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travel in France

Pack your bags and come to France!

January 3, 2013 by Patricia Sands Leave a Comment

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

PLEASE NOTE:  This trip has been temporarily postponed as Uniglobe Instant Travel in London, ON, was taken over by another company on February 1st. 

The good news is that another fabulous women’s travel group is working with us and we hope to have the trip rescheduled in the near future. Thanks for all the interest and support and as soon as I have the details I will let you know. We ARE going to do this so I am leaving this post up as an invitation to join us soon!

Happy New Year! Meilleurs Voeux Pour L’année 2013!

Is this the year that you and your best girlfriend, your daughter, your sister and/or your mom take a trip to the south of France? Or perhaps your entire book club?  Seriously, it just might be!

Spend the first four days in the captivating town of Nice in the beautiful Hotel La Perouse overlooking La Promenade Des Anglais and the magnificent Mediterranean. With plenty of time to shop and explore, we will also visit galleries and bookstores and have a chat with author Ted Jones. I’m already excited!

La Promenade Des Anglais-PSandsPhotos
La Promenade Des Anglais-PSandsPhotos
Nice, France-PSandsPhotos
Nice, France-PSandsPhotos
Daily Market, Nice-PSandsPhotos
Daily Market, Nice-PSandsPhotos

Is this breathtaking or what? Visit the 11th century hilltop village of Eze.

Eze Village-PSandsPhotos
Eze Village-PSandsPhotos

Tour the Royal Palace in Monaco.

Royal Palace,Monaco-PSandsPhotos
Royal Palace,Monaco-PSandsPhotos

Follow the footsteps of Cezanne in Aix-En-Provence.

Aix-En-Provence-PSandsPhotos
Aix-En-Provence-PSandsPhotos

Relax for seven nights in the beautiful Domaine de Capelongue, just outside the village of Bonnieux in the peaceful countryside of Provence. A wine-tasting visit to a local vineyard as well as a cooking class are just two of many activities.

capelongue-bienvenue-photo3lieuxetundomaine-fr2
capelongue-bienvenue-photo3lieuxetundomaine-fr2

Explore ancient villages.

PSandsPhotos
PSandsPhotos
PSandsPhotos
PSandsPhotos
PSandsPhotos
PSandsPhotos

My friend and fellow author, Susan Sommers, and I have been invited to lead this carefully planned women’s tour to the south of France from October 12th to 24th, 2013. Organized by Uniglobe Instant Travel in London, Ontario, all of the details can be found on the day-by-day itinerary attached. You will notice plenty of time allocated for relaxing and reading as well. The memories will be magnifique!

Just click here to contact Jennifer Fassina for more information and to see how very experienced this company is in planning special trips for women. We hope you can join us!

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Filed Under: Blog, France, If it is France... Tagged With: Antibes, Cote D'Azur, Domaine de Capelongue, living in the south of France, Nice, Patricia Sands, The Bridge Club, The Promise of Provence, travel in France

CHRISTMAS IN PARIS

December 30, 2011 by Patricia Sands 15 Comments

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Joyeux Noël! Have you taken some time to enjoy beautiful light displays in your neighbourhood? Some of the set-ups around our place have been spectacular. Perhaps it’s to make up for the shortage of snow? It was definitely a green Christmas in the Toronto area this year although I’m happy to say it is snowing tonight. Finally!

Here’s a little history about Christmas lights. In 1882, the first Christmas tree was lit by the use of electricity. Edward Johnson was one of Thomas Edison’s muckers, an inventor who worked under his direction. He lit up a Christmas tree in New York City with eighty small electric light bulbs and created the first string of electric Christmas lights that were then mass produced around 1890. By 1900, department stores started using the new Christmas lights for their Christmas displays.  Johnson became vice-president of Edison’s electric company.

The use of lights for Christmas decorations is popular around the world. Our guest blogger today is going to take us on a stroll through Paris to look at the holiday displays there.

I’m really pleased to introduce you to the fabulous Nicole Basaraba,an adventurous  young Canadian blogger/writer, living in Brussels, Belgium at the moment. Nicole shares many of her travel experiences on her entertaining and informative blog Nicole Basaraba’s Uni-Verse-City. Make a point to stop by some time!

Growing up in Western Canada, Nicole Basaraba was always skipping to her own beat. Not being a hockey fan, having no skills in skiing or snowboarding, always being cold, and having never tasted maple syrup, she is what you might call a “bad” Canadian. Having studied some history in university and always dreaming of seeing Europe, Nicole moved to Brussels, Belgium to live, work and travel of course. She soon discovered that there is more to Belgium than just its delicious chocolate so she decided to stay in Europe for an undetermined period. Working in print publishing and website content management by day, she writes travel articles, book reviews and other lifestyle/culture articles about her fun and crazy experiences in Europe by night.

Here’s what Nicole has to tell us about Christmas in Paris:

If you haven’t been to Paris for Christmas, you’ll enjoy seeing some of the traditions there. Every town and village in France has a Christmas market and Paris is no exception.

When you think of Paris at night, the first thing that may come to mind is the Eiffel Tower glittering in the dark. At Christmas time, there are so many more lights to enchant you in this beautiful city.

The first place to start is the Champs Elysées. The entire boulevard is lined with trees decorated in dancing lights, blue, purple, green, red and orange. The trees sparkle with the light reflecting off the diamond-like strings of circles hanging from the branches.

While admiring the lights show, you can wander past all the booths lined up bearing Christmas goodies, food and gifts. Fresh meats, cheese, Gluhwein or vin chaud (warm mulled wine), delicious pastries, wooden games, stuffed animals, winter wear; there is sure to be something for everyone on your Christmas list.

The Champs Elysées, being one of the most popular areas for tourists, has the more commercial Christmas market. When it gets darker the area becomes even more enchanting with the purple lights.

If you want to see a Christmas market that is more reminiscent of the original German style, take the metro to La Défense and enjoy the over 350 chalets. In a small village on its own standing between the modern mirrored skyscrapers, it’s a clash of tradition and modernism that works so well together. The Christmas market in La Défense has more chalets, including many from around the world such as Canada and Germany.

Don’t forget to stop at Notre Dame to see the beautiful Christmas tree in the courtyard. It’s a great place to stand and enjoy the Christmas spirit as you snap photos.  I’m sure it would look stunning from a boat cruising along the Seine.

You can’t visit Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower. Whether you go to the top or not, you can admire it looking like the most glamorous tree you’ve ever seen.

 Thanks for that stroll past some of the Christmas lights in Paris, Nicole!  I’m looking forward to reading about more of your adventures and travels in Europe in 2012! Happy New Year to you!
Christmas markets in Paris and elsewhere in France have their origins in the northern Alsace region, which has belonged to Germany at various junctures in history and therefore draws on German Christmas market traditions stretching to as early as the 14th century. The most famous– and largest– marché de noël in France is in Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace.
Are there Christmas markets or something similar where you live? How about spectacular light displays?
Check this one out. The music is heard on a radio station and there is a box for donations to the local hospital.  Happy holidays!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45tPeUSi_8Q
My sincere thanks and a big holiday hug to each and every one of you for taking the time to visit my blog. Some of you I know and many I don’t, but your interest is so appreciated and very motivating. You can’t imagine how satisfying it is for bloggers to see the “clicks” on our site statistics continue to grow. Thank you, thank you! May 2012 bring the best of health and happiness to you and yours! MUWAH!

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Filed Under: Blog, France, If it is France..., Photo blogs Tagged With: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, Brussels, Christmas in Paris, Christmas lights, ForeWord 2010 Book Of The Year Finalist, Georgetown ON, Happy New Year, lifelong friendship, Nicole Basaraba, Paris, Patricia Sands, The Bridge Club, the power of friendship, travel in France, Uni-Verse-CIty

It’s worth the drive to Arles

October 7, 2011 by Patricia Sands 8 Comments

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

We’re taking a little side trip today to Arles, just  a 2-1/2 hour drive  from Antibes and the French Riviera to the area (département) known as the Bouches-du-Rhône (great info and pics on this site). The changing scenery from La Côte D’Azur,  through the dramatic red rock hills of Le Massif De L’Estérel, alongside vineyards and farmland in the Var, guarantees the time on the A8 autoroute passes quickly.

Wow! You’ll be glad you came along. Arles is a UNESCO World Heritage site dating back to the 7th Century BC when it was a major Roman-Gallo city (Arelate). Built on the edge of the Rhone River where it branches into two parts to the sea, established its importance as a port.To say it is a treasure trove of well-preserved  Roman sites would be an understatement.

Charmingly medieval streets, narrow and winding, pass between ancient buildings. Who can resist them? Not me!

The major Roman sites, such as the Arena and the Theater, are uniquely integrated into the houses and buildings of the town, and used today for concerts, plays, and even bullfights … gulp, yes still … more on that next week and modern changes to the ancient sport. Also I’ll fill you in on Van Gogh’s stay in Arles – as colorful as his paintings, let me assure you!

I’ll just include this teaser now . One memorable evening, Vincent Van Gogh chased his friend, artist Paul Gauguin, down the street holding a razor. Um … there’s a reason for the bandage in this self-protrait.

Van Gogh’s stay in Arles was relatively short but he still managed to complete over 200 paintings while there.

Here’s a quick look at the Arena. I’m going to figure out how to include a slideshow for next week. I hope you will plan to drop by for that.

 

 

 

Have you ever been to Arles? You know I love to hear from you so please share a memory or two. À bientôt!

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Filed Under: Blog, General Travel, If it is France..., Photo blogs Tagged With: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, Arles, Bouches du Rhone, Cote D'Azur, ForeWord 2010 Book Of The Year Finalist, French Riviera, living in the south of France, Patricia Sands, The Bridge Club, the power of friendship, travel in France

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