Bonjour Hope you had a great week. We’ve had snow here in the north, including in Paris which has made the city turn into a sparkling Narnia! In the Seven Valleys where I am, we’ve had snow too, my dogs love to play about in the white powder that’s dusted the hills and paths. I’ve […]
Dick Strawbridge and wife Angel Adoree relocated from the UK in 2015 to do up a run-down 5-storey chateau with 45 rooms in Mayenne, Pays de la Loire, France. “It was cheaper than a one-bedroom flat in East London” says Dick – but it needed a lot of work to transform it into the home […]
Bonjour, Hope you had a great week. Having said last week that winter has got distracted on its way to the Seven Valleys in northern France where I am, snow is on the way! There is an ancient farmer in the village whom everyone addresses as “Monsieur”, and he keeps a couple of old horses […]
In 2010, UNESCO awarded French cuisine ‘World intangible heritage status’, reflecting the importance of great food in France. A nip across, or under, the English Channel to northern France reveals a wealth of gastronomic delights. From lush produce at street markets, to tasty treats at the supermarket, cheese shops, wine shops and boulangeries that smell so […]
I’ve been renovating my farm house in Pas de Calais on and off for 14 years. 99% of the work has been done between myself and my husband, the only exception being when we first bought the house and hired a builder to make some sagging and enormous wooden beams safe. It was a disaster, […]
“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 […]
Bonjour, Hope you had a great week. Strangely the weather has been okay here. I’ve been seeing photos of snow in some parts of Europe as winter arrives, but there’s nothing like that in my bit of northern France. I keep reading that colder weather is on its way, (the Beast from the East some […]
In 2015 I went to the Lille for the opening parade of Lille3000. I had no idea what to expect. I’d heard from friends that it was a quirky and incredible art “event” but nothing prepared me for the reality. Held every few years, Lille3000 is a huge event with what seems like a strange […]
When I was a little girl, I had an idea of what a fairy tale castle would like. It would have towers and turrets and pointy bits. My dream chateau would have grand doors and huge rooms for dancing and partying. It would be filled with flowers. And it would have the most beautiful gardens […]
A short ride from Sarlat, in the gorgeous countryside of Dordogne, you’ll find the Chateau and gardens of Milandes. It’s the former home of Josephine Baker, legendary entertainer of the early 20th century… History of Chateau des Milandes There was a fort on the site for hundreds of years in the village of Les Milandes. […]
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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, […]
June 2005 was a difficult month for Peter Friend and his partner Mark. After a change of jobs, relocation and redundancy they decided they didn’t want the sort of stressful lives they were leading in marketing and business development for much longer. Considering their skills, passion for travel, good food and wine, setting up their […]
Stephen Solley, an expat from the UK lives in Beaujolais, Burgundy and says, not only is it a great place to live but it also offers opportunities for would be wine-makers… There must be so many couples, frustrated by all the stresses of daily life, who in an ideal world would like to move their […]
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of the most famous characters in French literature. But how did he get the unusual name of Quasimodo? For centuries, French law strictly limited the names that families could give their babies. They had to come from an approved list made up mostly of Catholic saints. The laws […]
We talk to Suzanne Sutton who left the UK for Languedoc Roussillon, southern France. She’s an agent for the award-winning Leggett Immobillier French Estate Agents and says this sunny area is great for expats to live. Where do you live in France? I live in a little village of around 90 residents, called Granès, in […]
