my sister and her husband experienced travel delays, and Emilie immediately offered to arrange alternative travel from Paris to our first destination in the Loire Valley. Before our travels began, Emilie sent us keepsake book, detailing our daily itineraries, replete with scheduled activities, restaurant suggestions, and optional excursions.Traveling through the Loire Valley, Normandy, and Paris for 12 days, each day was more spectacular than the previous one. The B&B near Chenonceau was a fantastic introduction to quintessentially French hospitality, charm, food, wine, and culture. From there we experienced true luxury in a serene setting in a chateau, where unexpectedly dinner was served (complete with vegetables from the castle's organic gardens). The B&B in Normandy was most memorable for the genteel hospitality of our host, Comte, who shared tales of his family through the centuries, including the arrest of his father in the foyer of the chateau due to his resistance activities against the Gestapo during WWII. The Count's son and his girlfriend served us a lovely meal around a stone fireplace in their charming apartment on the gorgeous chateau grounds. Thinking we had already experienced the best that France had to offer, we were blown away when we arrived at the B&B near Bayeux, warmly and creatively appointed. Finally, while less extravagant, the Hotel in Paris was equally as charming as our previous accommodations, located in a neighborhood teaming with cafes and shops in close proximity to all of the amazing sites that Paris has to offer! All of our hosts were extraordinarily gracious, serving us homemade French delicacies each morning and offering us helpful suggestions for making the most of each day. All in all, due to Emilie's fastidious planning, the trip was beyond perfect and exceeded our wildest dreams of a French vacation.

In 2013 I had 2 big reasons to plan a trip to France: a new grand baby boy in Avignon, and I wanted to surprise my husband with a trip to Normandy. He absolutely loves anything and everything he can find to read or watch that is related to WWII. So, I started exploring online for a custom tour designer that could put together a great itinerary for these two objectives, and I found the most amazing person, Emilie from France Just For You! She listened to what I wanted to do and created the most amazing 2 week itinerary from Normandy, to the Loire Valley, to Provance. She set up stays in restored castles, grand estates, warm and inviting B &B's, arranged rental cars, train tickets, special retired military tour guides in Normandy, and too many things to list! The icing on the cake was an amazing customized bound itinerary in book-form, with tips about driving in France, tolls, roundabouts, gas stations, speed limits, traffic signs, 3-4 day trips by car for each area we visited, so we could choose how and what we wanted to see the countryside or quaint towns. Suggested out-of-the-way sights, cafes, wineries, shopping, scenic places, etc. One of the places we loved most, was staying in her parents' B&B in the Loire Valley. Their home was lovely, warm, inviting and we met such wonderful travelers there! I fell in love with her mother's homemade fresh yogurt, and she told me how to make it once I got home! I love it and make it all the time now!!
We ended our trek through France in the south, in Avignon, where we spent time with family and met our grandson for the first time! We stayed in a comfortable home there that was like being in our own home. We were able to share relaxing family time with lots of space. And don't forget the lavender fields and the natural beauty of Provance! What a way to end our trip.
I highly recommend Emilie for all of your travel in France! I will always call her for my trips there- and I'll probably call her for any trip to Europe in the hopes that she can help with other countries too!!!

In May we travelled to France for our second trip with Emilie and France Just For You, and it was just as wonderful as our first adventure! Emilie's planning is so thorough and detailed that not a thing is left to chance. The B and B's were lovely and the hosts delightful; the routes were carefully planned to give us a complete taste of Southern France; and the suggestions for restaurants, shopping and cultural activities were perfect. We completely trusted all of Emilie's suggestions and highly recommend her services!