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Europe France

Skiing Les Sybelles

An invitation from friends to join them for a ski trip to La Toussuire set Gillian Thomas hunting for a map; she eventually located the village south-east of Grenoble in France’s Maurienne valley. To my surprise I discovered that La Toussuire is part of France’s third largest ski ‘domaine’, the Sybelles. This is a network […]

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Destinations France

Corks a poppin’!

In search of truffles and champagne, Anna Hyman headed for historic Châlons in beautiful Champagne-Ardenne. Honey was happy. Even though it was a chilly evening she had no qualms about a walk in the woods. Not that these were any ordinary woods, and Honey was not just any chocolate-coloured Labrador heading off for a constitutional. […]

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Attractions France

The Battle of the Somme – New Museum and Exhibition

The iconic Battle of the Somme, which began on 1st July 1916, was the bloodiest day for the British Army and became a symbol of the First World War in Great Britain. The Thiepval Anglo-French Monument The Thiepval Anglo-French Monument is one of the main memorial sites in the Somme region and the repository of 72,194 […]

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France

Ile d’Oleron – Oysters Galore

During her week’s stay on the Ile d’Oleron, Gillian Thomas reckons she must have consumed more oysters than she had had in her entire life. Ile d’Oleron is France’s second largest – behind Corsica. Mostly flat, it lies just off the west coast south of La Rochelle and is reached by a three kilometre long […]

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Europe France

Think Pink in Reims

Pink isn’t the colour one would normally associate with a city but Reims, as Anna Hyman discovered, is the home town of pink biscuits, and also a fair amount of pink champagne. It was so quick, so easy; the 08.30 Eurostar from London Saint Pancras to Paris Nord, a short walk to Paris Est to […]

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Culture Europe France

Family Skiing in Avoriaz

Catching a horse-drawn sleigh to the Village des Enfants ski-school was as good as it got for Gillian Thomas’s two grandchildren, aged five and seven, on a multi-generational winter sports holiday at Avoriaz in France. Avoriaz is a car-free village, so instead of tramping or skiing around it, you simply summon a horse-drawn sleigh. The […]