French Holiday

an capall

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I booked accomadation in La Rochelle for a couple of weeks. Have never been to this region of France. I know we have some Francophiles on here, so if you know of stuff to do, restaurants etc, please feel free to post here please.

Thanks AC
 
There is an excellent fish restaurant beginning with an A but i can't remember the name - something like Andre's I will check .

Lovely place La Rochelle !
 
Wish I could help, but I'm not exactly a francophile. Beautiful country, shame about the people.

I was in the Alps in February but that was my first visit since I saw Alleged win his second Arc.
 
I don't know if this link will work ...

Michelin Guide Recommends ...

The bib gourmand places (marked by the Michelin man's head) or the places with the coins beside them are usually worth a try. You can sort by category and get the range from ridiculously posh to cheap and cheerful, though most places recommended by the guide tend not to be too cheap and are at least in some way formal.
 
I have been around here a few times. La Rochelle is a splendid city. It's well worth a visit. If it rains, the aquarium is a good way to spend the day.

The coast is spectacular around here. The best beaches to swim in are to the south of the town, but all of the coast is lovely. Pine forests and clean sands.

A day trip to Ile d'Oleron is heartily recommended. It has the best beaches I have ever visited in France. It can get very crowded, so avoid going there at the weekend.

Another good trip is to go inland to the towns on the river Charante. Get the wife to drive, and stop off in vineyards and in lovely little towns. Go as far as Cognac and do a tour of Hennesey Cognac factory.

Check out the following website:

France
 
Originally posted by BrianH+Jul 2 2006, 10:25 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (BrianH @ Jul 2 2006, 10:25 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Maurice@Jul 2 2006, 09:21 PM
Wish I could help, but I'm not exactly a francophile. Beautiful country, shame about the people.

More or less than the English? [/b][/quote]
I could go on at some length about this.

I lived in France for a year. I've never lived in England. I met some great people when I was in France. Unfortunately they were very much in the minority and almost entirely senior citizens. I've had a good number of young French people work for me over the years. There was only one genuinely 'warm' one.

I've been to England a few times and I'd say the ratio was closer to 50-50. What I'd consider to be real English people are those who go out of their way to help and to be friendly, and I've met a number of them, especially on this forum.

What dismays me is the number of 'other' English people I've met.

I've been accosted more than once on account of my accent. I was turned away by a seemingly teenage cockney girl at the reception desk of a company, with whom I had an interview for a very important job, because of my accent. She said 'er job were to make shuah only peopow 'at was raht foah the job go' past 'er. (I had an appointment for an interview for work as an English teacher in Saudi Arabia at a time when a 2-year contract out there was worth 10 years teaching salary.)

I was asked to leave a LT bus because I only had Scottish tender on me. Welcome to London.

Those are just the situations that spring immediately to mind and I wish I could say I could just as easily remember more pleasant encounters apart from meeting forumites which has been great fun.

England's countryside, however, must rank among the most beautiful in the world.
 
Maybe Brittany differs from other parts of France, but on the couple of holidays I've spent there I found the "natives" far more welcoming than the extortionate money grabbing behaviour exhibited by those in the tourist trade in my own country which enjoys a far more favourable stereotyped perspective.
 
Originally posted by Melendez@Jul 3 2006, 02:24 PM
Maybe Brittany differs from other parts of France, but on the couple of holidays I've spent there I found the "natives" far more welcoming than the extortionate money grabbing behaviour exhibited by those in the tourist trade in my own country which enjoys a far more favourable stereotyped perspective.
The Bretons are Celts, which probably accounts for that, and the fact that the only genuinely warm French person I've known was also Breton.
 
I worked in Paris for about 6 months in the early 90s and found the natives absolutely fine.

I agree about the Bretons though, they came across as being really friendly, maybe, as Mo says, it's something to do with their Celtic ancestry, or it might be the weather. The Corsicans are nice too, especially when they find out you're not American.
 
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