 |
Everything you always wanted to know about France |
|
|
France Voila Newsletter #41 September 27 2000 This week 1. Buying and Renting your Home in France2. The French Beverley Hills 3. Weather forecasting 4. Wine 5. Stopover Connections 6. Recipe of the Week #2 7. Insurance 8. Gallaghers "Tip of the Week" #12 9. The Nizas Project - The Barrel Moved === 1. Buying and Renting your Home in France The aim of this newsletter, "France Voila", is to give information about France, visiting France and living in France. I try to keep it short, so I do not go into much detail about the legal and technical stuff on buying and renting properties and fill the newsletter with adverts and infromation about homes for rent or sale unless there is something very special, like in the next piece. However, every day we get inquiries from people, from all over the world, asking about buying property in France. I try to answer all these questions personally and I have put some of this information in earlier newsletters. The archives are at... We also get daily inquiries from property owners in France asking about renting out their homes. A few of these properties are now included in our sites. I either inspect these properties myself or I make sure the information and photos are accurate. The latest property being added is still being sorted out as I am experimenting with a new type of presentation, but you can see the first draft of the page for this beautiful hunting lodge and a cottage in Burgundy at... http://goto-france.com/vesvres/ To give more information about buying and renting your property in France I am starting a new newsletter and website, please write to me if you would like to subscribe at... === 2. The French Beverley Hills This should be the French Beverley Hill as there is only one hill, this is "Mont St Clair" which is the hill by the Port of Sete on the Mediterranean, just South East of us here in Nizas. Sete is a "new" town created in the 17th century as a trading port for the region, there are several theories why it is named Sete, a plausible one is the shape of the hill from the sea and from the land, which resembles a Whale. In the local language and in Latin the word Sete sounds like whale. It is a striking and very beautiful place as it is virtually an island. To the south is the Mediterranean and to the North is the "Bassin du Thau", an inland salt water lagoon where some of the best shellfish in the world is produced. Large oysters are $2 a dozen, (I had 18 last night but three did not work). You can see some photos on the site at... As you can imagine, being a hill and surrounded by water in such a beautiful setting, land and property is "impossible" to buy. Houses are very expensive and I was told last week that even Gerard Depardieu could not buy land there for a villa. But last week, my dentist introduced someone to me who has over half an acre of some of the most beautiful land with an old farmhouse for sale on the hillside. As I don't happen to have $300 000 in my piggy bank at the moment I shall not be buying it, but I could not resist going to have a look and photograph it. Like many French families they do not like real estate agents. Most property in France is sold person to person and often is never advertised. My real reason for going however was to meet the owner, it was his 102nd birthday and he inherited the house on this land from his grandfather. It is amazing that I was able to sit down and talk to a man who was as sharp as a pin yet whose grandfather was alive at the time of Louis Napoleon and the "Belle Epoque". The view from his balcony was breathtaking, you could see across the lakes to the mountains of the Cevennes and also across the town of Sete to the Mediterranean. Interestingly he attributed his long life to the fact he had never married, had no children and made and drank wine all his life. He said he is beginning to get old and wanted to retire. I told him I would have to save up a long time to be able to buy the property, he said he was not in a hurry and that he could wait. If anyone wants a piece of history, an amazing view and a great investment, give me a call. === NEWSFLASH Rail workers in France will stay at home for a week in a strike for better pay. A nationwide strike on Thursday, September 28, may shut down trains throughout France, although the national rail company SNCF did not say whether the strike would affect Eurostar or Thalys train services. Paris buses are not expected to be affected by the strike. === 3 Weather Forecasting The weather in the South of France is very varied, from scorching sun to a freezing gale. There are some micro climates like Menton on the Italian border and Roquebrun, near us in Nizas where frost is as rare as horse feathers and other areas where the frost can freeze the ground solid for months (read "A Year in Provence") all within an hours drive. Last week the wind in Montpellier was so strong it ripped three construction cranes from their foundations and they crashed down , killing a number of people. Yet 30 miles away, here in Nizas, we had no wind at all and a few clouds in the sky that day. Many people come here in the hot summer months and think of buying a home. My advice is to come back in January to visit the same place you liked in the summer, and stay a while to see what the weather is like then. In general the climate is "mild" but there are some winds which change this out of all recognition, the best known is the "Mistral", there is also the "Tramontane" which is to the south. One tip I have is to look on the maps for the old Roman and Medieval villas and towns, not the strategic fortified towns, but the farming villages. If there are big empty spaces then there may be a very good reason, they weren't stupid those old masons and town planners. To help you find the perfect spot I am planning to add some clear and accurate data on the web-sites. To start this there is a new set of graphs and information on the site at... http://goto-france.com/weather/ All the information has been collected and structured by Nicholas Yarmoshuk, a contributor from Canada who is visiting us here in Nizas in January. The hope is to get a comprehensive set of graphs and charts which show the weather trends along the Mediterranean and in particular the effects of the Mistral wind in the Rhone valley and Provence. Have a look at the article on the Mistral by Michael Tommasi in.. http://FranceVoila.com/archives/7.html = Thank you for all your mail about long range forecasting sites for the weather. I have this very interesting site for the UK from David White http://www.themonthahead.co.uk/ But it is only for the UK and the very northern bit if France, still a lot of our visitors also go to the UK. = From Alan Morrison there is this site... Tony... re. advanced weather forecasting, I use. It gives a basic 5-day forecast and you can also click for a ten-day forecast. === 4. Wine Hi, Tony. I enjoy your newsletters. Thank you. We recently returned from the Minervois region, where it seems that French people will drink their red wines somewhat chilled. I enjoyed this approach and have been consuming my French wines back in the US in similar fashion. The French wines that I have seen at US liquor stores all seem to contain sulfites, however. Do you have any leads on any French red wines that may be exported to the US sans sulfites? Is there a way to have French wines directly shipped to me? Many thanks! Andy Hi Andy, Your letter is very interesting. It is a well known "fact" that red wine should be drunk at room temperature. But this room temperature should be that of a room over 100 years ago when this "rule" was made , this was several degrees cooler than most homes today. Also the table wines would be slightly cooler still as these were made and stored in barrels in the cellar and brought to the table in jugs, so a good bottled wine should be from 16°C to 18°C and a table wine 14°C to 16°C, modern homes are often over 20°C. Some vin ordinaire was kept in bottles on the end of long lengths of string and lowered into the well in the yard to be kept even cooler for drinking. Often these strings would break and even today centuries old bottles of wine can be found at the bottom of ancient wells. We have a well in our yard which is possibly 2000 years old, it always has 60 ft of water in it and I know there are many interesting things at the bottom, including two of my hammers and a screwdriver. I have noticed in some countries, even in very expensive restaurants, that a good bottled wine is actually warmed before serving. Once in a top restaurant in New Orleans I saw a bottle of French wine, which had cost the diners over $200 (I looked at the list), being heated up in front of a blazing log fire for half an hour, this would ruin any wine. I understand that wine can only be imported into the USA by authorized importers. I cannot even send one bottle by FedEx I am told. There is a highly regarded specialist on the West Coast called "Kermit Lynch" he has an excellent list of wines including many from Languedoc. Here in Languedoc we have the strictest appellation in France, no additives, no sugar, no other wines blended in and no water, just pure wine. I shall go for a glass immediately. Hope this helps, best wishes Tony === 5. Stopover Connections I have been exchanging e-mails with a company in the UK which specializes in finding and booking accommodation for you in France... For quality accommodation in France ranging from guest houses to quality hotels in Paris, chateaux in the Loire Valley and even selected self-catering accommodation, the Stopover Connections reservation service should be your first stop. Our personal service and knowledgeable team will take the hassle out of those overseas arrangements so that you can look forward to a worry free trip to France. Visit us at... http://www.stopconnect.demon.co.uk/ or e-mail mailto:penny@stopconnect.demon.co.uk === 6. Recipe of the Week FILETS DE MERLANS AUX POIREAUX http://Nizas.com/recipes/002tm.html === 7. Insurance We always recommend that anyone traveling has good insurance, not only for medical and emergency, but good cover for trip cancellation, lost deposits on bookings, lost payments for rentals, stolen luggage, missed flights and connection and all the things that can go wrong and ruin a vacation. Good cover costs around 3% to 4% of the cost of the trip, you can get some protection with your credit card for some purchases, but make sure you have cover for things like changing from one airline to another, especially if some of the sections are bought with frequent traveller deals or air miles, if you miss a connection you may find you have to pay hotel and other costs and not get reimbursed. There is a page at... http://goto-france.com/insurance/ ...which gives some advice and links, if you book through us we make a small commission, but do shop around. === 8. Gallaghers Tip of the Week #12 "Thinking about buying rum in the Islands? Coffee liquor in Costa Rica? Port in Spain? Before you leave check the availability of various imported brands and prices at your local stores. This is especially helpful if you are not usually a buyer of alcoholic beverages and unfamiliar with prices." Mary Gallagher is a travel writer and TV presenter, you can see her site (I am the webmaster) at.. Mary Gallagher, "world view with an edge" . === 9. The Nizas Project First I must tell you about the latest developments in the mysterious movements of a 250 liter wine barrel which was put in our road by the local council to block a parking space. At the end of my last letter the barrel, complete with flower pots, had been moved back into the middle of the road, for no obvious reason, by F....., the local builders son. It seems the barrel was filled with water to make it more difficult to move. The barrel should not be any concern of F..., as he cannot see it from his house and his part of the road is too narrow to drive up, but perhaps he likes to annoy some neighbours, so the barrel was moved. Soon after Mme H...., an ancient of Nizas and a widow whose daughters need to get to her garage to park when they visit her (though never both daughters at the same time, but this is another story) was seen on her balcony glowering and muttering. Clearly this incantation was not effective enough as the barrel did not vanish or turn into a frog, though the flowers wilted a little. One morning last week I heard our postman Mr F... call me from our kitchen, this is normal as he walks into the houses of most villagers to deliver the mail even in one case, I am told, giving a young lady, Mlle B..., her letters when she was in her bath. I ignored him as I was very involved with a particularly knotty problem on an Internet site ( I eventually decided on the double with cheese). When I went to the kitchen to find the mail I noticed the barrel had moved back against the garage door of P..., the absentee garage owner from the land of expensive beer. Mme H... was on her balcony wreathed in smiles and called down to tell me that it was she had moved the infernal barrel and that is where is now going to stay. I later learnt that Mr F.... the postman had called me to help him and Mme H.... move the barrel after draining the water out of it. F...., the builder, is now no longer speaking to me as he assumes it is I who moved the barrel. The truth is the family of F... have not been speaking to me for some time, his father is the master builder in the village and in fact is a real craftsman. However he takes a very poor view of me doing all the building work on my house myself. When he said "How would I like it if he started to take photographs" and I replied "Ah yes, but anyone can be a builder !!" perhaps he was a little offended. It remains to be seen where the barrel will wander to next. = The site at... ....is progressing steadily, I am getting a lot of material, far more than I can set and load at the moment, I am now getting paintings and old photos from people so I will be making an archive section === You can see the archives of all these newsletters at.. Please let me know if you would like any specific information and do get your friends to subscribe. Best wishes Tony I love this quote.. "Just when they make things foolproof, someone invents a better fool" |