Insights into the French way of life and European travels by an Australian living in the Loire Valley
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Stay in our beautiful 400-year old Renaissance house in the Loire Valley. Click on Gîte Loire Valley above. Accommodates 2 to 4 adults. 3-night minimum stay.-
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- Montpoupon | L o i r e D a i l y P h o t o on The Secret Châteaux of the Loire Valley – Langeais, Villesavin, Montpoupon & Beauregard
- Cycling along the Neckar in Germany #2 – Horb – Rottenburg – Türbingen – Bebenhausen | Aussie in France on Cycling along the Romantic Road in Bavaria #8 – Tauberbishofsheim to Creglingen
- Cycling along the Neckar in Germany #2 – Horb – Rottenburg – Türbingen – Bebenhausen | Aussie in France on Cycling Along the Neckar in Germany – #1 – Ludwigsburg
- Cycling along the Neckar in Germany #2 – Horb – Rottenburg – Türbingen – Bebenhausen | Aussie in France on Cycling along the Danube – Watch out for trains!
- Cycling along the Neckar in Germany #2 – Horb – Rottenburg – Türbingen – Bebenhausen | Aussie in France on Cycling in Germany #11 – Martin Luther Country: Torgau
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Category Archives: French customs
French-Style Primaries
The first time I voted in the French presidential elections in 2007, there were no primaries. In 2012, the main parties held their own primaries but it was an internal vote and you had to be a party member. This … Continue reading
Posted in France, French customs
Tagged benoît hamon, françois fillon, french politics, French primaries
12 Comments
Friday’s French – galette, galet, shingles, gâteau, cake, pancakes, crepes, biscuits
It’s galette des rois time again. This is the cake used to celebrate the Epiphany in France, the 12th day of Christmas, January 6th, the day on which the three kings reached Bethlehem. It has become an essential part of New … Continue reading
Friday’s French – Ecole Normale, normal, standard, norme, norm
The first time I heard the expression école normale was when I took up a post as an assistant English teacher in Nantes many moons ago. I soon discovered that it was a teacher training college. I then heard about the école normale … Continue reading
Posted in French customs, French language
Tagged école normale, normal in French, normal school
1 Comment
Friday’s French – Trêve des confiseurs
I heard a new expression on France Info this week – “l’entre deux fêtes” – which literally means “between two celebrations”, the first being Christmas and the second New Year. It’s the same construction as ‘l’entre-deux-guerres”, which is what the … Continue reading
Posted in French customs, French language
Tagged boxing day in France, l'entre deux fêtes, trève des confiseurs
16 Comments
Great Things about Christmas in France
Phoebe from Lou Messugo – traveller, francophile, expat, mum and foodie now living in Roquefort les Pins near Nice where she runs a gîte after many years of travelling and living in Asia, Eastern Europe and Australia – has come up with … Continue reading
Voting in the provinces
There are no provinces in France but anything that happens outside Paris is called “en province”. In fact, France is divided first into 27 regions, including Normandie, Picardy and Brittany (our region is called Centre and not Pays de la … Continue reading
Invited for Dessert
We haven’t seen Mr and Mrs Previous Owner for quite some time, what with moving, retirement blues, Christmas, New Year, the flu, Granada, getting over the flu and finishing the glass doors and shutters. However, we are now sufficiently en … Continue reading
Weekly Blogger Round-Up – All About France with Lou Messugo
You are all familiar with Phoebe from Lou Messugo who lives in Nice and has often been featured in this weekly blogger round-up. Today, she is beginning a new monthly link-up focussing on posts about France from bloggers across the glob. I’ve contributed my post … Continue reading
Posted in France, French customs, Weekly Blogger Round-Up
Tagged blog posts about france, Lou Messugo
6 Comments
Friday’s French – service civil, service civique, civil service, fonction publique
France Info is by far my favourite radio station. I like it because it keeps repeating the news all day so that if you tune off at any time, the same information will soon come round again. I usually listen … Continue reading
From Bridge to Bridge
It’s Sunday, the sun is shining brightly, the sky is blue and it’s 8°C. We can hardly believe it after the awful weather we have been having since November. We begin with pruning the roses. We have ten climbing roses … Continue reading
Posted in Cooking, Country living, Flowers & gardens, Food, French customs, Life in France, Retirement
Tagged brocante in Blois, retirement in France
13 Comments
