Bonjour! I hope that you and yours are well.
I’ve just got back from the most amazing gastronomic journey of France from Dijon in Burgundy to the south of France – via Beaujolais – to Cassis (top photo) and Marseille. I almost ate myself to a standstill indulging in the most amazing local produce and delectably delicious dishes. And wines. I tasted many wines. And now I am busy writing up my discoveries to share with you all the wonderful places I’ve been to, the incredible restaurants, markets, towns and villages, food and wine themed venues, wine domains, farms and more. If you love food, I’m going to send temptation your way by the bucket load! My article on the Vallée de la Gastronomie in France is coming up in the summer magazine (subscribe for free here).
As if this isn’t fabulous enough, I am off to stay in a very special castle in Ariege, near Toulouse. Several years ago, when I first started my website, a French friend emailed me to say he’d seen a page on Facebook which featured the most beautiful chateau he’d ever seen. It was a wreck, abandoned and neglected for years but nothing could hide the exquisite beauty that still shone through. An Australian family had seen photos on the internet and they bought it and were renovating and bringing this sleeping beauty back to life and posting on Facebook. Well, things at the Chateau de Gudanes have moved on heaps since I first saw photos of it – then it was rooms without ceilings, trees growing through the roof and collapsed floors. The family have put their hearts and souls into the restoration and it’s glorious. So now I am going to see it for real and experience life in one of the most beautiful chateaux ever built – just for a few days! (I’ll post on Instagram as I go).
And after that trip, I’m off to discover some of the most mesmerising medieval wonders of France – including in Paris and Fontainebleau. Yes I know. I have the best job ever. And I am so happy to share what I discover with you, the next best thing to being there…
In between trips, it’s life as usual at home, cleaning out chicken coops, grooming dogs and cats and making podcasts – I don’t want you to think my life is all glamour and glitz!
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Bisous from my little corner of France,
Janine
Editor
Janine Marsh is Author of My Good Life in France: In Pursuit of the Rural Dream, My Four Seasons in France: A Year of the Good Life and Toujours la France: Living the Dream in Rural France all available as ebook, print & audio, on Amazon everywhere & all good bookshops online.
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