FrenchDuck’s databank
Provence (PACA)

One way to make the best of winter could be to head to the ski resort of Isola 2000 (06 Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur) where they hold an annual snowball fight (une tournée de batailles de boules de neige) - open to all, including families.
Isola 2000 is a ski resort built in the 1970s in the southern Alps, about 90 minutes from Nice. The 2000 refers to its altitude - 2000 metres above sea-level, as such almost guaranteed decent in all but the fairest winters.

For more info see www.isola2000.com

>

The riviera town of Menton (06 Alpes-Maritimes, Provence) celebrates the citrus fruits every winter, bring a zesty touch of colour and animation to the town. The theme this year is the Islands of the World and the festivities include a Parade of Golden Fruits (floats of figures made from oranges and lemons (see below), a moonlit parade with fireworks, a Lemon Exhibition (A world tour in citrus: travel to all four corners of the world, as rendered by citrus fruits!) and illuminated gardens (Gardens of Light).
For more info see www.feteducitron.com

Whilst it may lack the international length and high glamour of its glory years the Monte Carlo Rally still makes an exciting spectacle through the Ardeche, Drome and Alpes-Maritime departements - through the mountains of Haut-Provence and down to the Mediterranean.
For details of the route and timings see www.acm.mc

The slower, but possibly better viewing for the spectator is the Rallye Historique, which does involve numerous start points such as Barcelona, Copenhagen, Turin and Reims before coming together for the final section down to Monte Carlo - this runs from 1- 6 February 2008. To qualify as “historic” the cars have to have been built before 1980!
For details of the route and timings see www.acm.mc

Buy at AllPosters.com

We have held the Prize Draw for Vicki Archer’s sumptuous book My French Life - a copy is on its way to P Ferguson in North Wales.

If you did not win you can always order a copy of the book “Vicki Archer shares an insider’s view of life in France, as she buys and lovingly renovates a 17th century property in St Remy de Provence in the South of France.”

The weekend of 14-16 December 2007 there is the “Petit Marché du Gros Souper“, (Christmas market) in St Remy-de-Provence (13 Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence) where you can find the traditional ingredients for the your festive celebrations.
active

At this time of the year, all of the shops are magnificently decorated, full of gifts and buzzing with activity.
Saint Remy de Provence is the home of a number of excellent santon makers, and first-rate producers of candied fruit, chocolates, biscuits, bread, cakes, honey, nougat and many other objects of delight, some of which are part of the symbolic Christmas thirteen desserts.

With strong links to Vicent Van Gogh and just 15 miles south of Avignon, St Remy is a lively and attractive Provencal town - close to the olive and grape vineyards of Les Baux de Provence and the Alpilles.
Recommended vineyard - Mas Sainte Berthe at Les Baux

Eurostar connections direct from London St Pancras International, Ebbsfleet. Ashford to Avignon:

For more info on the Christmas Market in St Remy-de-Provence CLICK HERE

The town of Cassis (13 Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence) celebrates the harvest of the AOC Olive Oil (Huile d’Olive) from Les Baux de Provence at l’Oustau Calendal on 15 and 16 December 2007.
Two days dedicated to tasting this oil which comes from a recognised and special “terroir” which produces some excellent olive oils - workshops allow you to learn about the different aromas - including the “green fruit” tones of artichokes. hay, thyme… or the “mature” aromas of mushrooms, truffles,conserved tomatoes…..

Les Baux de Provence , south of Avignon in the Alpilles mountains is just one of 7 recognised AOC regions in France for olive oil:-
Huile d’olive de Nyons
Huile d’olive de la Vallée des Baux-de-Provence
Huile d’olive d’Aix-en-Provence
Huile d’olive de Haute-Provence
Huile d’olive de Nice

This applies strict rules on planting, varieties and yield within specified geographic areas designed to produce a superior product.
Huile d’olive de Corse - Oliu di Corsica
Huile d’olive de Nîmes

Contact the Cassis Tourist Office on 00 33 892 25 98 92 or at www.ot-cassis.com

Down on the Mediterranean coast, Christmas looks to be a bit incongruous to a northerner, but at Cassis (13 Bouches-du-Rhone) they have a Christmas Market (Marché de Noel) from 13-16 December 2007. More than 30 craftsmen and merchants (rigorously selected) offer the “Big Soup with 13 desserts, regional produce, mulled wine, champages, santons (carved Christmas figurines) and numerous ideas for gifts.
Music and wine complete a festive family atmosphere.
Throughout December there are displays of Christmas cribs and a Christmas Exhibition!

See www.ot-cassis.com

Our Free Prize Draw this year is for a copy of Vicki Archer’s My French Life which is a wonderfully evocative celebration of France, especially Provence and Paris. Superbly illustrated it will delight anyone with a passion for France and things French.

To enter (closing date 14 December 2007) go to www.frenchduck.co.uk

It all started in Paris with the Velib’ Scheme - an amalgam of Velo (cycle) and Liberte (free), which has been a tremendous success.

The latest we’ve come across is the Velomagg in Montepellier (34 Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon).

Vélib’ is a Self Service “bike hire” system available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Multi pick up and drop off location allows you to pick up your bike from one service point and drop off to another.

. You need to subscribe, but for visitors there are 1-day and 7-day subscriptions and after the first 30 minutes you pay by the half-hour - e.g. a 90-minute hire will cost just €3 and you can pick up and drop off your bike at any of the hundreds of self-service stations across the city.

The Velib’ scheme has been based on a similar scheme VeloV in Lyon (69 Rhone, Rhone-Alpes) France’s second city. The combination of these eco-friendly and fitness focussed schemes is now spreading throughout France:-
VeloCite in Mulhouse (68 Haut-Rhin, Alsace) and Besancon (25 Doubs, Franche-Comté)
Vhello in Aix-en-Provence (13 Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence)
Le Velo in Marseille (13 Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence)
Velo in Toulouse (34 Haut Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees)
Nantes (44 Loire-Atlantique, Val de Loire)
Rouen (76 Seine Maritime, Normandy)
Bordeaux (33 Gironde, Aquitaine)
Velostan in Nancy (54 Meurthe et Moselle, Lorraine)
Velo+ in Orleans (45 Loiret, Centre)

This is clearly a popular scheme, mainly aimed at local residents but may also offer a different way of seeing some of France’s major cities from a different perspective. However, I would recommend choosing a city with good cycle lanes and paths - you do get the impression that traffic in many of France’s cities is not very forgiving with errant cyclists - so do not try cycling around the rond-point of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris!!

The area around Carpentras (84 Vaucluse, Provence) is famous for its truffles (known as the “Black Diamond” or Diamant Noire) and November sees the first of the weekly Truffle markets (Marché aux Truffes) in the Place Aristide Briand. In true French style there is ceremony and celebration for the first market of the season, with the initiation of new members of the Truffle Brotherhood and a tasting of Omelette aux Truffes.
But beyond the ceremony, the image is one of huddled groups of (mainly) men, jealously guarding their prized truffles and haggling hard in muffled voices and surreptitious gestures to get a good (and high) price before they reluctantly part with their mysterious but pungent treasyre.
The market runs every Friday until mid-March.

For more info see www.carpentras-ventoux.com
Other Truffle markets are held in Uzès (30 Gard, Languedoc) and Richerenches (84 Vaucluse, Provence). There is also an online Truffle market in the Dordogne - see http://www.frenchduck.com/2006/11/online_truffle_market.html

See more on French Food on www.frenchduck.co.uk and on www.frenchduck.com

Suddenly with the nights drawing in and the temperature dropping, the thought of a Soup Festival sounds really enticing.
At Vaison-la-Romaine (84 Vaucluse, Provence) there is a three-week festival of soups with over 200 different types to sample. In true French style there is an august body of citizens and craftsmen dedicated to defending the tradtion of soup making - la vénérable confrérie
des louchiers voconces de l’académie des soupes - the venerable brotherhood of soup ladlers of the Vaucluse Academy of Soups!! (seriously!)
The festival moves around the local villages on different days (including some of the best Côtes du Rhône Villages such as Rasteau, Cairanne, Sablet, Seguret, and includes a Soup Bicycle ride!!
In previous years winning soups have included a traditional Velouté of carrots, a Tomato and Basil soup and several based on courgettes. In 2006 the winner was “Soupe Grand-Mère” (grandmothers soup) which was made from chicken stock, bacon, leeks, goats cheese and potatoes - cooked very slowly. It sounds like fun for an autumn day.

For more info see http://soupes84.free.fr/ (in French) - the site also includes recipes for the winning soups.
The local wine co-operative, Cave la Romaine is in the town, where you can taste the wines of the Cotes du Rhone and Cotes du Ventoux
Vaison-la-Romaine has some impressive roman remains (hence its name) including a distinctive roman bridge across the Ouvezes river and is close to the Côtes du Rhone Vineyards and Mont Ventoux - see www.vaison-la-romaine.com

Rhone Exaltation is the second Festival of Wine and Food from the Rhône Valley to be held in the historic Palais des Papes (Pope’s Palace) in Avignon (84 Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur).
Here you’ll have the opportunity to taste more than 200 wines, check out some food and wine matching and learn more about Côtes du Rhône wines and local gastronomic specialties - all in the grand surroundings and heritage of Avignon’s most famous buildings.
For more info see www.inter-rhone.com

With the 2007 Rugby World Cup kicking off in early September, it is worth knowing when and where the matches are to be held - if only so that you can avoid the additional heavy traffic for several hours around the match time. Particularly susceptible to congestion will be the Paris Peripherique and the A1 autoroute entry to the city - the Parc des Princes and Stade de France are both close to the autoroute and peripherique, and if match time is anywhere near the evening rush hour the traffic will be even more chaotic.
For more details on the Rugby World Cup CLICK HERE
For map click (more…)

Vinsobres is one of the named Côtes du Rhône Villages – entitled to include the name of the village on the label – indicating a generally higher quality from vines grown on the hillsides on the edge of the southern Rhône Valley. This festival and ceremony marks the official start of grape picking (vendanges) and includes a tasting of the best vintages from Vinsobres wines.
For more info see http://www.vinsobres.fr/

At last a budget airline has introduced transparent pricing on its website. Flybe now shows the actual cost to fly on their routes to France and elsewhere. Until now airlines would headline their offers along the lines of “Flights from 99p” but by the time booking fees, admin charges, airport charges and government taxes were added, the 99p could become £50 or more.
The only additional charge is for a credit card (£1.99) and debit card (£0.99) per person per flight.
So I was quickly able to discover that I can fly from Birmingham to Bergerac (24 Dordogne, Aquitaine) for just £65.64 inclusive at the end of September, which sounds pretty good to me!

Flybe flies to Angers, Avignon, Bergerac, Bordeaux, Brest, Chambery, Geneva, la Rochelle, Limoges, Nice, Paris, Perpignan, Rennes and Toulouse.

For more info see www.frenchduck.co.uk/travel/flights.html

Vinsobres, Cotes du Rhone-Villages AC is one of the crus of the southern Rhone, and celebrates the beginning of the Harvest (Ban des Vendanges du Cru)

For more info see http://www.vinsobres.fr

Quarter-Final in Marseille

Quarter-Final in Marseille

France v Georgia in Marseille

Argentina v Namibia in Marseille