After 9/11/2001 a lot was going through my mind. Was it safe to travel? Should I travel?

My sister was going to have her first child and we wanted to travel somewhere before she became a mother. I had visited Paris when I was 17, stayed with a family as part of an exchange agreement. I fell in love with Paris but did not get to experience enough of it so I wanted to go back (13 years later). My sister and I discussed taking our mother to Paris as a gift for sending us to Paris when we were younger.

As we began our search for affordable places to stay in Paris, we began to realize that there were many options. We discussed hotels, youth hostels, staying with friends, etc. As we planned our trip our group grew to 8 persons (my sister, sister's husband, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, a family friend, our younger sister, my mother and finally myself). After looking at all of our options we decided to look at luxury vacation rentals. We definately aren't wealthy but when you realize that a luxury apartment split 8 ways for one week is little over $150-200 per person for a week in Paris, we couldn't get our minds off finding the perfect vacation rental. Well we found one we liked that was within our budget. it was a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment with a view of the Sacre-Coeur Church. The apartment was recently renovated and was beautiful. Not only was it available for the week we wanted but it had a last minute special which brought our cost down to $150 per person.

We were within walking distance to Monmartre, Abbesses, the Moulon Rouge. The Abbesses and Anvers metro stations were both within 10 minutes walk from our apartment so we were able to be anywhere in Paris within 25 minutes (Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees, Arc d'Triomphe, and the Louvre). It was the perfect base for our vacation.

Not only was renting an apartment less expensive then a hotel but the apartment also included all towels, soaps, laundry facilities, kitchen, espresso maker, dishwasher, stove, microwave; it also had all of the staples for cooking such as salt, sugar, spices. There was even cleaning supplies and laundry detergent.

After our week in Paris we decided that there was not better way to experience Paris, than living as a Parisian in a Parisian apartment!

Rebekah Owens is owner of one of the largest European Vacation Rental listing sites (http://www.vangoghrentals.com). The site has been running for approximately 1 1/2 years with over 600 rentals (mostly of which are in France). She offers free advice in forums on webdesign, marketing, and managing vacation rental properties.