My France Archives

Jane Birkin

Mary Anne18th July 2023

Like many people, I found the news of Jane Birkin's death on Friday July 16, 2023, profoundly sad. For me it marked the end of an era, for myself and for other...

CultureMy FranceNews3 Comments 2

Courtyard bar in Fontainebleau with tables, chairs, parasols, people, a dog and barrels with trees and hotel behind

Summer 2020 in France. Is it safe to visit?

Mary Anne31st July 2020

My Summer 2020 France trip started two days after the official British FCO ban on anything but essential travel to France was lifted on July 4. The trip ran...

My FrancePractical InformationTravel to & around France0 Comments 1

Sheep walkiing up a path in between fields and a stone wall in France

What I miss most about France – It’s the little things

Mary Anne2nd June 2020

What we all miss most about France has become even more difficult to tolerate as France slowly opens up. France is so tantalisingly close and yet…Attractions, ...

AuvergneMy France0 Comments 1

Renaissance houses in Orleans. Facade of three coloured, two grey on side of red half timbered houses

Joan of Arc – canonised 101 years ago

Mary Anne15th May 2020

Joan of Arc was canonised on May 16, 1920, 101 years ago. Joan of Arc Statue © Christophe Mouton She was born, in c. 1412, in Domrémy in Lorraine to a pe...

CultureLoire ValleyMy France0 Comments 31

2 happy pigs in the French Alps. close up on one licking a stone with one in front with sun shining through ears with French Alps in background

Fun Facts about France – and some Myths Dispelled

Mary Anne14th April 2020

Some fun facts about France to startle your friends with. You probably do know that a Frenchman invented braille but did you know that the Napoleonic pig n...

CultureMy France0 Comments 1

Opal coast north France long sandy beach with dunes in background and sea in front

First memories of France

Mary Anne23rd May 2019

What were your first memories of France? Mine were of lying in a bunk with my mother on a ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe. I was four years old and very sick;...

My FranceNord Pas de CalaisTravel to & around France0 Comments 1