France Voila Newsletter #38 August 26 2000

This week

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1. The "Smallest Room in the House"

On the vacation rentals sites I try very hard to give a clear and accurate description. I even give a guarantee at

http://goto-france.com/guarantee/

which says...
"...everything we describe ourselves is checked and that if we find that a property or service is not as we state on this web-site, then we will return any payments that we have received from you for the rental or booking..."

In the three years we have been on the Internet we have never been asked for a refund.

We are constantly checking and revising the information and our declared policy is to work for you the client, not the owner.

This week I found a possible area of misunderstanding while I was checking some details of a property. It is the use of the word "bathroom". In France this is normally accepted as being a room where you can wash, either in a bath or under a shower. If you ask to "go to the bathroom" your French host may be surprised and show you into their bathroom where you will find a bath or a shower and a hand basin, possibly a bidet, but usually not what you were looking for. Your host will be even more confused if you ask "to go to the rest room", you will probably be shown to a bedroom and assumed to be unwell.

In France the bathroom and the toilet or WC, are usually in separate rooms. If a room is described as a bathroom or an "en-suite", it frequently does not have a WC in it. This has confused me several times in describing properties and I am now carefully rechecking the ones we offer ourselves. I have always assumed a bathroom or en-suite also had a WC as well as either a bath or shower plus a hand basin.

I always check the details of the properties we rent to you and this week I found that I had incorrectly described a home by assuming that the bathrooms all had a WC, they didn't.

I will put a "glossary" on our site as soon as possible.

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2. Last Minute Offer

I just received this offer from the owner of a house in Nizas

"If someone would like to get a last minute rental from August 26 to September 2 I'll give you a special rate : 2900F for the week! My apartment sleeps two people and you can see it at

http://goto-france.com/nefflier/

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3. Grape Picking

I have written a few times about "the vendange", the grape harvest. I am getting many letters from readers asking if they can come to France and spend happy days picking grapes and pleasant evenings sitting at rustic tables eating fresh bread and cheese with friends and singing songs until the wine jugs are empty.

The vendange will start soon, but the reality is less romantic. Officially no one can get casual work without being registered, most grapes are now picked by machine and there is nothing romantic about a giant blue or yellow contraption like something from a Star Wars movie thundering along the vines and stripping them of the grapes by the ton.

The few remaining vineyards requiring hand picking are often jealously guarded by the regular workers. By the evening after 8 hours of hard work for a fixed rate of 42FF (US60c) an hour, the last thing most vendangers want to think about is a jug of wine and a sing song, a hot bath is more likely.

However, a dream is a dream, so I am thinking of renting a vineyard next year and charging people to pick the grapes, a sort of "Dude Vineyard", we will not make much wine, but there will be rustic tables with local sausage, bread and cheese and gallons the roughest wine I can find. Book early for next September.

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Following my piece last week about the Bullfights in Beziers I received this letter from Ken, a reader who has an apartment here and clearly knows the region very well.

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We used to live in Valras Plage for six months of each year from 1992 to 1997 now back in the UK but we retain our flat there and go as often as we can when it's not let. Talking about the Beziers Feria it's one of the few places in France where at some 'bullfights' the bull is killed.

We went to see a performance of the Opera "Carmen" there which was magnificent, but we left at the end as it was followed by a bullfight where the bull would be killed. If any reader would like to try Toro after it's killed at Beziers you can get it slow cooked -Daube de Toro at Poihles it's alongside the Canal du Midi west of Beziers and west of the Oppidum de Ensurune which should help to find it on the map. There are a couple of rather posh restaurants there but this one is on a small street the right as you go down the hill away from the canal. An old lady does the cooking and it's superb with lots of courses and strong red wine in unlabeled bottles straight out of the fridge WONDERFUL. If you don't fancy the Toro she does lots of other traditional recipes.

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Anyone wishing to rent Ken's seaside apartment please contact me and I will pass on your mail.

mailto: tony@goto-france.com

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5. Medical services in France

France has a very good medical service. We always advise all visitors to have adequate insurance, but the cost of regular treatment here is not expensive. I received this letter from a recent visitor.

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Dear Tony,

I have enjoyed reading your newsletters especially since my husband and I have just returned from a wonderful trip through Burgundy. I wanted to respond to you about the idea of needing medical insurance while in France. When we travel abroad, we of course bring our medical insurance cards. However, we have never had any problems getting medical help at extremely reasonable cost while in France. The first time was 18 years ago while spending the entire summer in Paris. I was bitten by a tick, which my husband and I tried to remove without leaving the head in my thigh. (I apparently had picked up the tick while in Chantilly) Well, unfortunately we pulled the body off and left the head in. We went to the hospital right next to Notre Dame where I received immediate care and left without having to pay anything for the services. I suspect that the medical personnel had a good laugh, as we did, but we were amazed that they sent us on our way without having to do anything. On this last trip to France we tested the medical system once again. We were biking in a little town near Nevers when my husband lost control of his bike while coasting down a hill. He took a terrible fall, which resulted in many abrasions, bruises, and scratches due to the gravel which his body slid on and the barbed wire fence he became entangled on. Luckily he did not break any bones. After I detached him from the fence and made an attempt to clean some of the wounds, we slowly made our way (he hobbling along) to a small bar/cafe where a woman quickly offers the use of the tiny WC and hands me paper towels and mercurochrome. She asked if we wanted her to call for a MD and we decided to accept her offer because my husband was feeling a bit woozy. She tried one MD who was on vacation and finally was able to reach another MD who arrived in about 1/2 hour and checked my husband very thoroughly and preceded to clean his wounds and dress them properly. He then gave us a list of instructions and the necessary gauze medications etc. to pick up at a pharmacy. The charge for the MD's services................about $18, to which he gave us a form to submit to our insurance for reimbursement. The form is one that French citizens apparently are given for this reason. We were amazed.....one, that this MD made an emergency house call and two, the amount of the fee. He also gave us a form to get reimbursed for the items we purchased at the pharmacy. There certainly is a lot to be said about socialized medicine..........We could only guess what the cost would have been in the US for the same service etc. So.........my point is this, Socialized Medicine is available to travelers as well as the citizens of the country, so why would one need to purchase any extra medical insurance. If one has none at all, I guess it would be a good idea to have back up in case of a major emergency, but if the medical system applies to foreigners as well, what is the point? Just thought I'd share my experience, maybe others have had very different experiences with medical issues, but ours have been very positive. Good luck with your newsletter and your project. I look forward to reading more and returning to France. One last comment............We totally agree with what you wrote about the French and their language. We never had problems and found people to be very helpful and friendly. Greetings of Bon Jour etc. and Merci from travelers, help to open up many wonderful experiences. Here's to many more wonderful adventures in a wonderful, beautiful country.....Thanks...... Bobbi

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Many thanks Bobbi, but I do recommend insurance, an $18 bill is average for a doctors visit here, but if you do need any serious treatment, the costs can mount up and full travel insurance will give you peace of mind.

there are details on our site at ...

http://goto-france.com/insurance/

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6. Weather Predictions

I am often asked what the weather will be like. The truth is I never know. Here is a site which may help.

http://www.worldclimate.com/

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7. Travel Insurance

This should cover more than just medical, make sure you have adequate cover for lost or stolen luggage, cancelled or delayed flights, missed connections and the loss of deposits or reservations fees as well as payments for hotels or rentals due to cancellations. There is a page on our site at

http://goto-france.com/insurance/

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8. Gallaghers Tip of the Week

The best snack or emergency take along "fast food" in France and most of Europe is Clementines. Little tangerine style oranges that can be purchased everywhere loose or in plastic mesh bags. Now available in the states thanks to an enterprising Spanish grower, I have carried a bag with me (albeit a little heavy) in the UK, France, Germany, actually everywhere. On trains, buses, and in cars. Totally edible, yes I even eat the peels if necessary, no need for condiments, thirst quenching, non dripping, don't need refrigeration and always taste good. A little natural sugar boost when you're dragging. Won't melt like chocolate on a hot day. The peel provides a natural wrapper for protection in your day bag, purse or pocket. Inexpensive and healthful with vitamin C.

Mary Gallagher is a Journalist and TV presenter in Washington DC, see her site at...

http://GallaghersTravels.com/

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9. The Nizas Project

Slowly the website at...

http://Nizas.com/

...is taking shape, there is a lot more on my hard disc, the recipes are getting on and there are a lot of photos scanned in which just need linking. My thanks to everyone who has sent material and photos, you will all get replies and credits.

The summer visitors are leaving and the village is now getting on with the centuries old job of making wine.

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It is my Mother's birthday today, she has never seen an e-mail, but here is a special "Happy Birthday Mum," from me.

Please let me know if there is anything you would specially like to read or information I can help with. Write to me at

mailto:Tony@Nizas.com