French Alps

The French Alps were sculpted by glaciers, giving the valleys a mild climate and rich soil. The French Alps are loaded with well connected towns, and are popular year round, making them ideal for vacations in France. Divided into two providences, Savoy in the north, containing Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe, and Dauphine in the south, home to Grenoble, the main city of the alps, the French Alps are a popular region.

Le mont Blanc est le point culminant de la chaîne des Alpes. Avec une altitude de 4 810,90 mètres, il est le plus haut sommet d'Europe occidentale et le cinquième sur le plan continental en considérant les montagnes du Caucase.
Le sommet a depuis plusieurs siècles représenté un objectif pour toutes sortes d'aventuriers, depuis sa première ascension en 1786. De nombreux itinéraires fréquentés permettent aujourd'hui de le gravir avec une préparation sérieuse. Il est un objet de fascination dans de nombreuses œuvres culturelles. Depuis le sommet du mont Blanc, il est possible de voir ou d'apercevoir quatre massifs montagneux : le Jura, les Vosges, la Forêt-Noire et le Massif central. La vision théorique lointaine dépend de la géomorphologie et de l'influence de la courbure terrestre.

Inspiring craggy peaks and snowcapped mountains rise up in the French Alps, where there are fantastic opportunities for skiers and snowboarders. There are over 200 resorts in the Alps. Chamonix features the world’s highest cable car. Annecy has lantern lit lanes. Chambery contain the most history, and Grenoble is the largest city in the French Alps.
Weather gives way very rapidly and varies from summer to winter. With pleasant weather in the summer, hiking, as well as rafting, mountain biking, and canoeing are popular. Paragliding and skydiving are also possible. There are three national parks and four regional parks within the Alps.

The Chateau of Amboise

The Chateau of Amboise is counted to be among the first French Castles and Royal residences. It took two centuries for it to be constructed, starting at the 15th century and finishing at the 17th, acquiring a combination of different styles within its structure. Built on a promontory overlooking the Loire River to control a strategic ford that was replaced in the Middle Ages by a bridge, the château began its life in the eleventh century. Many visitors approach the chateau of Amboise attracted by the fact that it is said that Leonardo da Vinci's body was buried at the chapel.

Ville d’Indre et Loire, Amboise est édifiée au confluent de la Loire et de la Masse. En 2000, Amboise compte 11, 968 habitants qu'on appelle des Amboisiens. Son château résulte de la reconstruction fastueuse par Charles VIII d’une forteresse antérieure qui s’élève sur un escarpement propice à la défense. Avant d'être rattaché à la couronne en 1434, le château appartenait, depuis plus de quatre siècles, à la puissante famille d'Amboise. Pendant la Renaissance, il sert de résidence à plusieurs rois de France.
Il a été en grande partie détruit après la Révolution.

Due to the important amount of time it took for it to be finished, the construction of Amboise's Castle went through the reign of different kings. This way, it went through the orders of Charles VIII, Louis XII and Francois I. By walking around and meeting this Chateau, visitors can clearly observe a combination of elements typical from the Renaissance époque and some others from a Gothic style. This combination of styles and the way they are mixed gives this castle a very attractive appearance for all those who are interested in architecture and art.

Le Château royal d’Amboise vous accueille tous les jours de l’année (à l’exception du 1er janvier et du 25 décembre). Ce monument emblématique et ses jardins paysagers offre un des plus remarquables panoramas sur la vallée de la Loire, classée au Patrimoine mondial par l’Unesco.
Chaque parcours de visite porte un regard singulier sur ce haut-lieu de l’Histoire de France : son rayonnement politique et artistique européen à la Renaissance ; les moments intimes de la vie des souverains ; la vie quotidienne et les coulisses de la Cour.

The Chateau of Amboise was one of the first truly "royal" residences. Built on a rocky outcrop above the town, the castle has a very defensive site with its tall walls and was accessed by two towers with ramped spirals to the courtyard. This enabled horses and carriages to be brought up into the castle.

This chateau is located within the very charming environment of Amboise's area. Within this spot and its surroundings visitors can easily access different interesting places by simply walking due to the short distances separating one place from the other. Amboise has narrow streets which are ideal for those who enjoy walking.

The Franche Comté Region

Franche-Comté is relatively undiscovered, and features many forests, rivers, lakes, gorges and vineyards. Located on the eastern France border with Switzerland, between the Vosges Mountains to the north and the Jura mountains to the south, there is a marked Swiss influence to this region’s culture and cuisine (best known are its Comté and Morbier cheeses, the Jura wines and Morteau and Montbeliard sausages).

La Franche-Comté est une région française qui regroupe quatre départements: le Doubs, le Jura, la Haute-Saône et le Territoire de Belfort.

The geology of the region means that it is quite remote in places, where spectacular scenery is only broken by occasional family farms. More than half the region is covered in woodland, there are hundreds of lakes, and rivers and waterfalls spill from the rocks wherever you go. Similar to the alpine region of Savoie and to Switzerland, the food here is rich and warming mountain food. This is the coldest region of France. The winters are long and harsh, but there is plenty of sun in the summer, which is strong due to the altitude.

As with most stunning landscape at high-altitide, there is plenty to do activity-wise. In winter, there's the skiing, boarding, skating, cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing, dog sleding and skidooing. Summer persuits include paragliding, mountain biking, road cycling, walking and white water rafting.

La production agricole s’appuie sur l’élevage bovin (Montbéliarde) et la production de fromages (le Comté, le Mont d'Or, le Morbie, le bleu de Gex, la Cancoillotte). Parmi ces fromages, quatre sont des AOC.
La culture de céréales et d’oléagineux est significative.
La région possède également des vignobles qui produisent des vins d’exception. La franche-Comté est la seule région viticole du monde à produire cinq sortes de vins bien distinctes: les rouges, les blancs, les rosés, les jaunes et les vins de paille.

Maison Durran Bed & Breakfast

A bed and breakfast set in the quiet village of St Germain Beaupré, just outside La Souterraine in the beautiful rolling countryside of the Creuse, Limousin, France.

Nous sommes un petit hôtel familial en plein coeur de la belle campagne du Limousin, France.

There are 4 bedrooms, all are en-suite rooms, all have complimentary tea and coffee making facilities, complimentary toiletries, shower robes and ironing facilities. All bedrooms have very recently been refurbished. There is a large dining room for breakfast and evening meals and large sitting room with french windows leading to the patio and garden.

3 chambres doubles et nous avons une chambre familiale avec un lit double 2 lits simples et un lit bébé Voyage. Nous avons une grande salle à manger pour le petit déjeuner et repas du soir et grand salon avec porte-fenêtres donnant sur le patio et un jardin.

The village is quiet and peaceful with a lovely XII century church and chateau, and there are miles and miles of uninterrupted traffic free walking.
It is on the St. Compestella pilgrimage route, not too far from the large town of La Souterraine where there are shops and sightseeing or the city of Limoges, famous for its porcelain.

Limoges, around 40 minutes away by road. Limoges, à environ 40 minutes par la route. Cette ville est célèbre pour sa porcelaine, elle est la capitale du Limousin et a également l'aéroport le plus proche de nous. Située dans la campagne intacte avec de nombreux lacs, rivières et ruisseaux. Limoges est un endroit idéal à visiter.

Brittany, France

Brittany, along France's northern shore, is a land of enchantment. It features rugged coastlines with some of the world's most breathtaking views. It features more than 4,000 chateaux, manors and medieval homes. It's an ideal destination for water sports enthusiasts, lovers of fine cuisine and seafood, and anyone fascinated by legends and history. Brittany beckons with beauty, a diverse culture and amazing cuisine.

Il s'agit d'un climat océanique, donc tempéré, surtout le long des côtes, avec de faibles différences de températures entre l'été et l'hiver. Le vent de nord-ouest domine au nord. Comme toute région avec un grand littoral, ici amplifié par le climat océanique tempéré, il n'est pas surprenant d'avoir des conditions météorologiques différentes entre le proche littoral et les villes à quelques kilomètres dans les terres. Il en va de même pour les températures. La région est également leader en France en production de certains légumes, comme les choux, vers Saint-Pol-de-Léon. L'économie de la Bretagne est tournée vers l'agriculture et les industries agroalimentaires, le tourisme estival sur la bordure côtière, et quelques pôles technologiques avancés.

Here are some of the best reasons to visit Brittany:
Outdoor sports, especially on the water. With its situation on the Atlantic, this is an ideal vacation spot for sailing, kayaking, canoeing, surfing and scuba diving.
Chateaux and historic attractions. This land is jammed with seemingly endless heritage sites dating back to megaliths.
Spa seawater treatments. France's famous thalassotherapie was born in Brittany.

French Easter (Pâques)

Easter is celebrated in France much as it is in America, with various religious ceremonies commemorating the rebirth of Jesus, and cultural customs having to do with rabbits, chocolates and eggs.

The predominant religion in France is Roman-Catholic. No city, village or town is without a church. Many of them date back to the twelfth century or before. Most churches have a bell, which is rung joyfully throughout the year marking various events and the passage of time. On the Thursday before Good Friday, all church bells in France are silenced in acknowledgement of Jesus' death. In fun, children are told that the bell's chimes have flown to Rome to see the Pope. Easter morning, the bells ring out once again in celebration of the Resurrection, declaring that Jesus is alive again. In some villages, people kiss and embrace one another when they hear the bells ring.

Easter morning is a happy time for children who wake to look for colorfully decorated Easter eggs (les oeufs de Pâques) hidden in their gardens, homes and playgrounds. Parents tell their children the eggs were brought from Rome (where the chimes had gone), and that when the chimes returned they brought the eggs with them. In some parts of France children look for small chariots full of eggs pulled by white horses.

As mentioned above, bells play an important role in the French Easter tradition. Candy shops sell chocolate flying bells alongside Easter eggs and bunnies, in the same way many candy shops in America sell chocolate crucifixes. These edible bells are another nod the the resurrection of Jesus, a time for celebration, and the end of Lent.

La tradition des oeufs de Pâques en chocolat ou en sucrerie pour les enfants est très répandue en France. On cache les oeufs dans l'appartement ou dans le jardin et les enfants doivent les trouver.
Manger du chocolat sous différentes formes est une tradition importante : oeufs en chocolat, poules en chocolat, cloches en chocolat ... Au repas du jour de Pâques, on mange souvent un gigot d'agneau, mais il n'y a plus de plats traditionnels.
La légende catholique selon laquelle les cloches partent à Rome le jeudi saint et reviennent le jour de Pâques est souvent exprimée.
En Alsace, il y a une tradition analogue à la tradition allemande. C'est le lapin qui met les oeufs pour les enfants dans les nids qui ont été préparés.
Le lundi de Pâques est un jour férié en France, mais il n'a actuellement aucune signification religieuse.

French Perfume

The French have a long tradition and skills in the art of making perfumes. The great names in fashion have assisted in exporting some of the most important names in perfume thoughout the world.

The birth place for French perfumes is in the Provence region and is called Occitane. The abundance of herbs, lavander and many other wild flowers on the rocky landscape, plus hundreds of years of experience in distilling mixtures and creating scents.

Since ancient times there has been a lot of production of French perfumes. French perfumes are regarded as the most well known brands of perfumes and to the present times they account for a considerable share of perfume exports. French perfumes are regarded as the most comfy and bring in sensuality and style in the present day lifestyle. The French perfumes have always been well accepted, admired and liked by people all over the world. The reason being their odor, packaging of the bottles and a brand image that is present in the minds of people. In fact, perfumes would be futile without the French perfumes.

Although the French have taken a back seat in fashion design, they still reign supreme in the making of perfumes. It is but natural that they should, since they have a solid three hundred year old pedigree behind them. The best French perfume, and for that matter, all French perfumes are luxurious, sensual and refined and last longer than most other perfumes. Located north of Cannes in the French Riviera is the town of Grasse, which has been manufacturing French perfume for the past four centuries. It houses the Musée International de la Parfumerie. The best French perfumes could be said to be that of "Chanel No. 5" by Coco Chanel and "Joy" by Jean Pateau. Chanel No. 5 was fashioned for Coco by Ernest Beaux.
Un bouquet de fleurs abstraites d'une indéfinissable féminité.Mai 1921. Gabrielle Chanel n'hésite que quelques secondes devant les fragrances que lui présente Ernest Beaux, compositeur de parfums. Ce sera la cinquième, qui deviendra N°5 de CHANEL.

Joy was launched in the early thirties and is known in the national and international market as the costliest perfume in the world and an ounce of it is reputed to be made from over 10,000 jasmine flowers ad 28 dozen roses. It is packaged in a crystal Baccarat Bottle.

En 1923, avec son beau-frère Raymond Barbas il crée la division parfums de sa société de couture. En 1925, ils sont rejoints par le parfumeur grassois Henri Alméras, en tant que maître parfumeur. Jean patou crée trois parfums baptisés Amour-Amour, Que sais-je ? et Adieu sagesse respectivement dédiés aux blondes, aux brunes et aux rousses. Puis, en 1929, Henri Alméras compose Moment Suprême.

Jean Patou souhaitait un parfum phare pour sa maison. En 1930, Henri Alméras proposa alors une fragrance composée d'essences de rose et de jasmin dans des proportions particulièrement importantes : il fallait plus de 10 000 fleurs de jasmin de Grasse et 28 douzaines de roses (roses de mai de Grasse « Rosa centifolia » et roses de Bulgarie) pour obtenir trois centilitres de parfum. Le prix de cette composition rendait sa commercialisation très risquée alors que sévissait la crise économique qui suivit le krach de 1929. Mais Jean Patou fut séduit et lança la commercialisation sous la marque Joy et en utilisant le slogan particulièrement audacieux que lui avait suggéré son amie et conseillère, la chroniqueuse américaine Elsa Maxwell : Joy, le parfum le plus cher au monde (the costliest perfume in the world).