Bonjour! I hope that you and yours are well.
Spring is in full swing here in France, wisteria is blooming everywhere, from Paris streets to Claude Monet’s garden in Giverny, from Strasbourg to Cannes, in gardens and parks, along gates and hedges, over bridges and ancient buildings. There’s nothing that says spring quite like a bit of wisteria hysteria in France!
My job – which I feel truly privileged and blessed to have – is basically to explore France! I aim to write about and share with you the secret places, the well-known destinations, food, wine, history and culture and more. My travel year started in the spring, and so far I’ve been to Burgundy, Beaujolais, Marseille and Cassis. Last week I was in Toulouse and the Ariège region – a most secret part of France – and I stayed at the glorious Chateau de Gudanes where I have to tell you I have left a little bit of my heart. It’s like a fairy tale castle come to life, albeit with a huge amount of determination and very, very hard work by Karina Waters and her family who are preserving and restoring it (you can see some photos here on Instagram, and listen to my podcast interview with Karina here).
Next week I am off to research some of the medieval and historic wonders of France – Paris, Fontainebleau, Provins – a medieval jewel of a village, Barbizon and Sens in Burgundy. And then I’m off to Rouen for the extraordinary Armada event that takes place only every 4 years with tall ships from around the world docking in historic Rouen (8-18 June 2023). I’ll even be sleeping aboard a tall ship for a night! I’ve had a lot of requests from people wanting to join me on this trip – well you can – on Instagram!
And I will of course be writing about all of my discoveries in The Good Life France Magazine which is totally free to read online and subscribe to.
In between travelling I am helping Bread Man, he delivers the bread to my village, he not made of it, with a new cake recipe. More to come on that one, I take my tasting duties very seriously! Watch this space for a very special recipe.
Wishing you a very bon weekend from a little corner of rural northern France from me and my dogs, cats, chickens, ducks and geese!
Click the newsletter link for this weeks top picks!
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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