Rentals-France Newsletter October 31, 999. Number 8.

I try to give information and provide links to other sites which are accurate and useful. Please write to me with any comments and let me know if there is a special subject you would like mentioned.

We are trying very hard to make our sites at
http://www.rentals-france.com/
http://www.goto-provence.com/
interesting and helpful.

Our policy is to only offer properties in these regions which we know or which a local manager knows personally, which offers good value and which we are confident to recommend. Our client is you, the person or family taking the vacation, not the owner of the property. We do not make any charge to the property owner for putting their home on our site, this is to ensure we are free to act in your interests and to try to make your vacation in France the best possible. If we receive complaints about a property, we remove it from our lists. ======================

This week.

1. Quality and Value of Rental Properties
2. Roussillon
3. The vendange
4. Hunting Season

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1. QUALITY AND VALUE OF RENTAL PROPERTIES

Our aim is to give you the best value rental for your visit. To do this I am asking for your help and comments as to what it is you are looking for when renting a property.

Value is not just a question of price. We try very hard to find properties which are fully equipped with all the facilities you will need for a comfortable stay here and we do not put any properties on our site which are below standard. This is always subjective, a quaint village cottage with authentic Provencal kitchen and bedrooms for one person may be a dingy hovel for another person.

The good news for you is that there are more properties coming on to the rental market. This must have two effects, the first will be to improve the facilities and standards of accommodation and second is that I expect the prices to fall a little.

We are offered many properties where the owners are finding that they are getting fewer bookings each year. When we inspect them we find that very little has been improved for ten years or longer, old cast-off furniture, poor lighting, no heating in winter. We always try to advise a standard that the owners should aim for. Needless to say we only accept about one property in five at present where we consider the price and facilities are fair.

Determining the fair price for the property is the hardest part. Owners often demand very high prices based on some optimistic advertising they may have seen. We try to advise what the fair market price should be and with our experience this advice is usually taken (if not you will not see those properties on our site). The commission we charge the owner for arranging your rental is not added to the fair rent, the owner gains as they do not have to pay any advertising charges for the year and we are able to rent their property for a longer period of time.

Where we would be grateful for your help is in advising us those features and facilities which are really important for your stay. We have made a simple questionnaire and if you would like to help us in this study please write by e-mail and we will send it to you.

To thank everyone who replies to us, we will give you a free voucher which you can exchange for bottles of wine when you come to France (or other goods or services we provide).

We look forward to hearing from you.
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2. ROUSSILLON

I am late again this week with the newsletter as I have again been traveling through the south. Last week I was in the other part of our region, Roussillon.

The South of France, along the Mediterranean is in two official regions, Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence-Cote D'Azur. These two regions are very large and are usually referred to by only part of their given name, Provence or Languedoc for example.

Languedoc-Roussillon covers the area from the Spanish Border to the river Rhone (which approximately cuts the south into two halves) and Provence Cote Dazur from the Rhone to the Italian border. The Western part of the region is usually referred to as Roussillon. Until the 17th century most of Roussillon was a part of Spain, the administrative center, Perpignan was the home of the Kings of Majorca for many years when the Arabs held their islands. Today the Spanish influence is very strong, the people there still consider themselves as Catalan as well as French and the Catalan flag flies from the old castle in the center of Perpignan.

For thousands of years the region has seen armies progress through their towns. Hannibal with his elephants was there on route to Rome, the Roman Emporer Constantine named the town of Elne after his mother (Elenor), Charlemagne to fight the Arabs and to liberate the region and to unify France (a bit). Various wars as to who owned what in Europe kept moving the borders, and massive forts and castles were built to defend these territories.

In the 13th century the church of Rome ruthlessly put down heretics and sects such as the Cathars who threatened their authority (and money making) and the church with strong support of the Kings of France disbanded and persecuted the Templars (again mainly for financial reasons). However today the Cathar and Templar crosses are proudly displayed on the flags of the region.

Until very recently there have been no official languages other than French, local dialects and language were not officially recognized. In Rousillon the language is Catalan, this is the same language as spoken in Souther Spain and unifies the two countries. Now the local languages are taught in the schools and a pride is taken in the 'different' culture and identity.

The movement for an independent Catalan nation in Spain has not been nearly as strong in France, waving flags and having bumper stickers is one thing, but cutting off subsidies for farmers from the French government would never get any votes here.

The region is full of history and is varied and beautiful. There are modern coastal resorts, isolated hilltop villages, quiet unspoiled wine making villages and Perpignan is one of the most modern and progressive cities in Europe.

The food and wine are exciting and refreshingly different and the sun shines for over three hundred days each year (I have picked oranges at Christmas time).

In winter, the ski slopes are only 45 minutes from Perpigan and there are many facilities for winter sports.

I am still looking for good web-sites about the region, these are slowly getting made by the local departments and are getting better. If you would like some more information please send me an e-mail.
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3. THE VENDANGE

The vendange (the wine harvest) here in Nizas is over. The big vendanger machines are back in their garages for another ten months and the fields are turning into a riot of colors as the vine leaves change from subtle shades of green to wilder reds, browns and yellows.

Here the harvest was poor but not a disaster. Some vignerons lost more than half their crop the day before the vendange was due to start, we had heavy hail, the worst possible freak of weather. After the hail, one night it rained heavier than anyone here can remember, smashing many grapes to the ground, but, more seriously, letting mildew and rot get to a large part of the crop. You can see many vines still with their pathetic charge of rotting grapes.

For some unfortunate hand pickers, this meant not only treading ankle deep in mud much of the time, but having to handle bunches of grapes heavy with mildew and covered with the small irritating flies attracted by the sweet suppurating fruit.

The weather last week was better and the wine making is now under way behind the massive 18th century wooden doors all around the region. In spite of the unfortunate weather, we are planning for the harvest celebrations and the wine festivals will start here at the end of the month. The skills and experience of the local vignerons will still make good wine this year.

The wine festivals, chestnuts and the start of the hunting season heralds the preparations for winter.

One benefit from this wet warm weather has been the fantastic crops of mushrooms in the woodlands and forests around us.
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4. HUNTING SEASON

The vendange is usually at the start of the hunting season here. The hunters are a very powerful lobby in France and their rights are well protected. For some reason no one can explain, the hunters are allowed to use their guns on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays. This is odd because these are also the days when the children do not go to school. There may be some crazy population control logic in this, but it is not wise to go for a walk in the countryside on these days.

The main target for the guns is supposed to be the sanglier (the wild pigs) in this region. These are not very intelligent animals and they always follow the same paths and tracks so hunting is not really the word for the activity. A typical hunt involves a lot of men (I have never seen a woman) standing around on the edge of fields or by the roadside waiting for something to move. These men sometimes stand there for hours in full army battle fatigues (they should be wearing florescent jackets but never do) with a massive gun over one arm. A few sips from a flask and eventually the road signs must start to move and look like wild pigs, this explains why most of the signs are full of holes. If they miss the road signs and trees they usually end up shooting each other. Every year there are tragedies when hunters have shot a friend or relative.