The people are friendly and the surrounding towns and villages have great character, plus all sorts of unique traditions. Well, the author Janine Marsh certainly did just that on a wet and windy February cross channel day out with her husband Mark, and Dad.

We contacted the gendarmes, they made note of our itinerary, and a week later, on a late Friday afternoon, we arrived in a quaint village where we had reserved four nights to see Mt. I love my books, I have more than 4,000 and had to renovate the pig sty so I had somewhere to keep them all. On a cold, wet day about ten years ago, Londoner Janine Marsh went with her husband and father on a day trip to France. When you’ve ticked off those must-see sites on your list – the Palace of Versailles, Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, a dazzling little island that makes you feel you have stepped back centuries, the Louvre, the world’s most visited museum and the sun-kissed French Riviera, the boulevards of Paris and the majestic castles of the Loire Valley - there are a million more thrilling sites and places to discover – prehistoric caves, troglodyte villages, the steep cobbled streets of Saint-Emilion in Bordeaux, the medieval town of Annecy in Haute-Savoie and Claude Monet’s house and garden in Giverny, Normandy.I discovered that my husband gets angry when things are out of his control and that things getting out of control when you start a new life in rural France is a common occurrence. I began by listening to French radio online and watching films and TV in French with English subtitles. Drinking wine that was made on this same vineyard, or at least, in the same region, by a friendly neighbour. All too often, they're poorly made and lack the important information brands need to know that they HAVE TO work. In this book, Janine regales us with the delights and dramas of a year attempting to live the rural idyll.

Read more about the condition New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages. How many of us have dreamed about having a second home in another country to escape the hustle and bustle of urban reality and enjoy the sweet life in a country setting? Throughout this enthralling book you will, like me, fall in love with the North of France, the Seven Valleys region, its coastline, seaside and country villages, the gastronomy, its people and so much more.Just recently I spent time again in the tiny charming Place de Furstemberg in Paris with its romantic lamp posts and elegant boutiques. It would have been so easy for the author to have filled this book with trials and tribulations, although humorous ones always bring a note of joy. This book is also different from a lot of other ex-Brits in France stories, because the house is up in the north of France. We learn new skills and evolve in ways we could never have dreamt possible, simply because anything seems possible, we feel free.

Timing can be everything in France, and if you miss that all important long lunch time they have, then anything can happen! Related post – 5 Top French Bloggers Tell Why They Love France In this article Janine together with four other top French bloggers give us the inside story of why they moved to France, what they do there now and how they share their love of France with others. I do find the people in those areas to be amazingly helpful and not the same hostile kind of whom others speak. We loved those new passports for several years; what a conversation piece to have those new photos (what a hassle that was to get them taken in Paris!This is the true story of her rollercoaster ride, in many ways a love story, with her sharp observations on the very different way of life, culture and etiquette of France.

Le Bonaparte brasserie glows with red warmth in the fall and winter and is a great place to eat right in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Près. I’m always reading that French people can be aloof and standoffish but learning French has opened me up to a different understanding. We have to go back in time to the beginning of her story, she is known as the Iron Lady, la Dame de Fer in French, to find out why this towering icon is even there in the first place! After recently posting some photos of my handmade wreath on my fireplace at Christmas time, many of you asked for more information on how I made my wreath.Once you’ve had your fill of drink and food, you are free to take une petite sieste, because there is another meal coming at you shortly. Oh yes, we recorded his part of the chat in the bustling Le Peloton cafe where you can find my Croc-Monsieur tote bags for sale. Last time we sat inside and the glow from the red lights as the evening descended was really rather magical. Instead we took in a stray cat and then another and another until we had 6 cats and 3 dogs, which sort of curtails your ability to ride off at will. I go there a lot with my husband and we both agree, we would love to live there and really get to know the city like a local.