http://www.francethisway.com/wp Living in France and daily life for a UK expat in the French blog! Tue, 22 May 2012 06:28:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/wild-swimming-france-a-book-review/2012/05/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/wild-swimming-france-a-book-review/2012/05/#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 09:18:36 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=3520 I have been asked to review a book called ‘Wild Swimming France’. Happily it was a pleasure. Without spoiling the conclusion I can tell you straight away that is going to be an indispensable addition to the books I take with me when I go away, and you should rush out straightaway and buy it [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/wild-swimming-france-a-book-review/2012/05/feed/ 0 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/when-to-visit-france-and-where-to-go/2012/04/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/when-to-visit-france-and-where-to-go/2012/04/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:14:58 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=3447 Having just spent a very pleasant week in and around Menton it is clear that some places are lovely at one time of the year – but at other times would be intolerably crowded, a traffic and parking nightmare, or have weather that would keep you inside all week. But lots of people need or [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/when-to-visit-france-and-where-to-go/2012/04/feed/ 2 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/medieval-reenactments/2012/03/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/medieval-reenactments/2012/03/#comments Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:15:20 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=3442 Did you know Menton (near Nice in south east France) claims to have 316 cloudless days a year? Now that is a lot of sunshine. I’ve been here three days now, most of which I have spent staring at the sky in the hope of seeing at least something small and fluffy to prove them [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/medieval-reenactments/2012/03/feed/ 0 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/as-nice-as-tuscany/2012/03/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/as-nice-as-tuscany/2012/03/#comments Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:08:08 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=3416 There is something about certain travel quotes that makes them get repeated ad infinitum on gite and holiday rental websites. For example: “It’s like an unspoilt Tuscany or Provence, and I’d better shut up now or I’ll be responsible for spoiling it” was a  brief comment describing the Lot-et-Garonne in an article in the Observer [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/as-nice-as-tuscany/2012/03/feed/ 1 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/photos-and-stories-about-france/2012/03/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/photos-and-stories-about-france/2012/03/#comments Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:44:35 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=3359 On France This Way we like to offer our visitors the chance to submit comments, reportages and photos – of which we receive hundreds a year, from tourist offices, residents and holidaymakers, and for which we are very grateful. But we always like more, France is a very big place! Here are a few recent [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/photos-and-stories-about-france/2012/03/feed/ 0 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/finding-cheap-flights-to-france-or-anywhere-else/2012/02/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/finding-cheap-flights-to-france-or-anywhere-else/2012/02/#comments Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:27:55 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=3353 Having recently spent a couple of days in London and last week spent a few days in Rome it reminded me yet again how complicated it is to find flights at the best price, whether you are planning a summer holiday or a weekend getaway. The real question we always want answered is pretty simple [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/finding-cheap-flights-to-france-or-anywhere-else/2012/02/feed/ 6 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/exploring-france-by-train/2012/01/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/exploring-france-by-train/2012/01/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:36:45 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=3310 We all know that France has an excellent train system, the TGV, that whistles passengers from city to city at high speed and in great comfort. What you may not realise is that not everywhere in France is on a TGV high speed train line and things don’t always run quite as smoothly as the [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/exploring-france-by-train/2012/01/feed/ 14 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/art-in-france-but-not-as-we-know-it/2011/11/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/art-in-france-but-not-as-we-know-it/2011/11/#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:43:28 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=3182 What do you think of when people talk about art in France? The Louvre or the Orsay perhaps? Monet and the impressionists or the cave paintings at Lascaux? Bah! humbug! Where is the fun in those? Here are some artworks with a focus on fun (which is what counts in these gloomy times), and all [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/art-in-france-but-not-as-we-know-it/2011/11/feed/ 1 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/things-that-might-need-pointing-out/2011/10/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/things-that-might-need-pointing-out/2011/10/#comments Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:38:56 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=3150 Each summer week when people arrive in the gites we have a few things we try and remember to point out to them – where to park the car, how to use the pool alarm, where we have hidden the towels and so on. We also have a piece of paper which answers lots of [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/things-that-might-need-pointing-out/2011/10/feed/ 3 http://www.francethisway.com/wp/the-last-days-of-summer/2011/10/ http://www.francethisway.com/wp/the-last-days-of-summer/2011/10/#comments Sat, 08 Oct 2011 16:16:13 +0000 Boris http://www.francethisway.com/wp/?p=3142 I just managed to squeeze in a few days of exploring before the summer ended – just in time as it turned out, because after endless months of sunshine today has been a wee bit chilly. One of the great things about exploring France is that it is big enough that there is always something [...]]]> http://www.francethisway.com/wp/the-last-days-of-summer/2011/10/feed/ 2