What to see and do and what to eat in France.
Mont-Saint-Michel is a spectacular medieval abbey and village perched on a rocky tidal island off the coast on Normandy, France.
Read more Mont-Saint-Michel, a marvellous monastery built on a tidal island
3 amazing days in Normandy: things to see, what to eat, how to get there, where to stay in this beautiful part of France.
Imagine yourself strolling along narrow medieval alleys in Troyes. So narrow, in fact, that a cat
Sitting at a sidewalk café facing the main square of Castelnau-Montratier, I watch a few pensioners play pétanque under the trees. A player with a beret at a jaunty angle calculates the distance to the cochonnet, a small wooden ball used as a target. He lifts his arm, aims the boule and throws it. It…
Read more Bastides, the beautiful medieval villages of Southwestern France
In South West France, pensioners playing pétanque in the place, patrons sipping strong dark coffee, enjoying the peace and quiet. In the countryside, fig trees, orchards, vineyards, sunflower fields, corn fields cover the gently rolling hills like a multicolour patchwork quilt. This is the Languedoc today, that medieval fairy-tale land of the troubadours and courtly…
Toulouse is known as la ville rose for the pink bricks used to build the oldest buildings. It also has a large student population thanks to its many universities and colleges. I would call Toulouse la ville rose for the young. Toulouse witnessed firsthand many historical moments. For example, during World War I the city…
Dinan is a walled town located in the department of Côtes-d’Armor, overlooking the River Rance, in the Brittany region. We visited Dinan during one of our incursions into France when we lived in Jersey. We took the ferry to St-Malo and then drove around. The history of Dinan goes back many, many centuries. Some of…
Back in August 2006, Sean and I were due to fly to London and then drive to South West France the day after the liquid bomb plot was foiled. My parents called to persuade us to cancel the trip. I understood their concern but thought that airports would be the safest places on earth that…
Read more Travel Memories: drive from London to South West France
