Well just time to post some of the latest happening in France and around…. maybe no pictures just text for a change.
To start with something not in France (its me…) Iberia Express will begin to offer low cost flights from Madrid Barajas airport on March 25 2012 to alicante,Palma,and Malaga. plans for more destinations to follow quickly; it is part of Iberia Airlines of Spain. wikipedia has more in Spanish as it is just new http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberia_Express ,google translator should do a pretty good job of translation to your language.
Coming around my current neck of the woods, Auray, we have wonderful gardens and garden centers around that I like to share a site and a couple of them with my readers; the site is in French ,very local find HortiAuray ,webpage http://www.hortiauray.com/ Inside there is a minefield for those in love with nature and decorations,loads of information on plants and flowers, how to ideas, and tools, recommendations to do a garden (again all can be translated with for example google translator) ;from this site it takes you direct to the gardens of Bretagne or Brittany where i am ,webpage http://www.apjb.org/fr/carte-des-parcs-et-jardins.html ; one very near me you can read there as No 10 is Parc de Keronic Château de Keronic 56330 – Pluvigner ( yes inside a castle!) another is no 17 and also a castle property at Kerambar’h Château de Kerambar’h 56690 – Landaul. These are wonderful properties, worthy of a cinderella castle.
for garden centers local,not chains, but the real thing, try this one from the hortiauray site, La Pepiniére la Peignie , already visited, http://www.pepiniere-la-peignie.com/ , and they are Germans who settled in the area. Le jardins de Balgan,near Séné, and Vannes, is good but open in spring, summer times only http://www.lejardindebalgan.fr/actualites.html ;and le Clos d’Armoise, at Theix, just a bit south of Séné in the town of Theix, webpage http://www.leclosdarmoise.com/plantes-vivaces
For those seeking a more relax vacation, and more local/typical accommodations try this site A-Gîtes for France in English and other languages ,http://www.a-gites.com/en/ ,to find those in my area you need to go to Brittany, Morbihan, or choose a particular city such as Auray.For example, this one looks nice,http://www.a-gites.com/en/advert-28074.html
The New Year Chinese is celebrated in Paris,the international city of France; the festivities will be tom Saturday,in the Marais, from 14h30,and it will have a parade departing from place de l’Hôtel de ville ( Paris 4éme),with the mayor of Paris,and the Ambassador of China in France . The parade will cross the 4éme and 3éme arrondissements by streets such as rue du Temple, rue de Bretagne, rue de Turbigo, and rue Beaubourg . There will be festivities by the métro Belleville from 11h30, by the same metro at 15h, shows of dance and martial arts will be presented. And a mayor parade in the 13éme arrondissement , starting at 13h passing by 44, avenue d’Ivry ,avenue de Choisy, place d’Italie, avenue d’Italie, rue de Tolbiac,and the boulevard Massén.
And when in Paris away from the popular places, try this Chinese and forget the others, La Nouvelle Fontaine d’Or ,39 Rue Jean de la Fontaine 75016 metro Jazmin line 9 tel +33 (0) 1 42 24 55 41. yes on the 16éme lol!
And to get away from it all, come back to the area of Gare de ‘Est, where I came into Paris with a young lady over 21 years ago, and found my French kiss irresistable, that we are still practicing, we came to eat here, and at least once a year we come back, Le Bistrot des Faubourgs 55, rue des Vinaigriers, 10ème Métro Gare de l’Est but closer if you like at Jacques Bonsergent and chateau d’eau Tél +33 (0) 1 46 07 09 49 . Traditional French, the name change but the place still magical over the years, at least for us. You will make it your own too,I am sure.
Now an event we used to talk and still do from the time of grandparents , cycling, the sport of the everyday French, the guy with the baguette under its arms riding a bike on a cobblestone street in a stone medieval looking village, and then there are races too. The ones I keep an eye for it and sometimes follow in person are these with name and date of event, March 4-11 Paris-Nice , see it here,and if not update yet, it will soon, http://www.letour.fr/ , The tour de Normandie, March 19-25 http://www.tourdenormandiecycliste.fr/ , Paris-Roubaix on april 8, Tour de Bretagne yes!! April 25 to May 1st;Tour d’Italie or Giro di Italia, May 5-27, http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Giroditalia/2012/it/ , In june 3-10 Criterium du Dauphiné, The grand daddy Tour de France, June 30 to July 22nd, then on August 18 to Sept 9 its the Vuelta a España or tour of Spain, October 7 is the Paris-Tour, Enjoy them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My boys are coming back tomorrow night from Franche-Comté where they spent a week skiing lol!! Cheers
Paris1972-Versailles2003 