The food scene in Le Mans catches most people out – in a good way! If you thought Le Mans was a town you go to just to watch a world-famous race, think again. There’s lots to see and do here and you might be suprised to learn it has one of the prettiest medieval […]
Bonjour, Hope you had a good week. I’m sending you this newsletter from Versailles where I’m spending a few days at the Chateau. Not living there (I wish!) but I’m doing an in-depth tour with a historian to discover its secrets and stories – join me on Instagram to see my photos and tales from […]
When it comes to innovation in architecture, Paris has long been a leader and in the last 150 years, dozens of architectural gems have made it famous for originality and boldness. Just a few include the Eiffel Tower, Pompidou centre, the Louis Vuitton Foundation and La Grande Arche in the Défense business district. These new […]
Discover the secrets and charms of Le Mans – it’s a town you shouldn’t race through…. More than a quarter of a million people head to the small city of Le Mans in the department of Sarthe, Pays de La Loire each June for the epic Le Mans 24 Hours – one of the most […]
Welcome to the Spring issue of The Good Life France Magazine… It’s positively bursting with fabulous features and gorgeous photos – and if you’re not reading it in France – it’s the next best thing to being here! Click here to read it free online This is a free magazine, written by professional travel writers […]
Bonjour, Hope you had a great week. As I write this the Le Touquet car rally is going on outside. It’s an annual event which apparently kickstarts the rally season in France. It also shakes my pigsty/office, as what sounds like hundreds of drivers fling their cars down our little rue and round hairpin bends […]
Spring is the perfect time to enjoy a detour to some of the most fabulous cities and towns in France. Spring in Alsace Alsace in the north east of France is a land of pine-clad forests, the Vosges Mountains and fairy-tale-like hamlets. Eguiseheim is the birthplace of wine making in Alsace and its pointy roofed […]
Bonjour Hope you had a good week. Here, I thought maybe it was time to build an ark – the rain we’ve had! Thank you so much to everyone who sent such lovely messages about poor old Gregory Peck Jr the sick cockerel. I’m sorry to tell you that he has departed for a heavenly […]
Bonjour, Hope you had a great week. First, thank you so much to everyone who emailed me last week with recommendations for favourite places to visit all over France – you’ve given me inspiration a-plenty for the whole year ahead! And if you dream of a holiday in France – don’t forget to enter our […]
A light, airy and utterly scrumptious dessert. Most people think it’s a tricky recipe but it’s not really that difficult when you know how. The soufflé as we know it is said to have originated in France in the 18th century when it was apparently created as a dish for the mistress of Louis XV, […]
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I love all my animals, five cats, three dogs, four geese, 13 ducks and 25 chickens. They’re part of the family though the birds don’t live in the house with us. At least not permanently. When they’re a bit poorly, I’ll bring them in for some TLC until they’re well enough to go out. Sometimes […]
I live part of the year in Provence and one day I was reading Le Monde and a headline about a “sexy politician” caught my eye. “Well, those are two words you don’t see together very often,” I thought. So I read the article and found out that there had been a poll asking French […]
It was lunchtime in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of Paris, and I was ravenous looking for a place to eat away from the usual tourist traps. I turned down a quiet street and saw the most unassuming bistro. In fact, I wouldn’t usually have considered going in but I decided to take a chance. As soon […]
Catharism has been described as “the most successful heresy in history”. In Languedoc, “Pays Cathare” signs dot the countryside. One cannot drive far in any direction without coming upon the ruins of a Cathar fortress. Who were the Cathars? “Cathar” is allegedly derived from the Greek word, katharos, meaning “pure”. The Cathars were also known […]
The people of Provence have been raising sheep for centuries. You see flocks of them all over the countryside, grazing under the watchful eye of shepherds. But Provencal summers are scorching hot and sheep have heavy wool coats so they’re moved to cooler pastures. The transhumance in Provence The answer to dealing with the heat, […]
There have been many famous families in history. Take the Curies, for example: Marie Curie won two Nobel Prizes and her husband, daughter and grandson each won one. Quite the talented family! And then there are the Wright brothers and the Brontë sisters. And let’s not forget those comic masters, the Marx brothers. But imagine […]
“They are NOT babies, they are chickens” remonstrated my French neighbour Jean-Claude. He had come to inspect the eight point of lay hens and two “babies” with which I had returned from the local street market. “I’m going to call that scrawny baby one Eaglet” I said “Non, non, non” came the emphatic response “You […]
“When I move to France I only want to have French friends”. This was a line in an email I received from a couple of Brits. They wanted advice on where to move to in France and this was one of their criteria. They also wanted to be near a town that has a market, […]
