An email popped into my in box from my publishers the other day “You’re going to America”… Well they didn’t mean me exactly, they meant my book is being published in print (it’s already available as an ebook), but I can tell you I am no less excited about it. When I went on a […]
Autumn in the south of France is a great time to take a visit and enjoy the sights without the summer crowds. The weather is mellow and warm, the light is soft and the locals go about the business of real life. Glampervan in the south of France in Autumn One of the best benefits […]
I could tell you that Avignon is the heart of Provence – it is. I could tell you that it’s a place of history and culture – it is. But what you might not know is that Avignon is a place to savour – quite literally I mean, because this is a town that’s full […]
Avignon is a fabulous foodie destination. The sunny city, the heart of Provence has bars, cafes, bistros and restaurants galore. Just wander and you will find places that are feast for the eyes and the soul as well as the stomach, such as these 10 restaurants and bars that the locals love… Appeals to all […]
Pretty little village of Carennac, Dordogne Carennac, just a short drive from Rocamadour, sits on a rocky terrace overlooking the left bank of the Dordogne. There is a pleasing ensemble of tiled houses and turreted mansions focused on its old priory. It was once the home base of the writer François de Salignac de la […]
Historic, gastronomic and beautiful – the top things to do in Avignon Provence to make the most of your time in this fabulous city. Palais des Papes The UNESCO listed Palace of the Popes is quite simply awesome in its immensity and sheer presence. It’s not hard to imagine the effect seeing it must have […]
The Hotel Marignan Champs-Elysées is pure luxury, from the entrance with its smart doorman to the dining room with its modern trompe l’oeil, bar with comfy chairs and a grand piano and rooms that are elegantly decorated. On the edge of the Avenue du Champs-Elysees, a few yards from the metro station and right in […]
The Chateau of Vaux-Le-Vicomte in Maincy, around an hour from Paris, is one of those places that looks utterly gorgeous in photos but when you see it for real looks even better. You may have seen it recently and not even realised. If you’re a fan of the TV series “Versailles”, the raunchy bonk-buster serial […]
I’d heard of the Palais des Papes in the Provencal town of Avignon. I’d seen photos and even knew a little bit of history though not much. But it hadn’t at all prepared me for seeing it in person. The sheer overwhelming size of this towering palace in which Popes once lived is mind boggling. […]
Le Moulin de la Galette is a Paris legend, immortalised by none other than the great painter Renoir. Today it’s a restaurant, just as it was when he visited and it’s incredible that we’re able to sit in the shadow of this grand windmill and enjoy a delicious meal, as people have been doing for […]
From the kitchen of France based foodie Karen Burns-Booth, a delicious blackberry muffins recipe that’s really irresistible… Ingredients 400g fresh or frozen blackeberries (well drained and defrosted if frozen) 100g caster sugar 100g melted butter 300g self raising flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 large free-range eggs beaten with 150mls milk (or 150mls buttermilk) 1 […]
From the kitchen of cook Karen Burns-Booth in France, a delicious blackberry jam recipe – oh la la! Ingredients 450g of blackberries, fresh 450g of white cane sugar 1 lemon, juiced 1 Place the blackberries and lemon juice in a large pan and simmer gently for about 15 minutes until the fruit is soft […]
As an animal lover, I have supported, sponsored and admired all my life the people who run animal sanctuaries, not only because of the wonderful rescues they do, giving animals who were unloved, ill-treated, abandoned or uncared for a new chance of life, but also I admire their ability to be strong enough to be […]
“Beauty is in the streets, “ they say in Paris. Travelers, like Parisians themselves, have their favorites. And as the city evolves and erupts, the streets change, Parisians come and go. But the beauty remains. The streets’ multiple personalities – charming, elegant, dirty, broken, haunted, lyrical – wind along the past and present, through the […]
The beret – there’s nothing quite like it to define French-ness. The beret is an icon, a fashion accessory and a statement – it’s instantly recognisable as a symbol of France all over the world. You only have to see someone wearing one and you can’t help thinking of France and French flair. Of course […]
Feel free to challenge me, but there is no more delicious goat’s cheese than Rocamadour Fermier, made at the Ferme Cazal in Loubressac, and served with warm honey. Have lunch in the Restaurant Lou Cantou in Loubressac, with a view reaching out across the stunning Causse de Gramat, and finish your meal with the cheese; […]
Autoire in the Lot Department has gathered its heritage of pigeon lofts, brown tiled roofs and country manor houses in the hollow of a cirque on the limestone plateau between Figeac and Gramat over centuries; yet it remains small enough not even to register on some tourist maps. The village takes its name from the […]
The Causse de Gramat is the northernmost of the causses of Quercy, a group of vibrant, shimmering limestone plateaus between the Lot and the Dordogne. Quercy was one of the provinces of pre-Napoleonic France and has a history of repeated invasion from Roman times. By the 10th century, it was ruled by the counts of […]
When Linda Chamberlin from the UK met up with someone she met on a school exchange trip 22 years on, she little knew how much it would change her life. Living the good life in Nontron Linda Chamberlin left her home in a small fishing village in Cornwall, England, to move to France in 2010 […]
Mayenne in the Pays de la Loire is the ideal place for a gîte business say expat Brits Zara Bampton and Simon King… Running a gite in Mayenne When Zara Bampton and Simon King reached their mid-50’s they decided to it was time to follow their dreams and move to France. Simon had worked in […]
During election campaigning in France, President Macron stated that he wanted to review taxes and make reductions for businesses and individuals. One of the most unpopular taxes in France is the wealth tax. Under current rules (2017) as a French resident, taxable wealth includes worldwide assets such as property, jewellery, cars and investments. Several months […]
Many of us think of the Cote d’Azur as a place of dreams that we’ll never be able to afford. It’s where the millionaires go – but we don’t all have millions. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. We talked to local agent Tim Clark about property in the area and discovered that […]
We talk to Mathilde de Saint Martin who lives in Landes in south west France. Landes is one of those places that the French love and foreigners rarely hear of. With 100km of sandy beaches and numerous resorts on the Atlantic Coast; inland there are forests and valleys with picturesque villages and Roman ruins. It’s […]
We asked local estate agent Mathilde de Saint Martin about the type of housing you can buy in the Pays Basque area and Landes: Traditional basque-style building A “baserri” is a traditional half-timbered or stone-built type of farmhouse found in the Basque Country in Northern Spain and Southwestern France. The baserris, with their gently sloping roofs and entrance portals, are highly characteristic of the region […]
If you’re in Paris on a Sunday and you visit the Jardin du Luxembourg, you’ll certainly feel like a local as it’s one of the favourite parks for Parisians… What to see at the Jardin du Luxembourg The Jardin du Luxembourg is situated in the 6th arrondissement between the Quartier Latin and Saint Germain des […]
Dunkirk or Dunkerque? To many of us Dunkirk means the evacuation of the British army in 1940 from the French beaches and our famous ‘Dunkirk Spirit’ attitude. To the French, Dunkerque means a city on the border with Belgium with wide, safe sandy beaches and a huge commercial port. But since the release of Christopher […]
Hope your week was good and you’re having better weekend weather than me! We’ve had rain and thunder and lightning this week and it’s not feeling much like summer I can tell you. But, the garden is full of jewel like colours – and all the beautiful flowers and leaves are just too tempting to […]
An email popped into my in box from my publishers the other day “You’re going to America”… Well they didn’t mean me exactly, they meant my book is being published in print (it’s already available as an ebook), but I can tell you I am no less excited about it. When I went on a […]
Hope your week was good and you’re having better weekend weather than me! We’ve had rain and thunder and lightning this week and it’s not feeling much like summer I can tell you. But, the garden is full of jewel like colours – and all the beautiful flowers and leaves are just too tempting to […]
Chez moi, we’re about to hit renovation mode and move on with a job that I’ve been longing to do – shutters! When we bought this old farm house it had rattling old windows which whilst pretty, did nothing to keep the cold wind out in the winter. They had to be replaced – all […]
I’ve been looking at houses in France, I can’t help it! I love my little farmhouse but, there are so many gorgeous properties on the market to tempt me. And some of you too it seems! I’ve had lots of emails from people asking for help not quite knowing where to start looking in their […]
This week I found a duckling that had been abandoned, it was prematurely born with hardly any feathers and couldn’t walk as it had very weak legs. You know what a sucker I am for an animal so I took it home and held it for hours, I didn’t think it would make it but […]
I learned a new French expression recently: Tenir le haut du pavé. It means to succeed in life but its literal translation is to walk on the high side of the pavement. What’s that all about I thought to myself. Well the saying dates back to the middle ages. In French towns, waste water (and […]
Gaspard de Besse robbed from the rich (who detested him) and gave to the poor (who adored him). Often compared to the British Robin Hood but whilst the latter’s roots are shrouded in mystery, there’s no doubt about the identity of the famous French outlaw. Gaspard de Besse Gaspard Bouis, later known as Gaspard de […]
When Linda Chamberlin from the UK met up with someone she met on a school exchange trip 22 years on, she little knew how much it would change her life. Living the good life in Nontron Linda Chamberlin left her home in a small fishing village in Cornwall, England, to move to France in 2010 […]