Bonjour spring newsletter from France

Bonjour!

I hope that you and yours are well.

My big news this week is – the Spring issue of The Good Life France Magazine is out! And it’s totally free as always, no pesky paywall, no catch, it really is free and it’s a stunning issue that’s chockablock with fabulous features and fantastic photos. Culture, history, guides, recipes – we’ve explored France from the north to the south – the gorgeous Gulf of St-Tropez, the Opal Coast, Paris, Bergerac, Dordogne, Brittany, Loire Valley and many more wonderful places. I hope you enjoy it:

The Good Life France Magazine Spring 2024

Last weekend it was the Rallye du Touquet race in my bit of France. As always, the race (which kickstarts the European rally season), starts in nearby Le Touquet, AKA the “Monaco of the North”, then whizzes into the countryside, and up past the little hill where I live. We are confined during the race – it’s not a problem, we all love it. People drag out their barbecues (usually in the rain), and set up picnic tables in front gardens, on flat garage roofs and in their gateways. It’s a furiously fast race with professional drivers roaring round the course in round 1, followed by amateur racers with squealing wheels in round 2.

We were very surprised to hear someone ring our doorbell during the race and couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw Claudette, my 91-year-old neighbour. She’d waited for a little break in the race and whizzed down the hill herself to tell us that she thought a dead tree in her garden was about to fall on my car! While we chopped the tree down, I told Claudette about my recent travels. She has never been further than 20 miles from home and likes to hear about the places I go and assures me she has no hankering to travel. She always says that her family and friends are here in our village and there’s no need to look further for happiness and importantly, contentment, which she says is quite a different thing. I really do believe she may be the wisest woman in France.

Wherever you are, I wish you both a happy and contented weekend, and a relaxing read of The Good Life France Magazine from my little pigsty/office in the middle of nowhere, rural northern France…

Janine
Editor

Read the whole newsletter and see this week’s top features and recipe picks

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. Her new book How to be French – a celebration of the French lifestyle and art de vivre, is out now – a look at the French way of life.

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