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Everything you always wanted to know about France |
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France Voila - Newsletter #69
Pezenas - France - November 6, 2002 To see this newsletter on-line http://francevoila.com/archives/69.html 1. Fitting In 2. Gaillac a new town for the Tour de France 3. Restaurant Reviews 4. Web Hosting and other services 5. Extract of the gite book... 6. Discounts and Coupons from Us 7. En Famille 8. Nizas - no sausages Plus answers to some of your questions and a new regular series of restaurant reviews starts at... http://francevoila.com/ The archives with over 650 features and articles are at... http://francevoila.com/archives/ ====== Sent from France by.. http://francevoila.com/ All you need to know to visit - or live - in France. Full details to subscribe, change address and unsubscribe are at the end of this newsletter. Write to me at... mailto:tony@nizas.com I really do try to answer all letters - if you don't hear from me in a few days - write louder. Tony ===== Accommodation in France From one day - to a Lifetime http://rentalsfrance.com/ ===== Word of the week! Word of the week... Le Brouillard... Brouillard (brew-ee-yard) or Fog, descends this time of year in the little valleys of the Charente and lingers until mid-morning. It is like the world goes soft-focus- cloaked in a cozy cover. Eventually the sun, wind or rain chases away the calming effect and the lovely Fall focuses itself again. Most visitors to France never see the lovely effect fog has here, they leave the countryside much too soon. Maybe some of you will come next year... Dawn Eleanor Ramsay ===== 1. Fitting In There is fitting in, and then truly becoming part of a community. I want to be part of the local community. Hopefully, I can make this my home. I don't want to return to the U.S. despite pride in many things American. To this aim, I had the idea of teaching a free English class in the small village where I am living to meet some of the locals. Little did I know that it would require months of planning, multiple meetings, a change in my visa status and a special training course! It turns out that if you start an activity in France, some organization, business or association must oversee it. The local politicians grabbed hold of me one week after my arrival and an official bulletin was sent out to the "canton" (county). Thirty five have signed up for my "free" class from 12 villages! I'm also told that it can't be free, and I must be paid (despite my lack of work permit to be an employee). I and 5 other people on the "committee" (I didn't even know there was a committee) have a meeting tomorrow to see how they can make their non-trained English "teacher" fit into the guidelines for the "Maison des Jeunes" so that I can be paid- and the whole affair can be insured and "serieuse." Whoever said the French weren't helpful obviously wasn't trying to do something the French wanted done! Because once they decide you are of value to the community, you may be in for more than you bargained for! Though, in this case, I'm quite happy to have someone else figuring out how to pay me! Dawn Eleanor Ramsay ===== LEARNING FRENCH- PEN PAL WANTED I am a 'young' lady in her seventies and would very much like to correspond with a French lady or gentleman of a similar age. Je suis Ecossaise. Yes I am learning French and if the person cannot write in English don't let that deter them from writing to me as I very much want to learn the language. I shall be visiting near Perpignan at Christmas with my family (my first visit to France). I have always felt the Scottish and the French had a closeness. Do hope you can find someone for me. sincerely yours, Margaret == Hi Margaret! I will put your request in our newsletter and we'll see if someone responds. We will also be re-launching our classifieds section of FranceVoila.com soon. Unfortunately, someone discovered it and loaded all kinds of work at home ads, etc. But that will be corrected shortly! Please go to our classifieds section to see if there is anyone there that may be suitable as a pen pal! Thanks for writing... Dawn Eleanor Ramsay If anyone out there knows of a nice French person that may enjoy corresponding, please write to us and let us know. We will put them in contact with Margaret! a href="http://francevoila.com/classifieds/index.html"> http://francevoila.com/classifieds/index.html ===== 2. A new town for the Tour de France Gaillac in the Tarn (81) is on the Tour de France route for the 1st time ever. Time trials will be held on Friday July 18th in the area. This small city with a year round population of 11,600 and about 13,000 during tourist season, has recently grown to the 4th largest city in Tarn. Known for its wine, The town is in the Tarn river valley and is dominated by its' vinyards. The towns current architecture shows vestiges of the past. L'Abbaye St Michel overlooks the city and the narrow streets of the town were designed in the form of the Gaillac crown. Many buildings date from the medieval and renaissance periods. The Chateau and the gardens of Foucoult give the town a Tuscan feel, while the wide esplanade leading to the Hotel de Ville is smacks of mid-20th century urbanization. Viticulture has dominated the area throughout the ages. Both banks of the Tarn river, but especially the west, or right bank, are in production. When the Benedictines' founded the monastery Saint Michel around 950, they dedicated the best land to wine production. They developed a strong commercial trade along the river and were responsible for the city's first period of prosperity. Since the wine was produced at a merchant crossroads of sorts, the area began exporting along the Tarn and Garonne rivers toward the port of Bordeaux and off to the rest of France and Northern Europe. Economically, the 19th century and the early 20th century marked the rebirth of the Gaillac wines. Centuries passed, eras came and went, but the vines kept going. In 1938 Gaillac earned the "appellation controlee" for white wines. In 1970, the area's red wine received its' mark. The viticulture area of Gaillac is the full length of the a long, low valley of Tarn. The landcape is characterized by vines interspaced with small cypress groves and nearby pines. More city information can be found from the official city web site (in French) http://www.ville-gaillac.fr/index.cfm Nearby rentals can be arranged, Look at: http://www.rentalsfrance.com/dordogne/index.html ===== Hi, Tony. I would likely be able to visit France during the first week of the Tour---July 5-12...Do you have any suggestions of rentals near the early stages of the Tour--but, probably, outside Paris? This would be potentially for a family of 4. Thanks. Andy == Hello Andy- We are in the process of mapping the route of the Tour de France now. Hopefully within the next couple weeks we will be putting a Tour logo on all the properties along the route. If you know more specifically where you want to be, I can help you now. Did you check out the Tour de France web site yet? http://www.letour.fr/2003/presentationus/index.html More later... Dawn Eleanor Ramsay ===== SPRING AND SUMMER ON THE CANAL DU MIDI You could rent a fully equipped, new boat and cruise the Canal Du Midi for about the same price as a cottage this summer... Navigating the locks is even more fun after wine tasting sessions at the vinyards along the route! Tie up, stroll into town, then sample the local treasures. Back on board, lounge in the French sun or retire to the cool shade of a private cabin. Prepare your own meals in your fully-equipped kitchen or try out some of the nearby restaurants. Luxury boats are available complete with a gourmet chef! You can choose boats to accommodate up to 12- so there's plenty of room for fun! http://frenchcanalvacations.com/ ===== Tony, Thanks for the reply! Do you know of any lotissements in your area? I have found one outside Aigues Mortes that looks nice and one outside of Uzes also. Michelle == Hello Michelle There are lotissements of new home developments by just about every town and village in our region (Languedoc) at present - we are in the midst of a huge expansion which will double the population in the region. Uzes is typical in this expansion and your will find hundreds of interesting developments. All I can suggest is you come for an extended visit and get to know the characters of the various towns and villages which interest you there. Each location does have a unique "character" and the two places you mention, Uzes and Aigues Mortes, are both are similar in that they are very popular tourist towns, but radically different in every other way. Come over, look slowly (and enjoy a glass of wine on our terrace) Best wishes Tony http://rentalsfrance.com/languedoc/ ===== Tony, We have a maison de village at Capestang, which is on le Canal du Midi and noticed your article about the boats on the canal and these people may need feeding. Just down the road from us, there is the Restaurant, "A la Fontaine", which now has different owners. We have just returned from our house and found this restaurant would appear to be family run by Marilyn and Stefan. We went there on a total of 3 times and were not disappointed. For those on a budget the food is quite cheap and twice 4 of us adults and a child, had a 3 to 4 course meal for between 70 & 80 (Euros), in total. This included 4 kirs, as an aperatif, a litre of an acceptable house "rouge" with 4 coffees and a couple of armagnacs to finish. From my personal opinion. I would say that there food is up to the same standard as "Le Provence", which is not bad either, in the main square of the village but say 20 to 25% cheaper. It is in Rue Gambetta just by the "Bassin Ronde", which is the fountain. We found that Marylin, who does the serving, to have an attitude, "tres gentille" and she creates a good ambience, despite the fact that the premises are overdue for decoration. We later had the opportunity of meeting Stefan, who works behind the scenes as the cuisinier and were impressed by his air of professionalism. I believe these people have the makings of bringing this restaurant round. They are the best of the three previous patrons that I know. I have not visited the restaurant next to the canal but local reports disuaded us from it. When all else fails and in is a Monday evening, the Cafe de la Grille, in the main square will provide basic meals such as steak & chips, provided their barbeque fire (Old vines for fuel) is still alight. Order your coffee before 2200 hours though, they tend to start cleaning the coffee machine at this time and take it out of commission. On nice warm evenings they have a terrace next to the cafe and they have tables and seats on the square in front of them. Capestan is a wonderful old village (pop about 3,000), more than 1,000 years old. It still retains its character as a working French village despite an ever increasing number of tourists, who are attracted to its charms. The church is also well worth a look, in proportion to the size of the village, it is massive. I understand that there was some sort of competition between the people in Capestand and Narbonne over the building of something on Cathedral dimensions. We lost and it can be seen at the rear that the church, though high appears to be truncated. For information of those passing this way, Kind Regards Mike & Mavis. == Hello Mike and Mavis Many thanks for your information - I will share it Tony ===== 3. RESTAURANT REVIEWS Our soon-to-be neighbor and food critic in Nizas, Graham Tigg has now partnered with us to share his collections of reviews with our readers. We are now preparing 5 regional restaurant guides. The first edition will be for Languedoc - to be released as a printable E-book on November 15, 2002! ===== Thanks to all of you who have told us about your favorite B and B's and restaurants. This information is the best kind! Real, and not from someone who is paid to say good things! Keep the letters coming. We'd like to get enough to put out a reader's choice directory! ===== Hi Do you know if the by-pass around Millau is finished yet? We stayed there in 1997 and there was talk of it being built. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Marie == Hi The viaduct is due to be open January 10 2005 - it will be the biggest and highest viaduct in the world, the central pillars are taller than the Eiffel tower. Look at http://www.meridienne.com/ Sorry but it is not open next year - come now before this doubles the population and the tourists in 2005 (as well as property prices). Tony ===== Dear Tony: I am a Computer Instructor who would love to teach computer classes in France. My husband and I have visited the area where you are residing and we would welcome any additional opportunity to be in your area of France more often. My questions to you are: 1. Do you know of any reliable real estate agents that would turn us on to a nice modest property that a retired couple could afford to purchase and maintain for rental purposes and for some personal use? 2. How would I plan to seek employment in the high tech sector or the school system? I would be willing to be a "visiting technician" for sharing my passion about computers and teaching. Thank you in advance for any assistance you may offer. Very sincerely, Jannette == Hello Janette Obtaining employment in any position in France is difficult and much harder if you are not French. You will have to have a "carte de sejour" and for the type of consultancy or temporary work you are describing you will also have to register at the "chambres des metiers". For any work in schools you must speak fluent French. All computer systems are in French and the keyboard etc are different. My experience is that French schools are significantly behind most English speaking countries in their application and use of computers, but there is a strong technical background in most places and I have not seen a shortage of capable instructors, only a lack of interest. The only way for you to find a suitable property is to be here and keep looking yourself. Immobilier only show you what they personally have available and do not "network" with other agencies. In Pezenas alone there are now over 25 agencies, which has grown from an original 5 in the last 4 years. I cannot recommend anyone in particular. A large proportion of French property is not sold through agencies, up to half the homes in some areas are sold direct or through personal adverts. If you can solve these problems, which are indicative of the big cultural differences between France and the rest of the world, you will begin to fit in here very well perhaps. If you are near Pezenas again please let me know, I would be happy to meet. best wishes Tony ===== Tony I am meeting some friends in Paris for the Christmas week. We would like "picnic" somewhere that is protected from rain and cold...Is there such a place available.? If we must we can do it in the Hotel room, however I understand that is frowned upon. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Merci.. Robert == Hello Robert Yes - a picnic for a number of people will be a problem in a hotel room - you could always rent an apartment from us... http://rentalsfrance.com/paris/ My favorite place is on the Pont des Arts, but if cold and wet it would be awful. The Eiffel Tower is a possibility - the catacombs are closed I believe as are the sewers (don't laugh they are very popular for visits and picnics). We can possible put this question in our newsletter to see if some readers have ideas. Best wishes Tony Anyone have a suggestion? ===== Hello Dawn, I'm just in the process of buying a house in France which I hope to let out for part of the year.The house has a splash pool of 5x3 metres built into the ground. Do I need a fence for a pool of this size? The garden in which the pool is situated is only small in itself and a 1.5 metre high fence would make it look pretty weird I think.On the other hand,as a parent myself, I am naturally concerned for anyone with children who rents out the house...my kids are 12+ and better swimmers than me but toddlers could conceivably be in danger and I would not want to be worrying about this all the time. Any thoughts on this kind of dilemma would be appreciated. Kind regards, Bob == Bob- Yes, you need a fence. However, you have until January 2004 to figure it out. I have an easy solution for you. If the entire garden has a 1.5 metre fence, make sure that any gates have the latch at the top. Then, simply install a gate just around the garden entrance to the house that creates a garden "entry." This would be rather inexpensive, and you could make it very attractive with climbing plants, etc. You would need a maximum of 8 posts, and a gate. It also means you have a secure pool area. For a child to access the garden, they would need an adult to open the gate. When It's finished, I'd love to post a picture on the website! Dawn (This is a simple solution, but in the upcoming months we will be producing a comprehensive directory of solutions and suppliers that meet the new regulations in France... We'll keep you posted) ===== Hi Tony, The web site you suggested gave good details on all of the French rules of driving. What it left out was, in France, the rules are never followed! We drove from the South of France (Nice) to Paris. When driving along the Mediterranean Sea, the traffic was tolerable. I would compare it to city driving in the States. Then we drove through the French Alps. There are NO guard rails. Just steep cliffs. My husband white knuckled his way through for hours upon hours of driving here. There are hairpin turns, and rarely is there a place to pull off the side of the road and rest your nerves. There is beautiful scenery, you can only see if you are not the driver. We were driving slowly, and 3 French drivers behind us were not happy. They honked and flashed their lights at us in an effort to get us to go faster. The added stress did not make us go faster, if anything, it made us go slower. Finally, we made it to an expressway! We were rejoicing! We made a vow then and there, never to drive in the Mountains again! However, during the Mt driving, we were in a small village, and had to stop, because a herd of sheep were descending upon us! A real treat! Very old world to us. And a great photo opportunity! After 3 days of driving we arrived in Paris, right in time for the nightly rush hour. And it was just that. The following day we drove around the city. The motorbikes are the worse! They weave in and out of traffic. They do not follow the traffic lights. They go whenever they want to. There was a driver who turned left from the right lane, in front of us. And as he did so, he looked at us like we were in his way! We also noticed that the drivers, in Paris, get right up on your bumper. Perhaps in an attempt to not let the bikers through. And now you are thinking perhaps we should walk around Paris instead of drive. Well let me caution you there to! Paris has a very high rate of pedestrian deaths! Be careful! Maybe you will just want to wear a blindfold till you get out of the car! Good Luck! Rebecca == Thank you Rebecca- The points you make about French driving attitudes are very valid although I am trying to check the statement about pedestrian deaths in Paris - this is worrying as I understood it was lower than most capital cities in the world, do you have any more information on this? Best wishes Tony == Hi Rebecca- I have been hunting for the statistics related to Paris driving: For 2001, there were 37 pedestrian deaths in Paris- much lower than NYC (which was double) who has a much larger problem, but there were 2 684 injured pedestrians. Motorcyles and Mopeds accounted for 27% of the victims even though they only claim 6% of road traffic. So- be very careful of the 2 wheeled menace when in Paris! The statistics can be very deceiving with this- as each city presents them differently. The bottom line is: be careful. Thanks for taking the time to write us. Dawn Eleanor Ramsay ===== On that note, If you do need a car- you can lease new cars (with dual airbags and all the bells and whistles) from links on our site. You get the best prices available and also help support us- They don't pay us much, but every little bit helps. Plus, all these companies come recommended from us or our readers! http://rentalsfrance.com/carhire/ ===== 4. WEB-HOSTING AND OTHER SERVICES WE OFFER To get the quality and reliability we demand for our websites, we found the only way was to start our own web-hosting company 23333.com.(33 is Frances' country code!) You will find our hosting packages more than competitive with an unequalled range of reliable, proven services to make your website count. You will be able to enjoy the same service we get for our sites like RentalsFrance.com and 1stVacations.com. We have a range of services which specialize in the needs of home rental sites. * free on-line availability calendar which you can access directly and update * free on-line guest book * free on-line news page to post news and events in your area * free members forum so you can write on-line to other registered owners to share news and knowledge about renting your property * discounts and special offers on other travel services * web design and promotion To learn more about our services, which can be as little as $10 a month, write to Kevin at.. mailto:hosting@23333.com ===== 6. THE HOW TO BOOK Here's a taste of the upcoming "How To Book" for gites. We are putting all the information you need to run a successful gite in one place. We've even included details such as dishes to provide and the pluses and minuses of different marketing techniques. As well as basics of buying, what to look out for- how to calculate return on investment and how to proceed with renovations. Here is a small section about the Location, charm, value and convenience factors. http://francevoila.com/howsample/3sample.pdf If you are interested in THE HOW TO BOOK, please email : mailto:howto@francevoila.com We'll reserve you a copy and keep you posted on the progress- If you have any questions on this subject- send them along! ===== Tony- I am writing to introduce my agency, En Famille Overseas, to your readers. This is a long established, very high quality placement agency, sending students of all ages from about 15 upwards (our most senior traveller is 92) to France, Spain, Italy and Germany for anything from one week to a year. The idea is total immersion in the language within a French home, where the welcome is second to none, and the guest receives total care, together with language tuition (or not, as required). For school age and university students, parents will perhaps be interested to know that this is not a reciprocal arrangement - no exchange! If you want to learn French well and be looked after in wonderful surroundings, I can arrange this. Contact me on: http://www.enfamilleoverseas.co.uk Mary-Louise Toms == Tell them you saw the letter in FranceVoila! - We'll soon be adding a section for this on our site ===== 7. Discounts and Coupons from us As we are firming up our 2003 agreements with property owners, we are finding that a few of the properties we list have different prices on other sites. I said then and repeat it now. WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD If you find any property rental we are showing on any of our sites listed at a lower price somewhere else, we will make sure you get that property at the best price available. Not only that, we will give you a voucher to use to reduce the cost even more. As a starter, we are offering everyone who subscribes a free coupon. If you have not claimed yours, claim it now (only one per e-mail/surface-mail address) http://rentalsfrance.com/coupon/ The database will tell me if you are printing out more than one - so no cheating. Some agencies and owners we deal may offer discounts from time to time. We will be adding a special link on their property pages to instantly show special offers. ===== 8. Nizas- No Sausages This year at the wine festival there were no sausages and no chestnuts - plenty of wine and nibbles - but no Nizas sausage - it seems to be the end of civilization as we know it - The new primeur wine was the usual banana flavored juice from which headaches can develop and our local vignerons let us taste their new vintages - these are getting better every year and now compare with the worlds greatest. The weather this week has been glorious, hot sun in the day, mild breezes and just about cold enough to start the log fires in the evening - all around our home the vineyards are turning into a crazy kaleidoscope of color, there are still tons af grapes left on the vines after the harvest and which are now ripe, anyone may take these - in the next village they had their festival on Saturday, it was a much better event than the Nizas one, the priest blessed the vines and all those sober enough to stagger to the fields went to pick a few bunches. Our friend, Christina, who is staying with us for a few days was there and has had a smile on her face ever since. Next week I am in London so it will be pints of Ruddles and Theakstons Old Peculiar, fish and chips and a chicken vindaloo. A bientôt Tony ===== We love to receive your letters and comments and we really try to answer all mail but it does get lost, filtered or vanishes somewhere.(This week, it can undoubtedly be blamed on the ghosts and ghouls floating about. They use your notes as decorations for their party.) So, if you write and don't hear from me, please write again. mailto:tony@nizas.com |