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Captain\u2019s Log<\/a><\/p>\n Karina and Craig Waters<\/p>\n A couple of years ago Perth couple Karina and Craig Waters decided they\u2019d\u00a0like to buy a home in France. Their challenge was finding the perfect\u00a0property. After viewing plenty of places around France, the couple\u2019s son one day\u00a0saw a listing online for a falling-down Ch\u00e2teau situated in the Midi-Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ch\u00e2teau de Gudanes, built in the mid eighteenth century, stopped Karina and\u00a0Craig in their tracks \u2013 they were literally left speechless the first time they saw the 94\u00a0room building and surrounding valley. The Waters\u2019 put in an offer a few days later and there began their adventure!<\/p>\n The Ch\u00e2teau renovations commenced in November 2013, and Karina has been sharing secrets uncovered all over the property, the gorgeous location, renovation plans and local village life with their blog and social media channels ever since. The incredible story of the Ch\u00e2teau renovation is one that has resonated not only with us but also with people all over the world, as can be seen by their incredible number of fans on Facebook and Instagram.<\/p>\n Karina and Craig say their \u201caim is to tread lightly and gently \u2013 to preserve the atmosphere and authenticity of the Ch\u00e2teau and region as much as possible\u201d. With that in mind, future plans include commencing tours of the property and to open a caf\u00e9. Since the restoration work at the Ch\u00e2teau began I usually spend over half the year in France. Commuting regularly back and forth to Australia is part of the process of trying to be in two places at once \u2013 balancing life in a rural French village in the Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es and modern living in an apartment in Perth with my husband, two university children and our cat.<\/p>\n With flight options out of Perth on the rise, I usually fly into either Paris or Barcelona, and then grab a hire car and make my way to the Ch\u00e2teau.<\/p>\n Earlier this year I was asked to give a talk in Melbourne at a High Tea Event at the\u00a0Park Hyatt<\/a>\u00a0so that was a nice change of scenery.<\/p>\n I\u2019m spending three nights in Paris. It will be Ch\u00e2teau-business mixed with pleasure. The first day I have a meeting with the chief architect from the Historic Monuments (all in French, which will be interesting since my French is somewhat Franglais\u2026!). The next day a chat with a young French mademoiselle who illustrates and sketches for Dior, Cartier and Guerlain. She wants to meet! I\u2019m not going to lie, I wouldn’t knock back a room in the soon to be re-opened\u00a0Ritz Paris<\/a>\u00a0if I could! But since we put an offer in on an almost-ruined 94 room Ch\u00e2teau, these sorts of dreams have become what I now laughingly refer to as BC (Before Ch\u00e2teau). Today I can\u2019t help but wonder how many things that could help buy for the restoration!<\/p>\n For a city stay in Australia, I would recommend the\u00a0Park Hyatt<\/a>\u00a0in Sydney. Sitting between the iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, this hotel is also all about the view.\u00a0Song Saa Island<\/a>\u00a0in Cambodia would still be our favourite international place to travel to. See favourite travel experience for more details! My husband and I are making up for lost time as neither of us travelled much between studying and our working years. So when our children were young we started to travel tout le temps. Any chance we had we jumped on a plane, train or cruise boat. From the North Pole to the South Pole, with African Safaris to the Iguazu Falls in-between. The children’s schools didn\u2019t even ask where the children were by the time they both finished high school.<\/p>\n One of our favourite holiday experiences was right before we purchased the Ch\u00e2teau. We saw the destination in a travel magazine \u2013 Song Saa Island. It\u2019s a private island off the coast of Cambodia, just recently opened. The trip was fantastical right from the start. Stepping out from a chauffeured car onto a private boat, setting off to a blissful island setting, An Australian couple transformed their remote island into a small luxury getaway. Each day we were ushered away to remote locations to enjoy our private breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Chef, who was enticed away from Brad and Angelina, prepared local cuisine. We sampled everything from homemade vodka shots, to marshmallows and caramel popcorn brought into our \u2018in ocean\u2019 villa for movie nights. Song Saa has definitely been one of our best holiday experiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ch\u00e2teau de Gudanes is a 94 room French castle currently being restored by Perth couple Karina and Craig Waters. Follow their journey at the Captains Log.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[307,6,28,2],"tags":[68],"authors":[],"class_list":["post-461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-blog-to-watch","category-destination","category-europe","category-experiences","tag-france","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBloggers<\/h2>\n
What we love<\/h2>\n
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\nWe chat to Karina about the family\u2019s adventures:<\/em><\/p>\nWhere have you been recently?<\/h2>\n
Where are you travelling next?<\/h2>\n
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\nIn contrast to this smart line up though, I stay affordable, simple and basic when in Paris. I habitually stay at Astotel Hotels \u2013 they\u2019re newly renovated, clean, and under 100 euros per night with breakfast, mini bar and wifi. I always ask for room 605 at the\u00a0H\u00f4tel Palm Op\u00e9ra<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 if I step out onto the tiny balcony I can see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. I like relaxed and friendly places to stay, where I can walk out onto the street in my not so glamorous sneakers and \u2018I Love Paris\u2019 Handbag and feel free to go anywhere.<\/p>\nWhat are your favourite hotels in Australia and around the world?<\/h2>\n
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What has been your best travel experience?<\/h2>\n