SalB my favorite place is the Jura region. it has lots of snow in winter. in summer it is dry and cool, you make a fire in the fireplace in july to keep your apartment nice and warm at night. yet during the day it’s still warm enough to go canoeing, swimming, etc…you’re 3000 feet above sea level and the sky at night is so clear you can see every star!
the sounds of cowbells at night, REAL cowbells, as the cows walk around the fields lulls you to sleep. Such a peaceful place.
The food! real smoked meats, the cow was butchered that morning, by the afternoon he’s in the smokehouse, a real wooden smokehouse, being cured for at least 24 hours, then sold immediately. the taste is out of this world. and the cheese! and the jura wines!
Neat albums. I particularly liked the cows. Grew up in Ohio . . .
When we were in Switzerland, I was delighted to discover cows really wore bells. My husband said the cows in the field across the road from our hotel had bells that played a tonic chord in first inversion! I just thought it was a great sound . . . very calming.
The kids will never let me forget that I bought various size cowbells for everyone on our Christmas list. We still have one hanging in our library and occasionally I ring it just to remember the Alps.
Thanks for sharing your albums. Hope you don’t mind if I bookmark you.
April 4, 2004 at 7:38 pm
Bonjour a tout a le monde!
Je m’appelle Dante`. J’ai seize ans. J’habite aux etats-unis. Je suis une fille. Je suis une etudiante de lycee. J’aime beaucoup ecrivez. Merci beaucoup. Aue voire!
I only speak a little french and i am a newbie. i am new here!! 🙂
April 5, 2004 at 7:25 pm
Welcome, Dante. Your French is excellent. I suspect most here don’t speak much French and you certainly don’t need to speak it to post.
There is a pen pal section on the forum and you might find a French pen pal and you could both work on your languages.
My French isn’t great (although I could read your post), but I’ve been to France a lot and really enjoy it. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Someone here will probably be able to help you.
Welcome.
April 6, 2004 at 12:48 pm
Didn’t know they had cows in Ohio. They have Drew Carey though. But Drew Carey doesn’t qualify as a cow, does he ?
April 6, 2004 at 12:55 pm
Mmmhhh…
Why is that that we can’t seem to be able to stay on a topic?
How does Drew Carey end up in a forum about France’s most likely places to visit? I wonder, I wonder…
Should we delete all posts that are not in line with the topic?
crc95 do you want to start a thread on Drew Carey? ‘doubt you would get much success with it… ;-5
April 6, 2004 at 5:36 pm
Before anyone deletes this because it got off topic, who or what is Drew Carey? I take it he is not French?!
And yes, they definitely do have cows in Ohio! Unfortunately, they do not have bells.
Highly recommend the French Alps. The cows have bells there. Has anyone visited the Mercantour National Park? It’s fabulous!!
April 7, 2004 at 4:22 pm
Mercantour ? Mmmm … They got the wolves back there now. Big wolves, with big teeth.
Yeah, big teeth, big enough to eat a whole Drew Carey !!
April 7, 2004 at 11:12 pm
I know they are reintroducing wolves into some part of France but I didn’t think it was the Mercantour. That makes it even more exciting. Wolves are more interesting than marmots!
BTW, are you going to tell me who is Drew Carey or not? I can always Google if I must.
April 8, 2004 at 4:20 pm
I agree, marmots are SO protected they won’t even hide or run away or even do that whistle thing when they see you coming afar.
What boring rodents they have become.
Hey am I going off-topic again ??
April 8, 2004 at 11:28 pm
Marmots are alive and well in the French National Mercantour Park so I think you’re safely on topic.
BTW, the marmots we glimpsed in the park really were still wild. They ran when they saw us. I couldn’t even get a photo. Perhaps you should visit the park. It’s glorious!
April 9, 2004 at 2:54 am
Then you should try Parc National de la Vanoise, marmots will POSE for you.
April 9, 2004 at 4:05 pm
SalB:
another lovely region is the bourgogne region. The WINE! farmers rent out extra rooms like tiny bed & breakfasts. the price is cheap (you pay for breakfast, though) but the local ambiance is wonderful.
Many farms also have a side business as a restaurant. One farm i stayed in for a weekend had a restaurant in the 300 year old stone farmhouse. The meat had been killed the day before (pork) by another farmer. It was roasted over an open fire. The baked potatoes were roasted in the embers…what a flavor! the terrine was of beef/pork and leek, with a HUGE green salad that the farmer had taken from his garden just for me becuase he knew i loved salads. Dessert was a piece of apple pie with apples cooked in butter/calvados that morning (i saw him do it). Don’t even get me started on the cheese, too! The red wine was in a carafe and was all you can drink. the price for this french feast? 15 Euros complete for everything. I’ve NEVER had a meal that good in usa, EVER! the quality of the food was astounding! (guess you figured by now that i love good food).
Bouze in French means cow manure and some towns in that region have bouze as part of the town name. I even saw "rue de bouze" too funny!
April 9, 2004 at 5:22 pm
Think I’ll skip the Parc Nationale de la Vanoise. I can’t imagine a trained marmot!!
Yes, LaVieilleBranche, we also love Burgundy. I would hate to pick a favorite place in France. You decide on one and then immediately think of another and change your mind.
If someone offered me a house in France, no matter where, I would cheerfully take it. We’ve looked in Languedoc, Basse Normandy and the Pyrenees seriously. However, the wine country near Strasbourg and Burgundy are both wonderful.
I’d hate to choose a best meal too. I could narrow that down a bit more, but we keep finding surprises when we’re driving around. If we get hungry, we look for a restaurant that is full of people and it’s usually excellent. I’m not a foodie so we don’t go out of our way to find good restaurants, just don’t want a really bad one.
Hope you enjoy your trip to France. Happy Easter!!
April 9, 2004 at 10:20 pm
SalB:
my family lives throughout Alsace. If you ever go to Alsace I can tell you what towns to go to, and where to get TOP quality wine at fair prices. I can even tell you which restaurants to go to in Strasbourg.. i know…i tried them!
by the way….did you know that a few years ago Strasbourg was struck by a TORNADO?? yes it’s true…it went by the river, upending trees, etc…i was 3 blocks away at this outdoor restaurant. i heard the tornado coming, got inside and sat near the cellar door, just in case. The alsacians were sitting near the HUGE plate glass window watching the windstorm outside, thinking it was cool! they thought i was NUTS for telling them a tornado was around the corner….betcha they didn’t think this american was nuts the next morning when they turned on canal + and got the news!!
I had a good laugh over that one!
April 9, 2004 at 10:26 pm
SalB: sorry about all the posts here, but i LOVE europe and all the variety! it’s so hard to decide on just ONE favorite place, ya know…so many things to see, to do, to TASTE, and so little time
by the way, since you bookmarked my photo album, go back into it and look into the 2nd or 3rd sub-album entitled France (i think) . you will see a bottle of snake alcohol…yes, that is a REAL snake (2 dead viper snakes) that were used to perfume the alcohol. see that little glass in the photo next to that bottle? that was MY glass…had to taste this stuff! tasted earthy and sweet…but smelled like dead animal! but hey, i lived!
now don’t get me started on italy or germany or belgium or i’ll never shut up
April 13, 2004 at 6:59 am
SalB & LaVieilleBranch: Well, I have just returned and the trip was fabulous. Your tips were well received. As far as best places I cannot decide. I loved the Rhone Alpes region between Annecy and Albertville. Cows with bells and goat herds as well. The Abbaye at Tamie was amazing. The food at an alpine inn (fondue) was amazing. SalB: you were right about the mountain roads and snow. It was great however. Driving those roads was great fun and the scenery was spectacular. Annecy was ok, but it did seem to be overly touristy. Going up Mount Blanc was a thrill as was driving over the Col d’Aravis. Burgundy was special as we had been there last year. The villages along the Cote d’Or were just so nice and peaceful. The wine was spectacular. Veselay was nice as was the Abbaye de Fountenay. A real treat was buying Berthault Eppoise cheese at their "factory store" in Epoisse. Buying a bagguette every morning and cheese direct "vente en fermier" was just so great. The very best parts of the trip was our stays at the inns Au Gay Sejour at Le Tertonoz and Le Chatteau De Messey in Orzonay. Our hosts, food, and acquaintences at Chatteau De Messey were just great. They even recommended a spectacular (Italian) restaurant in Paris. I just can’t decide which area that I have been to that I would call the best. Donerail
April 14, 2004 at 5:53 pm
I sympathize. We can’t decide on a favorite either.
Yes, Annecy is very touristy, but when we’ve been there, the tourists have been more European than American. I’ve only seen a couple other Americans there. We don’t hang out in expensive restaurants so perhaps that explains it.
A favorite cheese is "Temptation of St. Felician" that we got in the Rhone Alps region. We were immediately taken by the name and had to try it. It was wonderful and we’ve never found it anyplace else.
Glad you enjoyed your trip.
April 14, 2004 at 7:31 pm
SalB: Perhaps the highlight of our trip was the 3 day stay at the Chatteau de Messey at Ozenay – just outside of Tournus. The facility was built somewhere in between the 13th and 15th century. The rooms were huge – easily 20 feet x 20 feet and first class bathrooms. The rates including breakfast and evening meals was about 150 euros. our hosts, Bernard and Marie-Laurence Fachon were spectacular as was the food. We used this location as the base to visit Veselay, Fountenay, Eppoises, Meursault, and Beaune. One tip to pass out to travelers is avoid the "Club France" card from Franceguide.com. I paid $25 for it and was supposed to get Hertz upgrades and discounts at "hundreds" of locations. Hertz refused any upgrades and in all our travels we never once saw anyone displaying the "Club France" marquee. It was just a total waste of $25.00. Donerail
April 15, 2004 at 5:52 pm
Interesting observation about the Club France card. I’ve looked at it several times but eventually decided not to purchase. I was never sure we would take advantage of the benefits. It’s aimed at the "average" tourist (whatever that is). We don’t rent a car; we lease a Peugeot so would not get an auto upgrade. We prefer the small car because of the narrow streets most places. Since there are only two of us, we really don’t need a larger car anyway.
We book our Paris hotel through France.com and the others through Logis de France so hotel upgrades wouldn’t work for us either. I’m not sure about tourist venues. The Paris Museum Pass and the National Museum Pass would be more logical for us. We did buy a regional pass one year in the Pyrenees. We took our daughter with us and thought the savings would be worth it. It worked well because we made it work. We mapped out most of the sites and made a point of visiting them. It got kind of funny at the end of two weeks in the Pyrenees as we raced to finish our "card." It was great fun and we saw a lot of things we never would have seen otherwise. It kind of forced us out of the box.
Did you get to the restaurant in La Clusaz? Just wondered if it is still as good as it used to be. Glad to have you back.
April 16, 2004 at 5:11 pm
SalB: Unfortunately we did not get a chance to go to that restaurant. LaClusaz was a delightful town as were all the alpine villages along the D909 – Flumet, Val d’Arly, St Jean le Sixt, etc. That road was so neat to drive on that I would have paid a toll to drive on it. My wife was mostly terrified, however. Donerail
April 16, 2004 at 7:11 pm
I’m on your wife’s side. Sitting on the passenger side with absolutely no control and looking over the side of a mountain realizing you could bounce down there . . . is terrifying.
Somehow it doesn’t seem to bother my husband to drive in these places. We stayed in Switzerland at a hotel up a mountain once and the road was so scary I swore I would never go back down the mountain. Well, the next day was Sunday and we had to go to church down the mountain. So much for my resolution!
Wish you had tried the restaurant. It was one of our favorite meals in France over the years, and not that expensive either. Ah well, next time.
Are you planning your next trip?
April 16, 2004 at 9:23 pm
SalB: We were not thinking of returning to La France until next April. But after reading your post about the tickets you got for the Fall, we may very well do the same. Isn’t it amazing what good wine, cheese, and culture can do to you? If we do go back in the Fall, it will have to be after late October as we have to wait for the Red Sox to finally trounce the Yanks. Donerail
April 20, 2004 at 9:44 pm
We had never gone in the Fall until last November. We saw a deal we couldn’t refuse so bought the tickets for mid-November. We were a little leary of the weather since we’re from southern California (don’t own coats), but we layered and it worked well.
We were fortunate as far as weather. It only rained once and not very hard. We were delighted we had a chance to use our new umbrellas. The trees still had quite a bit of Fall color. We don’t get much of that around here and what color we get is between Thanksgiving and Christmas so we enjoyed that too. There were lots of tourists even in November but not the long lines you see in the summer.
Autumn is a great time to go. I did notice on the airline deals that they only had four to nine seats on each flight so they may not last long. If you don’t get one, I bet they’ll have sales in late summer too.
I’m really looking forward to October. No Paris, but Nice will do!
Have you traveled in the south of France very much?
April 21, 2004 at 5:27 pm
SalB: It took years for us to get beyond short day trips from Paris. Last year for the first time we ventured out to Lyon and Burgundy and then back to Paris. This year it was Lyon, the Alps, Burgundy and then back to Paris. The farthest South that we have been is Lyon. How are we ever going to pry ourselves away from the Alps and Burgundy? I can’t imagine it being more enjoyable elsewhere but something tells me its possible. We obviously need help. Donerail
April 21, 2004 at 10:52 pm
Good grief. That means you haven’t visited Provence, Brittany, Aquitaine, the Pyrenees or Languedoc-Roussillon. You can’t believe the joy you have awaiting you. I just realized you don’t have the Loire in your list either.
My, my . . . you have years of wonderful vacations ahead of you. Hm, what shall I recommend first?! The easy solution would be to tape a map of France to the wall and throw a dart at it. Wherever the dart sticks is your next vacation starting point. Then you can plan your trip around it.
We don’t have a favorite part of France because we truly love them all. Just driving from Bordeaux cross country into Provence last year we found absolutely stunning countryside and some marvelous restaurants. You drive ’round a corner and a castle appears. You exit a forest and an abbey appears. You top a mountain and a verdant valley appears. You can’t go wrong. It’s all beautiful.
Let’s see . . . autumn. Perhaps you should consider Basse Normandy in early autumn. Bordeaux, Aquitaine or Provence in late autumn. Oh, the choices. Quick, buy a couple tickets!
April 22, 2004 at 7:50 am
hello all
I’m back from France since last Sunday. I had a great time, as usual. I think we need to send swierd, ikkorelim and the others to France for one month and then maybe they’ll stop slandering the French and their culture. The food! the wine! I found a lovely wine bar with the best charcuterie plates and wine ever, and prices are reasonable
Donerail: I’ve been to Provence. it’s beautiful, but hot in the summer. Bring your swimsuit so you can go swimming in that glorious blue water! and you can take the train to Monte Carlo, it’s 20 minutes away from Nice by train
SalB: i agree with you on mountains. LOoking down the side of a HUGE French mountain while the driver ZOOOOOOMS through those lonely high roads is truely scary!
Nicer to chat in here, no negativity, this is why i originally came to the forums. To discuss France with French lovers, to learn a few things and share information
April 22, 2004 at 1:12 pm
So true. This is my favorite place on the forums.
I think donerail is hoping to travel in the Fall. Can you still swim in Provence in the Fall? We visited Paris in November once and we definitely would not have gone swimming. I guess we’ll find out this year because we’re going to be in Provence at the beginning of October and again in mid November. I’m sure it will be rather chilly in November but we don’t know what to expect in October. Any ideas?
April 22, 2004 at 2:42 pm
SalB:
provence and the Mediterrean is a warm area. I presume you can still swim in October, however you might want to check a weather web page for average temperatures in provence at that point.
Paris is always at the cooler end of the weather spectrum while Provence is at the hot end. Just pack a bathing suit and have a good time! Don’t think to buy a suit there, because all they sell are these tiny thong bathing suits, which are definately NOT for me and NOT for my figure! Maybe you look sexy in one, who knows?
At Nice, go to the weekly market in old Nice, near the beach. You can get L’Occitane brand quality soaps without the l’Occitane price tags. I’m talking about savon de marseilles, which L’Occitane sells, but charges $3.00 for each bar of soap. I had gotten the same quality soaps at the market for about .85 cents each.
For up to the minute international weather, so to http://www.wunderground.com In the top buffer, type in Provence, and see the cities you can get the weather on. I do this all the time, especially when I need up to the minute travel weather reports that are fast and accurate.
My photo album will up updated this weekend with new photos from the French trip. I know you bookmarked the site, so don’t forget to check back next week for new photos!
April 22, 2004 at 5:26 pm
SalB/LaVieilleBranche: Whats your recommendation on one of the following: (1) Bordeaux to Provence in late April for two weeks or (2) Bordeaux to Provence in late October for two weeks. Donerail
April 22, 2004 at 5:48 pm
LaVieilleBranche, Thanks for the ideas. I’ll be sure to check your web site for pictures. I’ve actually been looking forward to it. I usually get my Savon de Marseille in the local hardware store when I’m in France. They don’t seem to mark it up much at all in a hardware store. Normally in the states I get it at good old Trader Joe’s. Do they have Trader Joe’s back east? It’s a great store.
I’ve had the weather site bookmarked for a while and check it occasionally. There are all kinds of weather sites, not hard to find. It’s just that averages don’t always tell you what you want to know and I was hoping someone could say, "Well, it snowed last Oct. 15 so don’t bother with a bathing suit." (Preferably the opposite!) We’ll see if anyone else has suggestions.
donerail, Do you prefer Spring or Fall? They are two seasons that are similar in weather but very different in what you will see. The Bordeaux to Provence trip is gorgeous. In Oct. you would be seeing changing leaves and the trees are pretty but the grape vines are spectacular. On the other hand it will be a very busy time at the wineries. You might catch some harvest festivals. Check a few web sites for the different areas and see when the festivals are. That would be fun.
Spring is when everything is coming to life and that far south it would be lovely. They will be out working and pruning but not much other action in the wineries. I think it would be interesting whichever you choose. I’m an autumn person myself but you know yourself best. Of course, if you opted for April, you could go sooner.
April 23, 2004 at 12:57 pm
Paris is my favorite, well of course its the only place i know of, but i did go to the country side, i just hate bugs, so i will say Paris, its romantic, relaxing/soothing, fresh and just my kinda town… Paris~that’s my dream home*
I love the Loire Valley… personally… I am a romantic at heart, and a historian. I could wander in castles all day… so long as I can know the stories behind them. Fantastic! I’ve toured the Valley three times, and can’t tire of it… looking forward to discovering more of France tho before I get back to my old favorites.
-wildstrawberrie
June 22, 2004 at 12:36 pm
SalB, I appreciate your information you have provided for so many people. My wife and I leave for France in four weeks. I have enjoyed reading all the conversations and I usually have my wife read the informative ones. But this time I do not think I will have her read about driving in the Mountains. She will be in the passenger seat most of the time and from the sound of it she will be quite scared. She may be drinking the wine before we ever get a chance to send it home! I have yet to to visit France, but I am going to have to say that I expect the Alps to be my favorite. We are going to chase the Tour de France around for its final ten days. At this point I think we will be taking your advice and spend a night in the Hotel Grillion in Beaune befrore we make our way back to Paris. We are also going to be staying somewhere in Tours before we make our way down to Grenoble. We really can not wait to start our trip! Jack
June 22, 2004 at 6:05 pm
4mcilvain: You will have the time of your life and the mountain roads are actually quite exhilarating. We did that region in April and we even enjoyed the snow. The scenery, towns, food, and wine are all specatular. Have a great time. Donerail
July 31, 2004 at 8:32 pm
France is such a beautiful country that its hard to pick your favorite place. I myself have only been to Paris and the Ile-de-France region, Normandy, Perigord, and Provence-Cote d’azur and i’ve seen the TGV ride from Paris to the sea. From where I’ve been, I’d have to say Paris, of course is my fav. I also love Normandy when its not raining and I’m dying to see the Loire Valley and Alsace.
October 10, 2004 at 12:19 am
Thank you guys for all your posts. I learned quite a bit by reading them. My fiance and I are planning our wedding in France this May. We will be there for aprox. 21 days. We are still researching but so far this is what we’ve come up with, please give me some feed back and your ideas of places not to miss. We will be starting in Paris of course. We will spend 5-6 days there and we don’t expect to rent a car. Then off to Normandy, by car or train? We will spend 3-4 days there exploring WWII sites and then have our wedding in Mont-Saint-Michel. From what I’ve heard it’s a perfect setting for a romantic wedding.? Then our guests (aprox. 4 others) will go home and we have the rest of our time (about a week) for the honeymoon!! We haven’t decided where we should go for that rest of the time. Any ideas? We’d like to get to a few more places. Thanks
October 10, 2004 at 8:17 pm
Sandradee: You might also try Beaune. Fantastic wine and mid-way between two great big cities: Lyon and Dijon. Donerail
41 Comments On Favorite Places
Bora-Bora.
😉
. . . sigh . . .
crc95: eheheheheheheeheheheh
SalB my favorite place is the Jura region. it has lots of snow in winter. in summer it is dry and cool, you make a fire in the fireplace in july to keep your apartment nice and warm at night. yet during the day it’s still warm enough to go canoeing, swimming, etc…you’re 3000 feet above sea level and the sky at night is so clear you can see every star!
the sounds of cowbells at night, REAL cowbells, as the cows walk around the fields lulls you to sleep. Such a peaceful place.
The food! real smoked meats, the cow was butchered that morning, by the afternoon he’s in the smokehouse, a real wooden smokehouse, being cured for at least 24 hours, then sold immediately. the taste is out of this world. and the cheese!
and the jura wines! 
go to http://gallery.completecomputing.com/denise and look for the albums la vache, the jura and chateau de joux…and you’ll understand why i love this part of france
Neat albums. I particularly liked the cows. Grew up in Ohio . . .
When we were in Switzerland, I was delighted to discover cows really wore bells. My husband said the cows in the field across the road from our hotel had bells that played a tonic chord in first inversion! I just thought it was a great sound . . . very calming.
The kids will never let me forget that I bought various size cowbells for everyone on our Christmas list. We still have one hanging in our library and occasionally I ring it just to remember the Alps.
Thanks for sharing your albums. Hope you don’t mind if I bookmark you.
Bonjour a tout a le monde!
Je m’appelle Dante`. J’ai seize ans. J’habite aux etats-unis. Je suis une fille. Je suis une etudiante de lycee. J’aime beaucoup ecrivez. Merci beaucoup. Aue voire!
I only speak a little french and i am a newbie. i am new here!! 🙂
Welcome, Dante. Your French is excellent. I suspect most here don’t speak much French and you certainly don’t need to speak it to post.
There is a pen pal section on the forum and you might find a French pen pal and you could both work on your languages.
My French isn’t great (although I could read your post), but I’ve been to France a lot and really enjoy it. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Someone here will probably be able to help you.
Welcome.
Didn’t know they had cows in Ohio. They have Drew Carey though. But Drew Carey doesn’t qualify as a cow, does he ?
Mmmhhh…
Why is that that we can’t seem to be able to stay on a topic?
How does Drew Carey end up in a forum about France’s most likely places to visit? I wonder, I wonder…
Should we delete all posts that are not in line with the topic?
crc95 do you want to start a thread on Drew Carey? ‘doubt you would get much success with it… ;-5
Before anyone deletes this because it got off topic, who or what is Drew Carey? I take it he is not French?!
And yes, they definitely do have cows in Ohio! Unfortunately, they do not have bells.
Highly recommend the French Alps. The cows have bells there. Has anyone visited the Mercantour National Park? It’s fabulous!!
Mercantour ? Mmmm … They got the wolves back there now. Big wolves, with big teeth.
Yeah, big teeth, big enough to eat a whole Drew Carey !!
I know they are reintroducing wolves into some part of France but I didn’t think it was the Mercantour. That makes it even more exciting. Wolves are more interesting than marmots!
BTW, are you going to tell me who is Drew Carey or not? I can always Google if I must.
I agree, marmots are SO protected they won’t even hide or run away or even do that whistle thing when they see you coming afar.
What boring rodents they have become.
Hey am I going off-topic again ??
Marmots are alive and well in the French National Mercantour Park so I think you’re safely on topic.
BTW, the marmots we glimpsed in the park really were still wild. They ran when they saw us. I couldn’t even get a photo. Perhaps you should visit the park. It’s glorious!
Then you should try Parc National de la Vanoise, marmots will POSE for you.
SalB:
another lovely region is the bourgogne region. The WINE!
farmers rent out extra rooms like tiny bed & breakfasts. the price is cheap (you pay for breakfast, though) but the local ambiance is wonderful.
Many farms also have a side business as a restaurant. One farm i stayed in for a weekend had a restaurant in the 300 year old stone farmhouse. The meat had been killed the day before (pork) by another farmer. It was roasted over an open fire. The baked potatoes were roasted in the embers…what a flavor! the terrine was of beef/pork and leek, with a HUGE green salad that the farmer had taken from his garden just for me becuase he knew i loved salads. Dessert was a piece of apple pie with apples cooked in butter/calvados that morning (i saw him do it). Don’t even get me started on the cheese, too! The red wine was in a carafe and was all you can drink. the price for this french feast? 15 Euros complete for everything. I’ve NEVER had a meal that good in usa, EVER! the quality of the food was astounding! (guess you figured by now that i love good food).
Bouze in French means cow manure and some towns in that region have bouze as part of the town name. I even saw "rue de bouze"
too funny!
Think I’ll skip the Parc Nationale de la Vanoise. I can’t imagine a trained marmot!!
Yes, LaVieilleBranche, we also love Burgundy. I would hate to pick a favorite place in France. You decide on one and then immediately think of another and change your mind.
If someone offered me a house in France, no matter where, I would cheerfully take it. We’ve looked in Languedoc, Basse Normandy and the Pyrenees seriously. However, the wine country near Strasbourg and Burgundy are both wonderful.
I’d hate to choose a best meal too. I could narrow that down a bit more, but we keep finding surprises when we’re driving around. If we get hungry, we look for a restaurant that is full of people and it’s usually excellent. I’m not a foodie so we don’t go out of our way to find good restaurants, just don’t want a really bad one.
Hope you enjoy your trip to France. Happy Easter!!
SalB:
my family lives throughout Alsace. If you ever go to Alsace I can tell you what towns to go to, and where to get TOP quality wine at fair prices. I can even tell you which restaurants to go to in Strasbourg.. i know…i tried them!
by the way….did you know that a few years ago Strasbourg was struck by a TORNADO?? yes it’s true…it went by the river, upending trees, etc…i was 3 blocks away at this outdoor restaurant. i heard the tornado coming, got inside and sat near the cellar door, just in case. The alsacians were sitting near the HUGE plate glass window watching the windstorm outside, thinking it was cool! they thought i was NUTS for telling them a tornado was around the corner….betcha they didn’t think this american was nuts the next morning when they turned on canal + and got the news!!
I had a good laugh over that one!
SalB: sorry about all the posts here, but i LOVE europe and all the variety!
it’s so hard to decide on just ONE favorite place, ya know…so many things to see, to do, to TASTE, and so little time 
by the way, since you bookmarked my photo album, go back into it and look into the 2nd or 3rd sub-album entitled France (i think) . you will see a bottle of snake alcohol…yes, that is a REAL snake (2 dead viper snakes) that were used to perfume the alcohol. see that little glass in the photo next to that bottle? that was MY glass…had to taste this stuff! tasted earthy and sweet…but smelled like dead animal! but hey, i lived!
now don’t get me started on italy or germany or belgium or i’ll never shut up
SalB & LaVieilleBranch: Well, I have just returned and the trip was fabulous. Your tips were well received. As far as best places I cannot decide. I loved the Rhone Alpes region between Annecy and Albertville. Cows with bells and goat herds as well. The Abbaye at Tamie was amazing. The food at an alpine inn (fondue) was amazing. SalB: you were right about the mountain roads and snow. It was great however. Driving those roads was great fun and the scenery was spectacular. Annecy was ok, but it did seem to be overly touristy. Going up Mount Blanc was a thrill as was driving over the Col d’Aravis. Burgundy was special as we had been there last year. The villages along the Cote d’Or were just so nice and peaceful. The wine was spectacular. Veselay was nice as was the Abbaye de Fountenay. A real treat was buying Berthault Eppoise cheese at their "factory store" in Epoisse. Buying a bagguette every morning and cheese direct "vente en fermier" was just so great. The very best parts of the trip was our stays at the inns Au Gay Sejour at Le Tertonoz and Le Chatteau De Messey in Orzonay. Our hosts, food, and acquaintences at Chatteau De Messey were just great. They even recommended a spectacular (Italian) restaurant in Paris. I just can’t decide which area that I have been to that I would call the best. Donerail
I sympathize. We can’t decide on a favorite either.
Yes, Annecy is very touristy, but when we’ve been there, the tourists have been more European than American. I’ve only seen a couple other Americans there. We don’t hang out in expensive restaurants so perhaps that explains it.
A favorite cheese is "Temptation of St. Felician" that we got in the Rhone Alps region. We were immediately taken by the name and had to try it. It was wonderful and we’ve never found it anyplace else.
Glad you enjoyed your trip.
SalB: Perhaps the highlight of our trip was the 3 day stay at the Chatteau de Messey at Ozenay – just outside of Tournus. The facility was built somewhere in between the 13th and 15th century. The rooms were huge – easily 20 feet x 20 feet and first class bathrooms. The rates including breakfast and evening meals was about 150 euros. our hosts, Bernard and Marie-Laurence Fachon were spectacular as was the food. We used this location as the base to visit Veselay, Fountenay, Eppoises, Meursault, and Beaune. One tip to pass out to travelers is avoid the "Club France" card from Franceguide.com. I paid $25 for it and was supposed to get Hertz upgrades and discounts at "hundreds" of locations. Hertz refused any upgrades and in all our travels we never once saw anyone displaying the "Club France" marquee. It was just a total waste of $25.00. Donerail
Interesting observation about the Club France card. I’ve looked at it several times but eventually decided not to purchase. I was never sure we would take advantage of the benefits. It’s aimed at the "average" tourist (whatever that is). We don’t rent a car; we lease a Peugeot so would not get an auto upgrade. We prefer the small car because of the narrow streets most places. Since there are only two of us, we really don’t need a larger car anyway.
We book our Paris hotel through France.com and the others through Logis de France so hotel upgrades wouldn’t work for us either. I’m not sure about tourist venues. The Paris Museum Pass and the National Museum Pass would be more logical for us. We did buy a regional pass one year in the Pyrenees. We took our daughter with us and thought the savings would be worth it. It worked well because we made it work. We mapped out most of the sites and made a point of visiting them. It got kind of funny at the end of two weeks in the Pyrenees as we raced to finish our "card." It was great fun and we saw a lot of things we never would have seen otherwise. It kind of forced us out of the box.
Did you get to the restaurant in La Clusaz? Just wondered if it is still as good as it used to be. Glad to have you back.
SalB: Unfortunately we did not get a chance to go to that restaurant. LaClusaz was a delightful town as were all the alpine villages along the D909 – Flumet, Val d’Arly, St Jean le Sixt, etc. That road was so neat to drive on that I would have paid a toll to drive on it. My wife was mostly terrified, however. Donerail
I’m on your wife’s side. Sitting on the passenger side with absolutely no control and looking over the side of a mountain realizing you could bounce down there . . . is terrifying.
Somehow it doesn’t seem to bother my husband to drive in these places. We stayed in Switzerland at a hotel up a mountain once and the road was so scary I swore I would never go back down the mountain. Well, the next day was Sunday and we had to go to church down the mountain. So much for my resolution!
Wish you had tried the restaurant. It was one of our favorite meals in France over the years, and not that expensive either. Ah well, next time.
Are you planning your next trip?
SalB: We were not thinking of returning to La France until next April. But after reading your post about the tickets you got for the Fall, we may very well do the same. Isn’t it amazing what good wine, cheese, and culture can do to you? If we do go back in the Fall, it will have to be after late October as we have to wait for the Red Sox to finally trounce the Yanks. Donerail
We had never gone in the Fall until last November. We saw a deal we couldn’t refuse so bought the tickets for mid-November. We were a little leary of the weather since we’re from southern California (don’t own coats), but we layered and it worked well.
We were fortunate as far as weather. It only rained once and not very hard. We were delighted we had a chance to use our new umbrellas. The trees still had quite a bit of Fall color. We don’t get much of that around here and what color we get is between Thanksgiving and Christmas so we enjoyed that too. There were lots of tourists even in November but not the long lines you see in the summer.
Autumn is a great time to go. I did notice on the airline deals that they only had four to nine seats on each flight so they may not last long. If you don’t get one, I bet they’ll have sales in late summer too.
I’m really looking forward to October. No Paris, but Nice will do!
Have you traveled in the south of France very much?
SalB: It took years for us to get beyond short day trips from Paris. Last year for the first time we ventured out to Lyon and Burgundy and then back to Paris. This year it was Lyon, the Alps, Burgundy and then back to Paris. The farthest South that we have been is Lyon. How are we ever going to pry ourselves away from the Alps and Burgundy? I can’t imagine it being more enjoyable elsewhere but something tells me its possible. We obviously need help. Donerail
Good grief. That means you haven’t visited Provence, Brittany, Aquitaine, the Pyrenees or Languedoc-Roussillon. You can’t believe the joy you have awaiting you. I just realized you don’t have the Loire in your list either.
My, my . . . you have years of wonderful vacations ahead of you. Hm, what shall I recommend first?! The easy solution would be to tape a map of France to the wall and throw a dart at it. Wherever the dart sticks is your next vacation starting point. Then you can plan your trip around it.
We don’t have a favorite part of France because we truly love them all. Just driving from Bordeaux cross country into Provence last year we found absolutely stunning countryside and some marvelous restaurants. You drive ’round a corner and a castle appears. You exit a forest and an abbey appears. You top a mountain and a verdant valley appears. You can’t go wrong. It’s all beautiful.
Let’s see . . . autumn. Perhaps you should consider Basse Normandy in early autumn. Bordeaux, Aquitaine or Provence in late autumn. Oh, the choices. Quick, buy a couple tickets!
hello all
I’m back from France since last Sunday. I had a great time, as usual. I think we need to send swierd, ikkorelim and the others to France for one month and then maybe they’ll stop slandering the French and their culture. The food! the wine! I found a lovely wine bar with the best charcuterie plates and wine ever, and prices are reasonable
Donerail: I’ve been to Provence. it’s beautiful, but hot in the summer. Bring your swimsuit so you can go swimming in that glorious blue water! and you can take the train to Monte Carlo, it’s 20 minutes away from Nice by train
SalB: i agree with you on mountains. LOoking down the side of a HUGE French mountain while the driver ZOOOOOOMS through those lonely high roads is truely scary!
Nicer to chat in here, no negativity, this is why i originally came to the forums. To discuss France with French lovers, to learn a few things and share information
So true. This is my favorite place on the forums.
I think donerail is hoping to travel in the Fall. Can you still swim in Provence in the Fall? We visited Paris in November once and we definitely would not have gone swimming. I guess we’ll find out this year because we’re going to be in Provence at the beginning of October and again in mid November. I’m sure it will be rather chilly in November but we don’t know what to expect in October. Any ideas?
SalB:
provence and the Mediterrean is a warm area. I presume you can still swim in October, however you might want to check a weather web page for average temperatures in provence at that point.
Paris is always at the cooler end of the weather spectrum while Provence is at the hot end. Just pack a bathing suit and have a good time! Don’t think to buy a suit there, because all they sell are these tiny thong bathing suits, which are definately NOT for me and NOT for my figure! Maybe you look sexy in one, who knows?
At Nice, go to the weekly market in old Nice, near the beach. You can get L’Occitane brand quality soaps without the l’Occitane price tags. I’m talking about savon de marseilles, which L’Occitane sells, but charges $3.00 for each bar of soap. I had gotten the same quality soaps at the market for about .85 cents each.
For up to the minute international weather, so to
http://www.wunderground.com In the top buffer, type in Provence, and see the cities you can get the weather on. I do this all the time, especially when I need up to the minute travel weather reports that are fast and accurate.
My photo album will up updated this weekend with new photos from the French trip. I know you bookmarked the site, so don’t forget to check back next week for new photos!
SalB/LaVieilleBranche: Whats your recommendation on one of the following: (1) Bordeaux to Provence in late April for two weeks or (2) Bordeaux to Provence in late October for two weeks. Donerail
LaVieilleBranche, Thanks for the ideas. I’ll be sure to check your web site for pictures. I’ve actually been looking forward to it. I usually get my Savon de Marseille in the local hardware store when I’m in France. They don’t seem to mark it up much at all in a hardware store. Normally in the states I get it at good old Trader Joe’s. Do they have Trader Joe’s back east? It’s a great store.
I’ve had the weather site bookmarked for a while and check it occasionally. There are all kinds of weather sites, not hard to find. It’s just that averages don’t always tell you what you want to know and I was hoping someone could say, "Well, it snowed last Oct. 15 so don’t bother with a bathing suit." (Preferably the opposite!) We’ll see if anyone else has suggestions.
donerail, Do you prefer Spring or Fall? They are two seasons that are similar in weather but very different in what you will see. The Bordeaux to Provence trip is gorgeous. In Oct. you would be seeing changing leaves and the trees are pretty but the grape vines are spectacular. On the other hand it will be a very busy time at the wineries. You might catch some harvest festivals. Check a few web sites for the different areas and see when the festivals are. That would be fun.
Spring is when everything is coming to life and that far south it would be lovely. They will be out working and pruning but not much other action in the wineries. I think it would be interesting whichever you choose. I’m an autumn person myself but you know yourself best. Of course, if you opted for April, you could go sooner.
Paris is my favorite, well of course its the only place i know of, but i did go to the country side, i just hate bugs, so i will say Paris, its romantic, relaxing/soothing, fresh and just my kinda town…
Paris~that’s my dream home*
Danté, That’s funny about the bugs. When did you go and where did you go? We’ve always been impressed by the lack of bugs in rural France. Obviously, you went someplace we haven’t visited!
I love the Loire Valley… personally… I am a romantic at heart, and a historian. I could wander in castles all day… so long as I can know the stories behind them. Fantastic! I’ve toured the Valley three times, and can’t tire of it… looking forward to discovering more of France tho before I get back to my old favorites.
-wildstrawberrie
SalB,
I appreciate your information you have provided for so many people. My wife and I leave for France in four weeks. I have enjoyed reading all the conversations and I usually have my wife read the informative ones. But this time I do not think I will have her read about driving in the Mountains. She will be in the passenger seat most of the time and from the sound of it she will be quite scared. She may be drinking the wine before we ever get a chance to send it home! I have yet to to visit France, but I am going to have to say that I expect the Alps to be my favorite. We are going to chase the Tour de France around for its final ten days. At this point I think we will be taking your advice and spend a night in the Hotel Grillion in Beaune befrore we make our way back to Paris. We are also going to be staying somewhere in Tours before we make our way down to Grenoble.
We really can not wait to start our trip!
Jack
4mcilvain: You will have the time of your life and the mountain roads are actually quite exhilarating. We did that region in April and we even enjoyed the snow. The scenery, towns, food, and wine are all specatular. Have a great time. Donerail
France is such a beautiful country that its hard to pick your favorite place. I myself have only been to Paris and the Ile-de-France region, Normandy, Perigord, and Provence-Cote d’azur and i’ve seen the TGV ride from Paris to the sea. From where I’ve been, I’d have to say Paris, of course
is my fav. I also love Normandy when its not raining and I’m dying to see the Loire Valley and Alsace.
Thank you guys for all your posts. I learned quite a bit by reading them. My fiance and I are planning our wedding in France this May. We will be there for aprox. 21 days. We are still researching but so far this is what we’ve come up with, please give me some feed back and your ideas of places not to miss. We will be starting in Paris of course. We will spend 5-6 days there and we don’t expect to rent a car. Then off to Normandy, by car or train? We will spend 3-4 days there exploring WWII sites and then have our wedding in Mont-Saint-Michel. From what I’ve heard it’s a perfect setting for a romantic wedding.? Then our guests (aprox. 4 others) will go home and we have the rest of our time (about a week) for the honeymoon!! We haven’t decided where we should go for that rest of the time. Any ideas? We’d like to get to a few more places. Thanks
Sandradee: You might also try Beaune. Fantastic wine and mid-way between two great big cities: Lyon and Dijon. Donerail