travel – French Travel Books – France, Paris, Provence & French Food & Wine

Perpignan, French Catalonia and our Café

Alt="bar restaurant le Malassis in the southern French town of Perpignan"

This chapter is taken from my book ‘Off the Autoroute’ which is now available on Kobo as well as Amazon The area around Perpignan in French Catalonia is where our travels all started around twenty-five years ago. It is a short hop from Provence so let us see what we found there starting in PerpignanContinue reading “Perpignan, French Catalonia and our Café”

Beautiful Village of St Amour and Paradise Hotel

Alt="Photo of village of St Amour France"

Beaujolais is a beautiful region of rolling hills, some quite small, almost mounds really, with vineyards on the slopes. The land is formed with a base of granite and limestone and as you would expect the ‘terroir’ is distinctive. Beaujolais is an easily recognisable wine with a character much different from its near neighbour Burgundy, again showing how interesting it is to travel and taste your way through so many contrasting regions of France. The wines here flow down to Lyon in the same way as the rivers that pass through that dramatic city and are part of the gastronomic culture that makes Lyon a French capital of food. We gain a clear idea of what we will see in this area just from our hotel room window looking out over these gentle hills and vineyards, a view that is worth every penny of the cost of a stay here – peaceful and bucolic.

A trip to the French restored treasure of Carcassonne

Pointed turret towers and ancient stone walls around a city

This chapter is taken from my first French travel book ‘First Time we Saw Paris’ and appears also in the compilation ‘Off the Autoroute’. We also had the opportunity one day in our first week in France to visit the cité of Carcassonne. My only recollection prior to visiting this medieval, heavily restored fortress citéContinue reading “A trip to the French restored treasure of Carcassonne”

French Travels, Cricket, Springsteen & Brief Encounters

A metal restaurant sign hangs from the wall at a restaurant up on the hill above the french wine village of Chateauneuf du pape in southern France

Taken from my French travel book ‘Off the Autoroute’ : I was watching the English version of the Antiques Roadshow recently when it produced a blast from my past as well as reminding me of people we have encountered in France under the most unexpected circumstances. On this programme an old cricket stump was producedContinue reading “French Travels, Cricket, Springsteen & Brief Encounters”