France the French way

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Learning a Language by Skype

Posted: 2018-04-11

I had travelled in Italy often but never spoken any Italian with the locals. I had accepted that they could speak English, but I wanted to do something about it. I was to learn Italian, but how?

 

Riding Bikes in Paris

Posted: 2017-01-24
Having recently been biking around Paris on the Velib bikes, that are available for tourists, we've wanted to share our advice on the how-to's of this.

Sharing Two Countries

Posted: 2016-12-08

I have chosen a life which lives in two countries. France. New Zealand. 

 

Travelling with Children?

Posted: 2016-08-23
I’ve calculated that since my children started travelling with my wife and I, we as a family have travelled nearly 5 million kilometres.

Escorted Tours for 2015

Posted: 2014-12-09
For over twenty years I have regularly escorted groups through France and Europe. It is at this time of the year when I love planning where I am going to take people on tour for the following year.

A Trip on the Canal du Midi

Posted: 2013-04-02
It’s been a long-held ambition of ours to do a canal boat cruise in Europe, preferably in France.  Recently, we bit the bullet, burnt our bridges and booked the boat. In late September, we set off for France, and the Locaboat depot.  We travelled via Bordeaux and the Gironde region, a beautiful wine-growing region full of charming little villages and marvelous cafés.

France in the Frame

Posted: 2013-03-19
French travel specialist John Reese has invested two decades in changing the way Kiwis feel about France, he tells Cameron Williamson of the Dominion Post Wellington (NZ)

Shakespeare in Paris

Posted: 2012-11-14
To be lost in a world of words can be as exciting as a visit to the Louvre.

Nancy Wake – the woman who even scared Hitler!

Posted: 2012-08-28
Guts, steely determination, bravery and drinking skills characterised this amazing woman from NZ and Australia, who was at one stage Hitler’s most wanted woman. On the 30 August this year it will be 100 years since her birth in Wellington NZ, and gives us a moment to reflect on one of the bravest wartime heroines over the last 100 years.

A New President

Posted: 2012-05-07
It’s been quite a weekend for Europe. A new president for France, and electoral upheaval in Greece, adding to the risks of an unsettled Euro zone.

Remembering Christchurch

Posted: 2012-02-22
Life on the other side of the world in New Zealand is quietly perfect. New Zealanders read their newspapers and watch their TV news broadcasts of shattering international events.

France is closer than you think….

Posted: 2012-02-18
From 29 February – 4 April 2012 a fabulous selection of French films will be gracing New Zealand screens during the sixth annual Alliance Française French Film Festival.

Christmas 2011 – Joyeux Noel

Posted: 2011-12-24
Another year has gone by. The tree is decorated and the ham is being glazed as we speak!

The Louvre – Forbidden Love

Posted: 2011-12-12
We all lead very busy lives. There are always deadlines and appointments to make. One of my greatest treats is to be able to visit the Louvre and sit and look at one painting. 

The Louvre – Kim Kardashian creates havoc?

Posted: 2011-12-07
You wouldn’t imagine finding Kim Kardashian featuring strongly on the gallery walls of the Louvre.  Or would you?

The Louvre – do you suffer from MLS?

Posted: 2011-11-29
The Louvre would be one of the most recognisable brands in the world – there would be few people who would not know what the Louvre was, and where it is?

Isle sur la Sorgue – Market in Provence

Posted: 2011-11-10
Sunday morning and it’s market day in L’Isle sur la Sorgue, and you will soon see why so many people travel here!

Edith Piaf – The Sparrow and the Rose

Posted: 2011-11-03
I sit on a bench on Place des Abbesses in Paris. There is a colourful merry-go-round in the centre of this autumn- leaf covered square in the heart of Montmartre, Paris.

Toussaint – Don’t get the flowers wrong!

Posted: 2011-10-31
Within the next few days no-one can avoid the 1st November.  In France this day is known as La Toussaint (All Saints Day), a day when one celebrates the lives of all the saints. Equally important as 1 November is the 2 November, which is known as the Fete des Morts (Festival of the Dead).

Hitler’s morning off in Paris.

Posted: 2011-10-26

It is early morning on 23rd June 1940.

Paris has been occupied for over a week.

Rugby World Cup 2012 – in France

Posted: 2011-10-20
The Rugby World Cup mounts to its ultimate crescendo and conclusion. New Zealand to face France in the final match of the Rugby World Cup in Auckland.

Escorted Tours 2012 – France and Portugal

Posted: 2011-10-18
For nearly twenty years my job has enabled me to regularly escort groups through France and Europe. It is at this time of the year when I love planning where I am going to take people on tour for the following year.

Auvers sur Oise – Dining with Vincent Van Gogh

Posted: 2011-10-10
Don McLean’s hit song “Vincent” captured for us the agony suffered by Vincent Van Gogh as he tried to live his life.

Cricket and Curry!

Posted: 2011-10-08
This is not a story about France. This is a story of travel. I came to India as a 17 year old in 1975 and swore I would never return!

Carcassonne – I was there in the year 1209.

Posted: 2011-10-04
No one will believe what I am about to write. When I set off from my hotel (www.lemontmorency.com/content/) beneath the fortified town of Carcassonne I was planning on a gentle stroll through the cobbled streets before having a cooling beer and quiet dinner at the end of a long day entertaining clients on my current tour of south west France.