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Everything you always wanted to know about France |
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France Voila - Newsletter #73
Pezenas - France December 20, 2002 1. Country Walks 2. Thank You 3. Drink and Be Merry 4. A Note From France 5. Our International Interests are growing 6. The How to Book 7. Pricing and Coupons 8. Nizas - Schools out for Christmas 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. Please 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 ===== Thoughts from the South of France Two days to Christmas, this is the time for looking forward and planning the new year as well as thinking back and learning from mistakes in the old year. On a philosphical note - life is sometimes like one of those padlocks with a combination which you turn to align some numbers so you can pull the lock open. It won't open unless you get all the right numbers in a straight line, if only one is wrong you're stuck and it is the same as if all the numbers are wrong, the lock won't open. I found when I was a kid you could open these if you pulled the chain to give a bit of tension, one of the numbers was slightly harder to turn and when it freed-up this meant it had clicked into the right slot, you then went on to the next one with the most resistance, until they all lined up and - bingo - you had it open. Too much tension and you couln't move the nimbers, too little and you couldn't feel the lock "give". I'm not sure how I am going to use this thought to build our Internet rentals business next year - but as I don't know which "numbers" may be right already I shall start with the hardest one which I can assume is in the wrong place, and keep on turning. We are working over the holidays to get the new websites ready for January when many people book their vacations. February will see us on British television so we hope to have a great 2003 and we certianly wish you all luck and happiness. Tony Accommodation in France From one day - to a Lifetime http://rentalsfrance.com/ ===== UNFINISHED BUSINESS So many people wrote to us regarding the English-speaking banking service provided by Credit Agricole that they must be doing something right! Thank you all for forwarding us the information to pass on to others. A branch of Credit Agricole called Britline run by english speaking staff out of Caen - http://www.britline.com/ ===== 1. Country Walks I am of the firm opinion that when one sees the Vice President of the Conseil Generale, the mayor, the lady the runs the weekly aerobics class at the Mairie, the lady who has the contract to bring a village’s children to the main bus pick up stop and a few able looking young men trekking down the lane headed out of the village together- one should investigate. This article by Dawn is at http://francevoila.com/features/countrywalks.html ===== CAR HIRE To get to the start of these interesting countryside walks, you will certainly need a car. You get the best prices available and also help support us if you use the links from our site. 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/ ===== FOREIGN CREDIT CARDS Tony, Firstly thank you for the continuing excellent news letters - they really Do make me wish I was retired and living in the south. On the subject of French motorways, I wonder if you would be able to give me some advise. Each year I use the system to travel from Le Havre to Provence and spend quite a time queuing at each toll booth to pay. However, I notice that there is always one or more automatic booths for Carte Bancair (spelling may not be correct) which never seem to have a queue. Could you advise if an English credit card would work at these booths or would we need a French card with a card pin number? Thanks for your help. Colin == Colin- Your English bank card will definitely NOT work. Your card must have a "puce" or micro chip in it as well as be from a French bank. Sorry, you'll have to queue up or open a french account! (probably not worth it!). Just take a deep breath and start relaxing on your way south. Dawn ===== 2. THANK YOU AND MERRY CHRISTMAS We want to share just a few of the notes you send us weekly that make the work we do the best job in the world. Thank you all for your continued support. We love your responses- my favorite day of the week is the day after publication when I get all the newsletter feedback. Our Christmas Presents This Year Great to find France Voila - many thanks - must take loads of work. Cheers Sue in Roujan Re: Slip of the Doigts........My God (as we say in English)! Who is that Peter? And, more importantly, do we really care? Surely, he is English, and not American. I hope. Dawn, your reply was most genteel, nicer than mine would have been. Keep up all the good stuff I am seeing in your newsletters....and know that there are those out here, who appreciate you, typos and all. Hmmm, did I spell typos right? Is it a real word, I wonder? It looks funny, don't you agree? Maybe it needs an 's ? Sparky Shoplifting Condoned by France Voila! I admit I'd had a couple of drinks ... or was it the chickens & elephants ... when I read this week's newsletter ... "to get (to) the really good stuff out of Paris, you will probably want a car." ... getaway! ... wish I was a cartoonist ... This is just to THANK YOU for the wonderful newsletter. I sit down and pretend that I am in France. I enjoy every word and I learn SO much. Thank you. Suzi, Francofile Thank You All for a Fabulously Fun and Successful 2002. All our Best! - FranceVoila!... ===== 3. DRINK AND BE MERRY Throwing out a timely straw to drinkers drowning in a sea of festive booze, French researchers say they have devised a white wine with nearly all the much-hyped health benefits of red. The bad news, say health campaigners, is that if health rather than pleasure is people's main concern, they should make their Christmas toasts with carrot juice. See this article on http://francevoila.com/features/whitewine.html ===== NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS Hi Tony, We'll be visiting our home between Beziers & Bedarieux over New Year with some members of our family, and would like to show the area in the best possible light. We realise that most of the tourist spots will be closed at this time, but there must be some places that are still open. Also, do you know of any festivals we could visit? Child-friendly options would be a bonus! Thanks, Gary == Hello Gary Most places, even small villages like ours in Nizas (550 people), will have a New years ball/party/dance/supper - this is the big celebration, Christmas is a quiet family time and not as commercialised as many countries (yet). But get your tickets for whichever party as soon as possible when you arrive. Pezenas is always worth a visit, the medieval streets are quieter but the town itself is the key attraction. Kids are always accepted as part of the family - even for a midnight ball we put spare beds in the Salles des Fetes so the younger ones can sleep while the parents make merry. Best wishes Tony ===== CANAL CRUISING Tony, We will be taking a barge(self-drive) from Narbonne to Carcassone in June. Will there be wineries along the way or within biking distance from the canal? Which do you recommend? Thanks, Gerry == Hello Gerry In a short cycling distance there are some great wine producers along that stretch of the Canal du Midi If you are booking through us... http://frenchcanalvacations.com/ ...then you will get full details of tours and wineries in the information sent to you - we will be putting most of this onto the sites (as soon as there are 30 hours in a day). Best wishes Tony ===== THE CANAL DU MIDI We are busy making a site showing the wonderful cruise boats on the canal du Midi and other French rivers - at the end of this summer the Carole and I, with our energetic family were lucky enough to spend a few days on the Berendina - you can read about this in http://francevoila.com/archives/65.html As a start, we have put a few photos on a simple page at http://nizas.com/berendina/photos.html Enjoy wine tasting, bike rides through nearby villages, sun bathing on deck or just plain fun with your companions! Retire to the cool shade of your private cabin for a tranquil nap, or lay back and watch the countryside flow by. Prepare your own meals in your fully-equipped kitchen or try out some nearby restaurants. Luxury boats are still available! You can choose boats to accommodate up to 12. http://frenchcanalvacations.com/ ===== 4. A Note From France Ah the good life! Can hardly believe we've been here in France for 3 years already, and from time to time it seems like a permanent holiday, except for all the work that is. I saved all the jobs to do on the house for years, to keep myself busy during retirement - not realising that retirement was going to bring many more interesting things to do than the office ever did. So I am in la directrice's black book as the list-of-jobs-to-be-done grows as well as the weeds. Of course living en plein nature has its good as well as bad sides - there is at least the constant battle against wild life in all its forms to keep you on your toes. France has a wonderful line in pests unknown to the Brit gardener - from subterranean aphids on the lettuce and pucerons that love rocket, to deer that happily jump a five-foot fence to enjoy the tranquility of the veg patch. We have the threat of wild boar all around, but so far at least they haven't joined in the fun. Even sunbathing here has its risks - close your eyes for a few minutes (la directrice of course) and thirty plus vultures will be circling over your head. I expect it's that lovely white flesh... Unaccountably, this part of the world has been spared from the worst assaults of tourism. We've got the Gorges du Tarn and Aven Armand nearby, and wonderfully varied countryside - plains like the steppes, forests and gorges, but the real reason it's quiet is probably that all the restaurants for miles and miles around are closed for six months every year. Night off for the chef? - forget it! That's what comes with having a population density the same as Lapland (and this week at least, it's climate too). This must be the only place where you don't need to dip your headlights for a whole journey. At least the coast is clear for endless supplies of champignons, wild boar, chevereuil and anything else edible. The French are masters at making the most of these, and we're currently struggling with a new formula we've been told to try out - fromage de tete. You probably don't want to know more. One major snag though - not surprisingly, none of the locals speak anything else but French, or more accurately none dare to admit they might. So this survival business hangs very heavily on the thin thread of getting a good grasp of the language: thought it was only one? With regional accents you can cut with a knife, Occitan and patois, advanced language classes are extending into eternity. My wife has the right idea - she paints. At least that's understood without too much trouble, though she says she doesn't understand the French obsession with the modernist swirls of colour that crop up in so many hotels. Results of all this labour? Dig the website! http://www.LesBastides.com/ -Michael Waygood ===== FINDING PROPERTY MANAGERS Tony- After a fantastic first season of letting our cottage in Normandy (50) with our neighbours doing a great job of taking care of the key-holding/cleaning/gardening, they are now moving, (nothing to do with us!). So we are desperate to find someone to take over the job and assist us in achieving a great 2003. We have made a few enquiries and wondered if you would have any suggestions??? Many thanks. Emma == Hello Emma Property management is always a local service and will only work in a very tight area of operations. Most owners have to solve this by advertising locally, asking in the Mairie, boulangerie and cafe. In some places, like Nice, there are commercial organisations which do changeovers and cleaning, but we are not aware of any National service or publication which will help - we have recognised this gap in the market , but the logistics of organising it are too great for us to see any possibility of a viable business model. We are planning a re launch of our publication for French property owners and we are active supporters for the Association for Owners of Vacation Property http://aovp.com/ Our service is marketing and advertising http://francevoila.com/rentals/ Best wishes Tony ===== 5. Our International Interests are Growing It seems that nearly everyday, We make contact with someone, somewhere that sparks a new interest or makes us dream of something new. It is just another reason we all love what we are doing! ELEPHANTS Dear Dawn, Enjoyed your piece on the elephants, and would like to offer one suggestion. Whenever you have the opportunity, go to East Africa, rent a tent and Landrover, find a reputable guide, buy provisions at the open air market in Nairobi and go straight out to the bush, say the Masai Mara, Amboseli or to avoid all tourists, the Selou in Tanzania. Pitch your tent, get a walking stick and travel with the elephant herds. In a few days they will come to know you. First the babies will check you out, eventually the mothers will too. Keep the Landrover nearby but get on the ground, walk besides them, watch and learn. You will never regret it. Bob == I have already volunteered to help Tony launch the African, Spanish and Italian versions of FranceVoila! and RentalsFrance.com- I’ll do them in whatever order and plan to spend the rest of my days roaming the world! ===== Dear Tony, Just a very quick note (amongst the hundreds you must receive) to say how much we enjoy your newsletter. We have traveled to France three times in the past four years - the last, staying at a property from your website in Vesvres (which we subsequently endorsed to another couple who were planning to rent for the summer). We adored our time there. On our return to Australia we purchased a farm in rural New South Wales which had been built by a young ex-pat French couple. It has many French touches, and we have enjoyed furnishing it with purchases from the Paris markets and from our own trips to the South of France. At the moment, sadly, we are experiencing a severe drought and the land is denuded of pasture and water - we are waiting for much needed rain. We are also in a wine growing district and the crop has been very badly affected and possibly reduced to half the anticipated production. Looking forward to the next letter. Cheers, Graeme and Pat Australia == Dear Graeme and Pat. Thank you for note and we are pleased you both enjoyed staying at one of the properties we market as well as recommending us to your friends. It is too bad about the drought. Nature both gives and takes away - hopefully equally. Now would be the perfect time to build a boat, because when the rains come, they will probably come in a large quantity. Please drop us a line when you are headed this way again. We'll help you find a nice house and hopefully we can get together to share a bottle of wine! Ask us anything... we'll do our best to respond! Best wishes, Dawn Eleanor Ramsay == When I saw this page I thought of many of our Australian visitors and of course, Frank the Australian in our midst. Aussie Slang I never knew the Aussies had a rhyming slang (Maybe Dawn will have to spearhead an Australian site, too!) Tony ===== Happy Christmas to you all, Just two things apart from saying the letters are great. 1) It is actually good to encourage people who have the time and a fire to collect the wood in the forests. This stops forest fires and in our area people have become so lazy that the department has special rustic cows that it moves around the land in an attempt to clear up the brush that becomes tinder during the summer. 2) In our area we have a web-site in English http://www.angloinfo.com that covers the 06 and 83 departments very well. There is even a phone number so anyone can reach an English speaking doctor/ specialist ( apparently you have to phone up as you can't advertise an English speaking dentist/gyny/psychologist under some rule). Thanks for all your help with Les Arcades, that's really Frank who has been our star. Fondest regards to you all, Helen. == Ummm It would be very unwise in France to collect wood anywhere without permission - all woodland belongs to someone and the rights for fire wood are jealously proetected (and fought over) Tony ===== 6. How To Book Sorry everyone! The How to Book for Choosing, buying and managing a property for seasonal rental is in fact, not ready to e-wrap and put under your tree. I hope the result is worth the wait. 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! ===== 7. Prices We occasionally find a property we list with different prices on other sites. I will repeat: WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD. A few owners have brought to our attention that "free" sites are picking up their ads and showing them on their sites without permission. This is a growing trend. Most often the rental inquiries are never even forwarded on to the owners. When they are, there are frequently details missing, etc. This wastes both your and the owners' time. If you find any property rental we are showing on any of our sites listed at a lower price somewhere else, we will always make sure you get that property at the best price available. Before renting from any site, make sure the company is registered. Any reputable company will clearly post their address and phone number. They should be able to provide you with an immobilier registration, agente commerciale number and most likely a Siret number. If not, you could be supporting a company that is operating illegally. All new subscribers get a free coupon. If you have not claimed yours, claim it now (only one per e-mail/surface-mail address). If you spot an error or admission in our sites, we will also send you a coupon. http://rentalsfrance.com/coupon/ The database will tell me if you are printing out more than one - so no cheating. We are encouraging owners to list their specials via "coupons" on their pages too. Look for them when you are browsing. ===== The AOVP Setting the Standards for Quality and Value for Vacation Rentals The Association of Owners of Vacation Properties (AOVP) provides advice and support to owners and managers of properties rented as vacation accommodation and protects both the interests of owners and the rights of renters. Among the association's objectives are To create a high level of trust in world-wide property rental relationships To guarantee the standards and services of members' rental properties To assure the quality of vacation services Members of AOVP confirm that they comply with the association's standards and code of ethics. Consumers will have high confidence in AOVP approval as an indication of dedicated, reliable professional management. For further details and to apply for membership, go the association's website at http://aovp.com ===== MONTPELLIER Tony, I read your latest newsletter with great interest as usual. My 17 year old daughter and I would like to spend that time in a temperate climate area. I have read Montpellier is a less commercialized version of Provence. My interest is to be able to spend time with local people, visit the area markets and vineyards, and experience home cooking. Thanks in advance for your assistance. Joanne My daughter would like to use her 5 years of middle and high school French == Hello Joanne Montpellier is the principal town of Languedoc and yes, the weather is much milder than Provence and the region is not overrun with tourists. This is why we chose to live near there. We can certainly help with accommodation for February there is a large selection on our site at http://rentalsfrance.com/provence and you can see a personal selection at http://rentalsfrance.com/languedoc/pezenas/ We look forward to seeing you in February Best wishes Tony ===== COLLECT TICKETS IN FRANCE I am so enjoying your most informative newsletter. I look forward to each bit of news --why, you ask, apart from an enduring love of Paris, and all of France. I've made the bold step of renting a flat in the 14th for 9 weeks in Feb, Mar, etc. in 2003 !!!! Excited, yes! I'm sure that I found a service which will do bookings for trains etc. so that I would have my tickets before leaving Canada. I need train reservations from Paris to Florence and thought this service could help. My problem is that this morning I can't find annnnything about it! Was I dreaming? Please advise. Thanks, Grace == Hello Grace We don't recommend any agency at the moment - the best service we have found from France is through SNCF http://www.sncf.com/ We are always looking into offering reliable and good value services Hope this helps Tony == Grace- Don’t be in a hurry to collect your tickets in Canada. I found personally, that the prices changed if you used a US address for delivery vs. paying on line and collecting the tickets at the station in France. Just make sure you travel with the same credit card you use whilst making the reservation and avoid the fees for foreign delivery. ===== If you have or know of a business in France which provides a quality service to visitors or resident foreigners please pass along their information to us. We offer a range of services to businesses here including Web Hosting and Marketing cooperation. Web Hosting with 23333.com - You Can Count on Us! To get the quality and reliability we demanded for our websites, we found the only way was to start our own web-hosting company 23333.com. You will find our hosting packages competitive with an unequalled range of reliable and proven services to make your website count for your property rental marketing campaign. You will be able to enjoy the same service we get for our sites like : http://RentalsFrance.com/ and http://1stVacations.com/ We are building 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 where you can add and edit comments and information from you guests - you may have a version where your guests can write directly to this book from your computer. * free on-line news page where you can add or edit information about news and events in you area - special offers etc. * free members forum where you can write on-line to other owners who are registered with us and 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 hosting@23333.com. 23333.com - You Can Count on Us! ===== 8. Nizas, Schools out for Christmas Last year Jack was a "limace" (slug), this year must be promotion as he was doing some great dancing on stage. The girls are too grown up now for school plays and have heaps of work to get through for their exams. I am continually impressd at the standard of education in France. Long hours, hard work, constant assessment and controls bring good standards. Also the sports facilities here are second to none and this certainly shows in the International successes of French sportmen. It seems that the English football teams must have croissants and cassoulet on their menues as their are so many French players there. We are waiting for Harry Potter to come round in English - it wouldn't seem the same in French. Wishing you the best for 2003 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.(Sometimes Santa’s elves get carried away in their search of wrapping paper and accidentally scoop them up to wrap new toothbrushes for our stockings.) So, if you write and don't hear from me, please write again. mailto:tony@nizas.com |