The weather has been gorgeous in France over the last week and certainly in my part of Northern France it has been blissful, next week it is due to become even hotter…
I’ve been getting up early in the morning to work and throwing open the window in my office, the air smells so sweet, heavy with the scent of roses, lavender and buddleia and my cats sit on the window sill watching me lazily and keeping cool in the breeze that gently flows through from the open French doors at the back of the house.
I can highly recommend a few days or a lot longer here in the Nord-Pas de Calais – a pocket of tranquil French countryside fit to calm the most jangled nerves. We have lovely seaside resorts from Dunkerque right down to the Bay of the Somme, taking in the Opal Coast; lush green countryside of the Seven Valleys with its artisan producers of jam, cheese, wine (yes we do have wine producers here in the far north!). There is the vibrant town of Lille with its beautiful cobbled Grand Place and pavement cafés where you can watch the world go by – and at just an hour and a half’s drive from Calais its perfect for a French city get away. The Lens Louvre, La Chartreuse romantic retreat, Le Touquet – I could go on and on!
If you’re thinking of a holiday here in Nord-Pas de Calais and want to know where to go and what to visit – drop me an email via our contact form or message me on Facebook or Twitter.
I talked to a lady who married in Paris this summer – she met her French husband in America, he returned to Paris and wooed her from afar – such a lovely story, gorgeous photos and a romantic video…
Roger St Pierre took to two wheels and has been Biking it in Burgundy, check out his top tips to make cycling fun in France (he really knows what he’s talking about as he’s been cycling all his life and is the ex-editor of the Tour de France magazine)…
I went to lovely Lille, the capital of Nord-Pas de Calais and was amazed to find dancers doing the tango under the stars – it was so beautiful I sat watching dreamily for hours….
I also went to chef school – my very own master chef moment – a revolutionary experience in France (and I think I can use revolutionary and France in the same sentence safely!)…
Wine writer Jill Barth told us how to have a daily dose of Joie de Vivre like the French do…
I went to one of my favourite brocantes which takes place every Bastille Day in Montreuil-sur-Mer which was looking gorgeous in the sun – this ville fleurie really is quite special…
Honor Marks tells us what it’s like to live in the Other South of France – the gorgeous Languedoc-Roussillon…
I gave in to my chicken addition – Luther Vandross has joined the Spice Girls at the bottom of my garden!
On the music side, Olivier Jauffrit of radio station Paris Chanson – our lovely partner – chose videos from Georges Guétary – the Frenchman in “An American in Paris” and also from Carla Bruni, former First Lady of France to illustrate French Music Style (you’ll find a button for Paris Chanson on all our pages – we think it’s that good)… On the subject of music – did you know that the iconic French Can-Can is based on an English dance?
I confessed details of my south of France camping experience when I unwittingly pitched my tent on a naturist camp site!
Finally, I interviewed Anne-France de Castelbajac-Anderson, a Gascon lady, passionate about her region – the cuisine, landscape, history, Armagnac and her new venture Gascony à la Carte.
And I bet you all thought I’d be lying in the garden with my feet up in the sun!
Non – we’ve got a very fully schedule of features already for next week – beautiful places in France, artists and artisans, Paris, chateaux and much more – join us on Facebook and Twitter and don’t miss any of our updates and the extra photos we post daily!
A bientôt
Janine
