th Terry and I love to cook and we have never seen such quality, fresh ingredients. But, we had no facilities to cook for ourselves. Nor did we have much space in our hotel room.

This is one of those times when you hit yourself on the fo

In November, 2004, my wife Terry and I visited Paris for seven days. We stayed in a postage stamp sized hotel room in the Latin Quarter about two blocks from Notre Dame Cathedral.

We toured the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Versailles, Sainte-Chappelle, the Arc de Triomphe, the Musee d’Orsay, the Louvre (two days), and went to a show at Lido’s.

We discovered, or rather stumbled upon another highlight of our trip – an open air market half a block from our hotel. The market operated only three days a week and featured the freshest meats, poultry, seafood, cheeses, breads, and produce from the outlying farms and countryside. There was a black wild boar, or at least the hide, on display in the meat section. Pheasants and other game birds, feathers in tact, hung from the rafters of the butcher shop

While we had many great meals including a few gourmets dining experiences in Paris, we missed the opportunity to prepare some of our own dinners. Both Terry and I love to cook and we have never seen such quality, fresh ingredients. But, we had no facilities to cook for ourselves. Nor did we have much space in our hotel room.

This is one of those times when you hit yourself on the for

es, Sainte-Chappelle, the Arc de Triomphe, the Musee d’Orsay, the Louvre (two days), and went to a show at Lido’s.

We discovered, or rather stumbled upon another highlight of our trip – an open air market half a block from our hotel. The market operated only three days a week and featured the freshest meats, poultry, seafood, cheeses, breads, and produce from the outlying farms and countryside. There was a black wild boar, or at least the hide, on display in the meat section. Pheasants and other game birds, feathers in tact, hung from the rafters of the butcher shop

While we had many great meals including a few gourmets dining experiences in Paris, we missed the opportunity to prepare some of our own dinners. Both Terry and I love to cook and we have never seen such quality, fresh ingredients. But, we had no facilities to cook for ourselves. Nor did we have much space in our hotel room.

This is one of those times when you hit yourself on the fo

arket operated only three days a week and featured the freshest meats, poultry, seafood, cheeses, breads, and produce from the outlying farms and countryside. There was a black wild boar, or at least the hide, on display in the meat section. Pheasants and other game birds, feathers in tact, hung from the rafters of the butcher shop

While we had many great meals including a few gourmets dining experiences in Paris, we missed the opportunity to prepare some of our own dinners. Both Terry and I love to cook and we have never seen such quality, fresh ingredients. But, we had no facilities to cook for ourselves. Nor did we have much space in our hotel room.

This is one of those times when you hit yourself on the fo

heasants and other game birds, feathers in tact, hung from the rafters of the butcher shop

While we had many great meals including a few gourmets dining experiences in Paris, we missed the opportunity to prepare some of our own dinners. Both Terry and I love to cook and we have never seen such quality, fresh ingredients. But, we had no facilities to cook for ourselves. Nor did we have much space in our hotel room.

This is one of those times when you hit yourself on the fo

th Terry and I love to cook and we have never seen such quality, fresh ingredients. But, we had no facilities to cook for ourselves. Nor did we have much space in our hotel room.

This is one of those times when you hit yourself on the forehead with the palm of your hand. “Why didn’t we rent a fully furnished apartment or condo rather than a hotel room?”

This revelation has prompted me to revisit some of my own writings. And here is some of my advice from years past:

Your vacation property provides value, fun, and excitement not just for you and your family, but for anyone who might rent your property.

Vacationers will find a “home away from home” with all the privacy and convenience they expect.

Consider the vacation options: a resort hotel room, a cramped cabin on a cruise, or a privately-owned vacation house or condo at the destination of your choice.

Count the following among the many advantages a privately-owned vacation property has over a resort hotel room:

1. Savings on Meals – A furnished kitchen allows vacationers to prepare many of their own meals. During a week’s vacation, dining in, rather than going to restaurants for every meal translates into seve