Here’s a video of an English couple that tried to have a “Traditional English X-mas Dinner” in France 2008 – Le Paradou.
Also, I felt it would be nice to bring you a video from a world-renowned French Pastry Chef Francois Payard-There who showed Julie Chen how to incorporate French cooking into the holidays with French Christmas logs.
There is no need to worry. I haven’t passed away or anything, but France is a bit quiet at the moment. Probably due to the more violent events all over the world, but also given the fact that the current economic crisis has forced many people to focus their attention elsewhere compared with travel planning.
Nevertheless, I would still welcome your comments and questions if there is anything you need information about. I do keep tabs on comments, and it would be a sincere privilege to serve you who read this blog if I can do so in any way.
We really missed our summer vacation in 2008, and we want to pass on our best seasonal greetings always assuring you that when there is anything to be said on the subject of France it will be written on this blog.
Stay subscribed through RSS and feel welcome to make any comments and ask any questions you like. 🙂
It is actually cheaper to BUY a car than to rent one. I just found a tremendous resource at this website: http://www.lacentrale.fr. Last year we had problems because we had a Visa Electron card AND cold hard cash. The latter is apparently no longer interesting for the large auto rental companies at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.
Get this, dear friends. There is a tremendous niche in renting out cars. If you live in France you could literally start up with ten to fifteen cars for less than 10.000$. You could simply run a parallel rental system and people would be fiercely interested. Even miniature cars in small class A were interesting for some who had no reservations. We had reserved using the international Avis website but were still denied a vehicle even though I have an international business license from my career as a cab driver.
Now that I discovered this website from our lovely friends in Tours I must admit that we are greatly tempted to buy a car rather than rent one. We could give it to our friends and still save a fortune compared with leasing.
Just imagine a Volvo 740 from 1987 priced at only 800€ – roughly 1100$. It even looks good:
And for those with less kids, imagine this Rover 111 from 1997 which has only run 96,000 km (just under 60,000 miles for 200€:
A luxury vehicle such as the Peugeot 605 (model 92) for 400€ etc. So why rent when it’s cheaper to buy? Vehicle insurance and other stuff will arrive on this blog shortly. I’m checking up on what terms are available for foreigners/tourists. 🙂
I thought a couple of videos from others who have been to France this year could be inspiring for all of you, so I wanted to share:
The following videos brought memories from our own visit to the Parc Asterix last year:
Update: October 31st 2008 – these videos were removed after I wrote this. If I find others I will add them…
Danish experts have lately been talking about Danes taking much cheaper vacations as a result of the economic crises all around the world. I believe it is short-sighted to compare Bulgaria with France – just as an example. Here’s the reason why.
If you go to a discount destination such as Sunny Beach in Bulgaria you can learn more about this destination from The Sunny Beach FAQ – one among many sites with the same message. Corruption, crime and tragedy is all over the place when you run a Google search for that place.
Who would ever have the indecency to compare that with a nice destination such as Paris, Cannes or Côte d’Azur? There is, after all, law and order in France, and you don’t have any of the same problems in that country.
Therefore, when you hear people talk badly about a more expensive vacation, think about the fact that ONE GOOD VACATION EACH YEAR beats having two-three lousy vacations in an area that doesn’t provide mental stimulation and relaxation. You can feel more relaxed in a comfortable environment, so I would recommend ONE good vacation per year instead of cheaper ones.
Have a nice weekend. 🙂
