Once Upon a Castle

An American in the French countryside, restoring a centuries-old château and writing the real story, from renovation decisions to culture shock, with a little magic at the edges.

By Kamille Longstreet

Recent Posts

What Have We Been Doing This Whole Time?

The coach house opens this summer. The pool tried to stop us.

Jun 13•Kamille Longstreet

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What the French Actually Want to Know About America

Or: three years of being the only American in the room

Jun 9•Kamille Longstreet

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Three Trains, Two Kids, and One Husband I Almost Lost Forever

Or: Everything I Know About French Rail, Learned the Hard Way

Jun 2•Kamille Longstreet

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I Thought the French Were Rude. They Were Just Telling Me About the Spinach.

Three years in France taught me the difference between being nice and being kind. They are not the same thing, and one is much rarer than the other.

May 26•Kamille Longstreet

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We Were Told to Leave the Septic Alone

We needed the Marauder's Map and got a digger instead

May 23•Kamille Longstreet

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The Septic, the Walnut Tree, and the Roofer Who Materialized

Or: what it actually takes to make a 17th-century outbuilding sleep-able

May 16•Kamille Longstreet

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This American Mom Traded a Tiny Apartment in LA for a Château in Rural France

Kamille Longstreet on discovering her baseline was anxiety, the surprising thing her landlord said when she interrupted her nap, and the three-word…

Published on elle-même•May 14

I Used to Want a Tesla. Now I Want a Long Lunch.

I am aware of how this sounds. Hear me out.

May 13•Kamille Longstreet

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