A Letter to Travel Bloggers

Dear Travel Blogger,

I've noticed that standards seem to have been slipping lately, so if you don't mind, I have a couple of requests and a simple tip to share with you.

When you blog about different countries and their various regions, please do your research and spell their names correctly. 

For instance, the Minervois is not "the Minorvois" and St Chinian is not "St Chinion".
There is this wonderful online resource called Google which makes it very easy to look these things up so as not to make a mistake. Please do give Google a try...I think you'll find it very useful.

Also, if it's not too much to ask, please know where the heck you are when you write about a place.

For example, Carcassonne is not a two hour's drive to Italy and the Champagne region of France is not located in the Loire Valley.

I know I sound like a stickler for detail, but you are actually writing about a place, so those little thing like facts and spelling are kind of important. 

Thank you.

Warmest Regards,
Jennifer


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I ♥ Normandy

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Photo du Jour - Normandy Farmland

Fields of gold, apple and pear orchards, and green pastures dotted with dairy cows.



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Photo du Jour - A Perfect Morning

I had to work early today, which meant that I was able to capture this shot of the château and its reflection in perfect morning light.


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Photo du Jour - Tide's Out

On the beach in Port-en-Bessin.

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A Few Francophile Links

I've seen so many cool things on the web in the last few days that I couldn't resist sharing some of them...

First up is this hilarious post stating 18 reasons why Messy Nessy Chic is proud to be a Frenchy. You must watch the dancing video!

I love that these employees of Air France took the time and energy to entertain the travelers at Paris's CDG airport. Even if it was only for a few minutes. (Thanks to Haven in Paris for sharing this one on Facebook)

If I had lived in Paris in the 1920's, this would be me and one of my best friends, Becky.

These atmospheric photos of Paris that Christine captured and shared using Instagram are so beautiful.
Makes me wish I had an iPhone...



Also, there are contests galore going on right now!

To celebrate 4 years of blogging, Andi of Misadventures with Andi is giving away a specially designed $100 Amazon gift certificate to one of her readers.

As a summer giveaway, Paris Perfect is offering a new iPad or a copy of David Lebovitz's hilarious book, The Sweet Life in Paris, to fans of their Facebook page.

Finally, my friend Lindsey of Lost in Cheeseland is celebrating her 3rd anniversary of blogging by giving away travel vouchers. Simply stop by and comment on your favorite post to enter.



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Photo du Jour - Summer Colors

Dressed up in the colors of summer.


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Honest Advice About Moving to France

I don't want to be the one to crush people's dreams. Really, I don't.

But when I get emails from people asking, "Do I really need a visa to stay in France? Why can't I just buy a one way plane ticket and move there?" or "I don't speak a word of French, how hard will it be for me to find a job?", I just have to say...really?

In this day and age, I have a hard time believing that people can still be that naive. And in order to answer those kinds of questions, I choose to be brutally honest.
Which often doesn't go down very well.


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Photo du Jour - Reflection

Rainbow, reflected.


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Summer Weather in Normandy

Would you like to know what the summer weather is like in Normandy? I can easily describe it in just one word: schizophrenic.

You wake up to sun.
Then by the time you've made coffee and want to sit out in the garden, it's drizzling. Then the sun comes back out for a few hours, followed by a two minute shower.
Sun.
Rain.
Sun.
Rain.
Sun.
Rain.
Then, almost every evening, bright sun and blue skies.

It's pretty fabulous.





By contrast, the summer weather in the south of France is more consistent. And by consistent, I mean it's either all or nothing.

Mind-numbing heat for weeks on end that sap your energy and your appetite. Errands must be run early in the day and salads, ice cream and glasses of cold rosé become your best friends.
Strong winds, not mere gusts, but winds, that blow for days. 
Violent thunderstorms that dump buckets of rain and knock out power, then disappear as quickly and dramatically as they arrived.

It's beautiful, it's the south of France for heaven's sake!
But it's not for the faint of heart.





I'm discovering that extremely hot weather doesn't suit me anymore. Maybe if our house in the south of France had had central A/C and a swimming pool, then the heat wouldn't have bothered me so much. But those are luxuries that we never had, so it's hard to know.

What I do know, is that for me, summer in Normandy is perfect!




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