 |
Everything you always wanted to know about France |
|
|
France Voila - Newsletter #58
Nizas - France - December 26, 2001 1. Its Has Been Quite a Year 2. Driving to Pezenas 3. Paris Apartments 4. Buying Real Estate in the South 5. Off The Cuff - P's and Q's and Penguins 6. Boating Holidays 7. Getting Train Tickets 8. Bullfights in France 9. Nizas - Spectacles and Lollo (part two) == Sent from France by.. http://francevoila.com/ and http://parisvoila.com/ All you need to visit France. Full details to subscribe, change address and unsubscribe are at the end of this newsletter. Write to me at mailto:tony@nizas.com == 1. It Has Been Quite a Year. I am writing this on Boxing Day. Normally I would think back on the year and then look forward to the parties and celebrations over the next few days. But this year has been different and although I am looking forward, I am reluctant to look back. My own little mistakes, problems and misunderstandings are insignificant compared to the pain and grief which the world has seen this year. So looking forward I hope for peace, compassion, health and prosperity. It's a tall order. ===== TOLL ROADS AND FEES: Q: Hi, My parents are travelling in France next year with a Caravan, and were wandering if there was a 'leaflet' or booklet of some sort that lists all toll roads and their fees. I've tried searching the Internet with no luck so far... Could you help with this matter? A: Hello Claire, We access this on our sites, look at http://goto-france.com/autoroute/ Best wishes Tony ===== 2. Driving to Pezenas At last I have a high speed ADSL line. Not in our little village of Nizas, but only 3 miles down the road in Pezenas. The savings are considerable, enough for me to be able to rent a small office. Before I had to pay for every minute on the phone line, there are some other deals but I am on line over 200 hours a month and the deals are very expensive over 100 hours. Early every morning I get a lift into Pezenas and many mornings I can see, from the top of the hill just outside our village, over 150 miles to the Pyrenees. In the last two weeks there have been some sharp frosty mornings and the air is like crystal. In fact the weather all around the Mediterranean has been very severe. Have a look at a photo sent to us from Provence last week, it makes a great Christmas card. http://rentalsfrance.com/homenews.html Pezenas is a fascinating town. Over 600 years ago it became the center of Government for the independent Principalities and Dukedoms which made up the South of France. The "courts" all centered on Pezenas and the wonderful medieval streets and buildings which evolved into the palaces and mansions of the nobles are all still there in the old town. Princes and Kings of France came from the Paris to stay in Pezenas and the shops and entertainments were rich and splendid. The old narrow streets still have the old jewelers and artisans shops, now to serve the tourist trade, but the quality is very high. This slowed down in the 17th century, civil wars and conflicts caused the Chateau to be destroyed and Pezenas became a sleepy backwater. Now Pezenas is beginning to wake up, the high speed train makes Paris only 3 1/2 hours away and the new motorway straight through the center of France, "La Meridienne", is under construction and will cut nearly 3 hours off the driving time from the North of France (plus half of it is toll-free). Luckily I got the name Pezenas.com years ago when no-one was interested in domain names and I plan to make a useful tourist site (when there are 50 hours in a day). The official site for Pezenas is. http://www.paysdepezenas.net/english/index.html ===== WORKING IN FRANCE: Q: Hello, I am interested in becoming a tour guide in France. I currently live in Canada. Any assistance you can offer me in this endeavor would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Joe A: Hello Joe,to be a tour guide in France you have to register with the Chambre des Metiers and go through a training for the French system (which you pay them for). You then have to be accepted in the official body in the region(s) you wish to represent (very difficult) as a guide. You have to have a permit to live in France and all the papers. The taxes are high and the benefits lower than if you were simply employed. It is very difficult to get employment in France unless you are a French citizen. If you are a European citizen this is slightly easier, but a local French person will always get precedence over an in-comer. It may not be fair and it may not be legal and it certainly is not official, but that is the way it is. Tony ===== 3. Paris Apartments I have been busy this month adding more properties we can now offer in Paris. I have been checking the statistics and I am told that more people visit Paris each year than all the rest of France. However it seems that the average time people spend in Paris is shorter than they spend in other regions so, as ever, these statistics can be misleading. But if we going to offer good services to visitors to France, we must include Paris. We offer tours for Paris and Provence through our friends at "BrassTours.com http://francevoila.com/braindex.html and we already have over 50 apartments we can offer on our rentals site at... http://rentalsfrance.com/ Our aim is to have a comprehensive selection of quality properties on a new site by the new year. I have 5 days to get it finished !!! ===== LONG TERM RENTALS: Q: Dear Carole & Tony, I would appreciate any assistance you can give me. I am a single female (with 2 cats!) wishing to relocate to Provence. I cannot find any apartments, houses or cottages that are unfurnished to rent for a long term. Can you direct me? Linda A: Hello Linda. Unfurnished rental property in the south of France is very hard to find. Most realtors will have a small list, but these are for 3 year rentals and have a lot of requirement for deposits and guarantees. In general there is a shortage of this sort of accommodation due to the higher rentals and returns with more security offered for vacation rentals. Plus the very high percentage of owner-occupiers and general lack of mobility in the region. The only way is to move here and rent for a month or more in a short term rental and look very hard at all opportunities. We have several clients doing exactly that at this moment, in low season, to find a longer term rental. Sorry I cannot be more help, Tony ===== 4. Buying real Estate in the South We are working closely with a company who can help and advise you with all real estate business in France, both residential and commercial. http://latitudes.co.uk/ and http://leisureandland.co.uk/ They have given me some new year resolutions for people looking for property in France, you can see these at... http://francevoila.com/resolutions/ It is simple and straightforward to buy property in France - but - as in many things "Buyer Beware", it is up to you to make sure that everything is in order, You are expected to know which questions to ask. We received this letter from guests who were looking to buy near us... = "Hi Tony, Thanks for the newsletter. We have lost the property in the Var, much to our disappointment. The reason may be of interest to your readers. We were back in Canada, had made our offer on a charming plot of land with a small house, near Flayosc. The Notaire had our money in trust and then the boom fell. The property,our Notaire discovered at the last moment,was not zoned for a maison habitee, but for an avris. It turns out the previous buyers, who were now selling the property to us, had bought it with the wrong zoning designation on their bill of sale. They are now suing their Notaire and we are out of luck. Also at the last moment,the owner went to the Office du Maire and vented her spleen, which seemed to have alerted them to the septic tank situation. It turns out they will have to remove it, making the place uninhabitable, as it does not conform to the EEU standards. So,the place will sit empty, or be used to store farm equipment. It's a ridiculous situation mixing incompetence with misfortune. Now we are told by a friend, who once lived in the area,that we should have had a Notaire do a thorough check on the status of the house before even making an offer. Good advice. Cheers, Gregg P.S. We will be back in the area next summer to keep looking!!" = Gregg was lucky that he was using a different Notaire to the people selling, and very lucky that his Notaire found something wrong. The Notaire is supposed to be a legal representative acting impartially, but often they are little more than tax collectors and we have heard many stories of incompetence and stupidity. Don't forget they are government officials, not independent lawyers. Other guests have been more fortunate. They have bought their dream here and are now looking to move in January, they have kindly written to this newsletter to give some thoughts and advice. = Hi Tony Just crystallizing a few points about our house-hunting experiences over the last month in your area of Herault, in many instances it confirms your previous general advice. First a couple if obvious major points for house hunters: get to know the area, and WALK around the villages, as the atmosphere can be very different even in a relatively small area. Some are very open, warm, welcoming, others not so, and nothing to do with you being French or not. Secondly, with French houses, you can seldom judge a book by its cover especially from photographs. Nondescript facades can hide mini palaces, whilst grand facades can mask old, unkempt grottoes. Also, there are many houses which appear superficially similar but are radically different behind the front door - go and inspect. Our experience with immobiliers was that most appear to have improved their performance in providing a service to both vendor and buyer. However, agents commission is at least 5 percent of the original vendors price, and may or may not be included in the published/asking price and is seldom reduced even if the agreed price is different. This encourages many vendors to sell privately e.g. word of mouth, hand written sign on the property, or buy/through the Notaire and/or the Mairie. Having said that, we found most agents courteous, patient and thorough when trying to satisfy our requirements, with very few being pushy. As with many previous buyers, we have bought a house very different from that we originally intended. The costs of initial purchase and then renovating a property that needs it just didn't add up compared with those already renovated. Although we are very willing labourers we do not have the expertise to personally renovate (a word with many connotations!) properties we were interested in. In not one case, in looking at 40 houses, did we find property that could be bought and renovated, even given time and free labour for anything like the cost of one already converted, and that was on the consistent advice of those who have engaged in renovation. This was disappointing as we would have really liked to do our own thing, but then there are many properties which have been expertly updated, renovated or 'refreshed' - another french word with many meanings. However, as always, "caveat emptor". Lastly, after talking with yourself and others who have lived in the area for sometime, we found that prices have clearly risen considerably in the last couple of years - simply demand exceeding supply. We are happy to talk to others who are going down the path we have recently trodden, to pass on our experiences, but each person has to come and have a personal look at the area and the properties in it. Regardless of the outcome, this will be interesting, extremely informative and hopefully rewarding. Frank = Frank said it, so if you would like some advice, drop him a line, through me, at... mailto:tony@nizas.com ===== TRAIN TRAVEL ECONOMY: Q: Dear Tony, We plan to travel regularly to Royan by train rather than drive. Have you discovered the most economical way of achieving this? Derek. A: Hello Derek, If you are making a regular journey on the same route then the "Frequence" abonnement is the best deal. This gives you a 50% reduction on the ticket price. After 10 trips you are saving money every trip. I have this for Montpellier - Paris and a ticket now costs me from 320F. best wishes, Tony ===== 5. Off The Cuff - P's and Q's - and Penguins Thanks you to everyone who wrote telling me where these expressions came from. Here are some more replies... Off the Cuff - I believe this expression comes from either show biz or public speaking. In the days of starched collars and cuffs, speakers would write difficult to remember items down on the cuff for quick and easy reference. Some of us older actors still do! Best wishes Grahame" = Mind your P's and Q's For discussion of several alternatives, see http://www.uselessknowledge.com/word/pq.shtml"> My favorite theory is from printers dealing with movable type. Since each piece of type actually appears as the mirror image of the letter it will print, p's look like q's, and vice-versa. Thus, typesetters need to carefully mind their p's and q's. - John" = Tony: By now you have many responses, I'm sure, to your query about the collective noun for penguins. There may be other appropriate names, but the word "colony" is used correctly with penguins as it is with several other animal groups. My wife and I have met many friends and business associates in France in the 20 years or so we've been going there. We visit as often as we can. Your newsletter is delightful. Keep up the good work. William, Tennessee ===== DRIVING IN FRANCE: A friend of ours has just found out the hard way about an odd driving law in France. She was leaving a car park as a lorry was entering, she reversed to allow the truck room to manoeuvre and it simply kept coming at her and crushed her front wing. Clearly the fault of the driver of the trick, she was surprised and then very annoyed to find that no matter who causes the accident, if one of you is in reverse gear than that person is automatically guilty. So no insurance cover, no apology - nothing, just a big bill. Luckily no one was hurt, but this application of "logique" seems crazy to me. ===== 6. Boating Holidays One of the most beautiful waterways in the world passes just south of us here in Nizas. The Canal du Midi is an engineering masterpiece, an important piece of history and great fun. Built in the 17th century to join the Atlantic and Mediterranean, it had been the dram of kings for hundreds of years and was thought to be impossible. Still in use today, now mostly for pleasure boats, the Canal du Midi is rated as a "World Heritage Site" and goes through classic towns and villages in the sunny south of France. We can offer you a vacation on the canal in traditional steel hulled boats through our sites at http://francevoila.com/mcindex.html You can hire self-drive or "skippered" boats and we can arrange a package for you with a week or more on a boat plus more time in a gite or villa in the south of France. We can also arrange wine tours, history tours and many other events to make your trip to France a trip of a lifetime. ===== PHONE CARDS: Q. Dear Tony, Could you please tell me which is the cheapest way to ring from a public phone back to the UK. Many thanks. Phuon Anh Neville A: Hello Phuong, I think the best, certainly the most convenient, is to buy the pre-paid scratch cards from a "Presse" or "Tabac" (not the call box phone-cards). These are in 50 or 100 franc units, you key in the code number, plus the special "pin" number and you can then call from any phone anywhere with the pin number - not only call boxes, but all private phones and the owners are not charged. Hope this helps, Tony ===== 7. Getting Train Tickets We try to give useful information on our sites to make your trip to France an enjoyable experience. One of the best ways to travel through France is by train. The French national Rail System (SNCF) is fast, efficient and not expensive. You can get all the information on-line, in English, at... http://sncf.com/ You can book your tickets on-line and pay for them by credit card, but very curiously, you cannot do this from the USA. Recently I was asked about this and tried the system. To my amazement I found that I could (in theory) book and pay from Afghanistan, but not from the United States. If you do reserve your tickets, but do not pay on-line, you have to collect an pay for them from the departure station several days before your scheduled time, this is not much use unless you arrive in France weeks before you plan to use the tickets. I suggested that the lady booked and paid with an American credit card, but gave an address in France. This seems to work, but the credit card companies may make a fuss about this as the billing addresses are different. If you try this, remember that you must collect the tickets from the station of departure and that you will be asked to produce the same credit card at the ticket office as verification. ===== A COMMENT ON TRAVEL TO FRANCE: Hi Tony - We have been going to France at least twice a year for many years and have had so many wonderful times in Paris and the south. I think I can speak for many people who are not traveling right now. It is not that they are afraid to be in France it is that they don't want to be away from their home in case anything happens. We had a planned trip at the end of October to Paris and then to St. Remy. Since part of the act of terrorism is to make one feel extremely fearful and uncertain - it is normal for one to want the security of home. The French are wonderful people and over the years we have made many friends. They were very understanding in our need to be home until things settle down a bit and we will look forward very soon to do wonderful Paris and all of glorious France. We always enjoy your newsletters and it make us feel very close to our second home. Paul (Paul Madden Antiques) http://www.antiquescrimshaw.com Thank you Paul - I love your site, Tony ===== 8. Bullfights in France In an early newsletter I wrote about the bullfights which are a regular feature in the summer in the South of France. http://francevoila.com/archives/11.html The aim of these newsletters is to give open and honest advice and information, the piece I wrote about bullfights persuaded a group of ladies, who had planned to come to France for their vacation, to boycott France and go to Prague instead. I am sorry that these ladies will not now ever visit France, I think their decision is a mistake. Many towns have banned bullfights, the piece I wrote was about Toulouse which has banned them. I am not praising or justifying bullfighting. At most of the corrida here in France and in Spain, the death of the bull in the ring is a certain fact. Personally it does surprise me that this type of entertainment still takes place in amphitheaters built by the Romans 2000 years ago. I would welcome thoughts and comments from other readers about this. mailto:tony@nizas.com ===== CAR RENTAL INSURANCE: Even though car rental insurance is overpriced you'll sometimes want to purchase it, because the possibility of having to pay for a wrecked car and medical bills is not worth the risk. How do you know when to pay? Here's a simple rule: anytime you're not sure if you need it. Unless you are covered by personal auto insurance for car rentals, you probably need to purchase the insurance offered at the counter. The insurance offered by credit cards usually only covers the rental car. But if you hit another car or a light pole, for instance, that is not covered. Imagine for a moment the bills that could accumulate. ===== 9. Nizas - Christmas in the Sun - and Lollo (part two) The wine is "safely gathered in" the vines are dormant and we have just finished the annual round of fetes and festivals. Some of the best of these are the childrens' end of school "spectacle". The kids have a great time and the quality of the acting and singing is usually very high. Everyone is encouraged to learn to play an instrument, even our village school with just over 50 children has a regular "music man" who comes to teach and perform with many different instruments. One of my fond memories is hearing "Silent Night" played by 16 saxophones simultaneously. Since we moved to Nizas, nearly eight years ago, we have been lucky to be able to have part of our Christmas meals on the terrace in the bright, warm sun. It is cold at night and we have a log fire in the house, but to sit in sunshine on Christmas day is something I don't remember doing in the UK. If you don't believe me, here are some photos taken yesterday by our guests George and Laurene on their digital camera. http://francevoila.com/xmas2001/ In the last newsletter I mentioned Lollo, one of our village "characters. Lollo is small, but has a big heart. He is known as a "ladies man", here is a recent photo of Lollo as we often see him, he has a very special affect on ladies... http://francevoila.com/lollo/ Lollo is also a good man with whom to explore the "red light" district of Nizas. Well in a village of only 150 houses it is not really a "district" - not even a street - - To find all that a French village has to offer, Lollo is definitely the man and when you come to Nizas I am sure he will share his secrets. ===== We love to receive your letters and comments and we really try to answer all mail but it does get lost, so if you don't hear from me, please write again. mailto:tony@nizas.com |