After three weeks without Internet connection/service, it feels good to be back in ‘blog business’! During that time, I learned that being online all day is a (good or bad?) habit and took the down time to do other things (not a bad thing). Just goes to show that there are pros & cons to every situation. Now I need to get to work on new posts, so stay tuned – thanks for your readership.
Wow – Just look at what french students get to eat in school!
Watch video HERE:
“It’s a shocking statistic that everyone should be talking about, 1 in every 3 kids in the United States is overweight or obese. What on earth could American children be eating to substantiate this scary statistic?
This was the question which fueled author Rebeca Plantier’s inquiry into the school lunch programs of the French in her article, What French Kids Eat For School Lunch (It Puts Americans To Shame!). She wanted to know why French kids weren’t fat, and discovered some interesting truths when she compared their school lunches…..”
Read more of this article (with photos) HERE
For sale: House is in perfect condition and ready to move into!
Upscale village house, renovated to maintain its character and charm, in excellent condition and ready to move into!
Situated in a tranquil 
setting yet minutes walk from the village chateau and only a 5-minute walk down to the town center with its shops, commerce, and bus transportation center. Within walking distance (15 minutes) to the town’s train station, 25 minute walk to the sea along a canal bike/walking path, 5 km. drive from Nice airport. The best of both worlds – medieval village life just 10 kms. from the city of Nice!
Medieval Village of Haut de Cagnes-sur-Mer:
The village is only 7 miles west of Nice, with its history directly linked to its castle, constructed as a fortress in 1309; the castle, indeed, withstood assaults for two centuries. Around 1620, it was converted into a palatial residence (by Baron Jean-Henri Grimaldi) with its magnificent staircase, loggias, balustrades, and baroque architecture.
In 1873, the castle was purchased by a couple, who restored it; the town re-purchased the Grim
aldi castle in 1937, and it was registered as an historic building in 1948. Today, the Grimaldi Castle-Museum houses various art exhibitions and welcomes visitors from all over the world. (Source: Office of Tourisme)
Friday evening jazz is held in the main square during the summer months of July and August, along with other activites throughout the year.
House Description:
PRICE: 356,000 Euros
See FB page for village & videos HERE
Photo Gallery:
For more information: E-mail twentyfourseveninfrance@gmail.com
The gateway to the Côte d’Azur last week announced the enticing food & beverage concepts that won out in the competition to deliver “innovation and excellence” as part of the airport’s renewed culinary offering. SSP and RELAY France were awarded the contracts to operate a total 20 units for the next 11 years in Nice Côte d’Azur Airport’s ambitious renovation of its retail areas.
Taking place over the next two and a half years, the all-encompassing commercial redevelopment will provide the airport with a truly original retail and F&B offering, and in early summer 2014 the Aéroports Côte d’Azur Group launched a consultation to overhaul its culinary services – driven by the airport’s ultimate vision “to provide the most surprising commercial airport experience in a European airport”.
SSP and Lagardére subsidiary RELAY France developed the most compelling and original concepts, the airport’s Chief Commercial Officer Filip Soete explained to Airport Business, and best reflected the airport’s ambitions to create a retail experience that captured the identity of its spectacular Côte d’Azur setting. “The fantastic experience that visitors to the Côte d’Azur have on the beach, in the hotels, amid the scenery – everything that you can enjoy here – we want to bring into the terminals, so that our passengers, until the very last moment, still have that feeling,” he said.
In what will be a complementary and competing offer, the two operators will share the 20 points of sale in both airside and landside in Terminal 1 – totalling around 23,000sqm and four times the existing space, and Terminal 2 – 27,000sqm, three times the previous area. Construction works have already begun in Terminal 1, where much of the new gastronomic offering will be operational from April 2015 and works are expected to conclude in May 2016, while in Terminal 2 new outlets will open from May 2017.
“SSP and RELAY’s offers were very complementary to one another – they matched very well, which was exactly what we wanted,” Soete explained. “We have, for example one restaurant by a two-Michelin star chef by RELAY and one by SSP – one French cuisine and world cuisine, so they go very well together. SSP is a big, worldwide F&B company especially in airports, while RELAY is a newcomer with whom we already work in duty free in Nice and in whom we have a lot of confidence.”
From the premium culinary offerings of world renowned chefs such as Thierry Marx and Mauro Colagreco to firsts in fast food like the only Joe and the Juice Danish coffee bar to be opened in southern Europe and the first Burger King in the Côte d’Azur, the unique and the never-before-seen are at the heart of Nice Airport’s renewed F&B. The gateway will be home to iconic local brands such as Chez Pipo, as well as the first beach bar in an airport – complete with sand and slides, the first airside Petrossian caviar house, and the first Jamie’s Italian restaurant in France, which will feature French Riviera cuisine especially created for the airport by British chef Jamie Oliver.
“The other great thing about the combination of SSP and RELAY is that we have an international player and we have a French player. For example, within our offer we have a Starbucks – which is very international, and but then we also have Eric Kayser – the best boulangerie in Paris,” Soete stated. “My aim is that once people have had that great experience here, the next time they come to the airport they come ten minutes early because they know all that there is to do and want to have lunch at the airport instead of in the city.”
Soete explained that Nice Côte d’Azur Airport is now beginning to receive the first offers in the tender for the operation of its duty free outlets – starting with what it has labelled the ‘Gastronomy and Souvenir Chic’ category. The results of the tender will be revealed in April of this year, after which it will begin taking bids for the Fashion and Jewellery and Accessories sectors.
“As always, it will be a difficult choice, but there is no doubt that the quality is definitely there,” Soete added. “We are very excited about the whole project, and so far it is really going in the direction that we wanted it to go.”
Source/Credit: http://www.airport-business.com/
Construction of Nice’s second tramway will pick up speed in 2015 as the preparatory work for underground stations has now been completed….
Work on Nice’s second tramway to gather pace in 2015 – The Riviera Times Online.
View conceptual video of tramway HERE
The new law comes into effect on March 8, 2015 and requires the owners and occupants of a property to ensure a properly functioning detector is fitted.
The French Ministry of Housing estimates that only 2% of houses in France are currently fitted with smoke alarms, compared to 98% in Norway and 89% in England.
Between 600 and 800 people die in house fires in France every year. Seven in 10 blazes start at night, after people have gone to bed. The ministry believes the number of fatalities would be halved if smoke detectors, which cost between €10 and €20 were fitted.
The ministry, in conjunction with the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, has published the following information to help people select and fit an appropriate detector.
The device should be installed in a corridor or hallway leading to rooms that are used regularly. The sensor should be fitted to the ceiling or at the top of a wall, away from a source of smoke.
The occupant, the owner or agency managing a property is obliged to check the sensor is working properly on a regular basis. CE-accredited detectors are fitted with a ‘test’ button for this purpose.
To avoid smoke detectors that do not meet EU standards the following requirements must be observed:
The unit should be marked with the CE notation
A power indicator must be included
The unit should be powered by batteries that will work for at least a year, or include an AC-power cable
The unit must emit a visual or audible signal, independent of a power source, indicating the absence of batteries or low batteries. The fault signal must be different to the alarm signal.
When it detects smoke, the unit must emit an alarm of at least 85 dB (A) audible at three metres.
The following information must be indelibly marked on the unit: the brand name, address of the manufacturer or supplier number, date of the standard that the detector complies with, manufacturing date or batch number and type of battery to use
The unit should be supplied with instructions for installation and maintenance. It must also have a model certificate that the occupant must provide to an insurer in case of a claim for damage caused by fire.
Source: The Connexion & The Riviera Times
Stereotype: to believe unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same. (wikipedia) The French are some of the most stereotyped people on the planet……
Read more of this article HERE
Credit: The Local
Photo source: Unknown
The Local looks at just how did France manage to attract over 84 million tourists last year – far more than any other country – and hear’s from one tourism industry chief in the country who believes the figures do not tell the full story.
But what makes France such an attractive destination for holiday makers year after year? The Local looks at six reasons to explain the country’s tourism appeal.
But do the figures tell the real story of France’s table topping tourism industry? One professional says the ynumbers are misleading and France needs to do to match the success of the United States and Spain.
Six reasons:
1. The City of Light (incorrect with “s”)
It almost goes without saying, but the French capital is a huge draw for foreign visitors – over 30 million of them a year in fact, more than any other city in the world. What makes it so popular? Where to start. There’s the city’s romantic image, the stunning architecture, the Louvre museum, the iconic Eiffel Tower as well as the simple pleasure of sitting at a café terrace and watching the world go by. European and US visitors have flocked here from all the world for many years, and they keep coming back and in recent years the appeal of Paris has gripped the far east, with mor and more Chinese nationals coming to get a glimpse of the Champs Elysées and its array of boutiques.
And don’t forget Disneyland, which is a destination in itself for foreign visitors. With around 15 million visitors each year, the theme park, just to the east of the French capital is Europe’s top tourist destinaton.
2. A variety of sun, sea and mountains
Many French people shun international destinations for their summer holidays and instead choose to travel within their own country. Why? Well, as they’ll be keen to tell you, it’s because France has everything, from sandy beaches, to snow covered mountains and vast expanses of countryside.
Simon Dawson, from UK tour operator French Cycling Holidays, agrees. “Different regions have completely different appearances,” he says. “There’s the rolling countryside, great cities like Paris, Lyon, Marseille.”
Basically France offers something for everyone. While the Germans may come for the beaches, the Brits for the countryside the Americans come for the chateaux and the culture.
“The weather is a big factor too. “France tends to have really good weather in the summer, it’s hot, but not baking hot like in Spain or Italy for example,” says Dawson.
3. Strategic location
Part of France’s appeal, however, could just be a sheer coincidence of geography. For example, for UK holidaymakers looking to escape their homelands unreliable summers, France is just a short hop across the Channel, a journey some 12.6 million made in 2013. Travellers from another of France’s neighbours, Germany, made up 13 million visitors to France last year, more than any other country. However, not all these visitors are coming to see France itself.
“Because of France’s position many tourists are forced to pass through the country on their way to other destinations,” explains Didier Arino, president of tourism industry specialists Protourisme. “Between 15 and 20 million of the visitors who come to France are just passing through on their way to Italy or Spain.”
4. Escape to the countryside
Around 80 percent of France is countryside – and most of it stunning and tranquil. Besides Paris, this is the part of France most tourists want to see, says Dawson. “The most popular areas for our customers are the Loire Valley, Provence, the famous beautiful regions of France,” he says.
The countryside is particularly popular with those from the UK, who have a romantacised vision of rural life in France, according to Protourisme’s Arino.
“The British are in love with rural France. They idealise the countryside,” he says. The Brits enjoythe contrast of the peaceful “France profonde” compared to the hussle and bussle of the towns and cities many of them live in.
5. Food and wine
France is, of course, inseparable from its famed gastronomical traditions and the chance to dine on French specialities, even the clichéd snails or steak tartare is no doubt a major part of what attracts visitors to the country. France knows this and is keen to protect its status as the world’s food capital, as evidenced by its recent “homemade” food label scheme designed to discourage chefs from using frozen or ready-prepared ingredients.
No proper French meal is complete without a few glasses of ‘vin’ and the country’s vast array of home-produced wines is another draw for tourists. Each year, around 24 million foreign tourists visit Bordeaux, Burgundy and France’s other wine regions.
6. Art , history and culture
France is extremely proud of its long and often tumultuous history, from the French revolution to Napoleon and the two world wars, and historical sites are often on the itinerary for visitors. There’s the famous battle sites of the Somme and the D-Day landings, as well as the stunning chateaux, churches and cathedrals that decorate the landscape.
In fact, France has some 39 sites on Unesco’s World Heritage list, putting it fourth in the global rankings. Museums and art galleries are also a major pull for tourists. The Louvre alone, home to the Mona Lisa among around 35,000 other artifacts and artworks, attracts 9.7 million visitors a year, more than any other museum in the world.
The Lonely Planet’s destination editor Kate Morgan sums it all up like this: “As a destination for travellers, France virtually has it all. France entices people of all ages with some of the world’s most iconic landmarks, world-class art and architecture, sensational food, stunning beaches, glitzy ski resorts, beautiful countryside and a staggering amount of history.”
But do the stats tell the real picture?
Despite being the world’s most visited country, France is hoping to boost its tourism numbers still further. Earlier this year, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius unveiled a plan to increase foreign visitor numbers to more than 100 million a year.
Protourisme’s Arino, however is not getting carried away with the figures. For him France needs to focus on persuading the tourists to spend more. While France has the highest number of visitors a year, it is only third in the world when it comes to revenue generated from tourism, he says
“These figures don’t give the whole picture,” he says. “For me France is the third tourist destination in the world, behind the United States and Spain, where the tourism industry in both countries generates more money than in France.
“The only figure that matters is the commercial revenue, not the amount of visitors.
Arino points to the situation of tourists sleeping in their cars as they pass through France on the way to Spain, who are no use to the country economically.
For France to squeeze more money out of visitors Arino says it needs to improve the variety and prices of the accommodation it offers, encourage people to stay longer by giving them a warmer welcome, and make France more competitive in terms of value for money.
Foreign Minister Fabius would agree and has come up with a list of tasks to help improve the welcome for visitors to France.
Source/credit/photos: Written by Sam Ball published in The Local
HO! HO! HO!
Even though some of the American/British folkloric characters don’t come to France, you’ll be happy to know that the jolly old man in the red suit does. Of course, he goes by a different name: in France he’s known as Père Noël, or Father Christmas.
Read more of this article by Margo Letz HERE
24/7 in France wishes each and everyone of you a Happy Holiday season and all the best for love, health, & happiness in 2015
& Thank you for your readership!
Even though some of the American/British folkloric characters don’t come to France, you’ll be happy to know that the jolly old man in the red suit does. Of course, he goes by a different name: in France he’s known as Père Noël, or Father Christmas.
History of St Nick
The history of Santa Claus, or Father Christmas, dates back to the 4th century, when a priest from the area that is now Turkey came on the scene. He was known for his generosity, said to have performed miracles and eventually became Saint Nicholas, the protector saint of children. The legend evolved over the centuries that on December 6th, St Nick would descend from the sky on his donkey (or sometimes on a white horse), go into houses by way of the chimney and leave gifts for well-behaved children. The children would leave their shoes by the fireplace with some carrots…
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The Ball des Courtesans was formed to provide annual period costume events, reliving history in an ambiance of cultural & social fun on the French Riviera. Come join us!
24/7 in FRANCE 