Hidden Lake Under Mont Blanc to be Drained !

I'd heard about the hidden lake that had accumulated under a glacier at Mont Blanc. The good news is that it sounds like they are going to try and drain it. Very interesting news if you are holidaying or planning to holiday in that area of the Alps. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11080827

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French Pronunciation

Here is a fantastic website which has pronunciations of what seems like every French word !
http://www.forvo.com/languages/fr/tag/learning_french/

http://www.forvo.com/languages/fr/

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French may be Cheesed Off !

The Swiss have won the right to keep the Gruyère label for their cheese, with the AOC (Appelation Origine Controlle) certification.

There had been an agreement since 2007 where the French could produce a Gruyère cheese but the two products were very different and now Switzerland has been granted exclusivity !
To read more : http://www.francesoir.fr/argent-etranger-social/pas-de-quartier-pour-le-gruyere-francais.7890 So if that was you favourite cheese you may have trouble finding it in "le supermarché" this year !

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Le Quinze Aout

The traditional month of French holidays ends today and is commonly known as "Le Quinze Aout" or Assumption Day. This religious festival finishes the tradional month long French holidays which start on Bastille Day, the 14th July.

To hear a little more of the history of this festival and how it is often celebrated with fireworks, please listen to Lisa Jardine's "Point of View" piece from Radio 4 which can be accessed from this webpage :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10963263

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Keycamp Celebrates 35th Birthday !

Keycamp are celebrating their 35th Birthday by allowing you to reserve your 2011 Holiday for only £35 !!

There may also be lots of last minute summer bargains as according to the Radio 4 news this morning holiday companies are reporting low bookings in Europe for this year.

Click here to book a last minute 2010 holiday or look at holidays with Keycamp for next year ! www.keycamp.co.uk

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The Seaside Still Favourite Destination for French holidaymakers

French holidaymakers still prefer to holiday at the seaside, with 60% choosing it as a destination this year. The next most popular destinations are towns (19%) and the countryside (15%). Only 8% choose the mountains as their holiday destination, possibly as people think this might be too energetic a holiday ! And only 1% go on a wild camping/walking holiday. However if you really want to get away from the crowds, the mountains could be an excellent choice of holiday destination. During the very hot summer weather, you can expect a cooler night high up in the mountains so you might actually enjoy a good nights sleep after all that walking !
http://www.francesoir.fr/vie-quotidienne/les-francais-plebiscitent-la-mer

There are some excellent campsites up in the mountains, with beautiful swimming pools with mountain views. We will be reviewing some of these mountain destinations on our website at www.bestfrenchcampsites.com or if you would like to look at campsites in the meantime please look at www.keycamp.co.uk

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Busiest Weekend for Travel in France

This weekend is expected to be the busiest weekend of the year for holiday travel in France. From Friday to Sunday 1.6 million travellers are expected through Parisian stations and 2,850 trains. The roads are expected to be very busy and drivers have been warned to make sure to take a break at least every two hours. And the Parisian airports are expecting 900,000 passengers from 30 July to 1st August !

The weekend is so busy as those who take their holidays in July, the "juilletistes" will be crossing paths with those who holiday in August, the "aoûtiens" !
http://www.francesoir.fr/transports/le-grand-chasse-croise-des-vacances-sannonce-charge

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"Gramping !"

An interesting article about Huttopia and "Gramping" (Green Camping !) in France
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/anyone-for-gramping-thats-green-camping-2036201.html

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Channel Tunnel

If you are travelling via the Channel Tunnel to your French camping holiday this year then you might be very interested in this episode of "How do they Do It" http://demand.five.tv/Episode.aspx?episodeBaseName=C5141170002
I couldnt believe that there are up to 500 trains and up to 50,000 passengers a day go via the tunnel !
The programme also tells you how escalators work !

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Taking a Motorhome to France

If you are going to try and take a motorhome to France this year then you need to do a fair bit of planning ahead ! Here are some good links to help you out.

http://www.vicariousbooks.co.uk/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Aires-Motorhome-Service-Stopovers/dp/0955280818

http://www.caravanfacts.com/classifieds/accessories-for-sale/p1-camperstop-2010-book.html

There was a lovely stopover carpark at Tahiti Plage where we stayed last year - at Raguenes Plage/Nevez in Brittany. So that might be worth finding out more about. You could park your motor home overnight and get a sea view over a lovely beach if you were on the right side of the car park !

This is also an excellent website with a map showing all the stopover "Aires" for each region : http://airecampingcar.com/aire_camping_car.php

We saw some very long 30 foot motorhomes this year so it is possible to navigate these around France, but one of the problems in the Vendee area this year seemed to be that there was a lot of road building going on and new roundabouts and these hadnt been updated on Sat Navs, so people were being sent strange routes through small villages when there were better alternatives for large motorhomes.  Has anyone got any good recommendations for us about taking a motorhome to France and good sites to stay at ? Certainly La Garangeoire in the Vendee which you can find on our Best French Campsites website seemed a good site for motorhomes as the plots are a good size.

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