We won't be back in France again this year, so my thoughts have shifted to planning for 2008.

Charley and I will be back in the Luberon in May and September. I'm trying to finalize a family spring break trip in March, ideally for ten days. We want to go back to Bonnieux, mainly for hiking... surely this time we can finish the hiking guidebook we've been talking about for a couple of years!

Our summer plans are wide open, and my work at the university gives me three months off. I want to stay over after our May trip and go to a language school again, maybe for four weeks this week. Going back to the IS school in Aix would be an easy and economical option for me, though I want to talk to Marta about her experience at Villefranche-sur-Mer.

Kelly and Charley would fly over in early July, after Kelly finishes another summer camp. We won't be housesitting next summer, since our friends are staying home. So we would have about five weeks to do something, most likely all in France. We really want to do another long-distance walk of two weeks or more. We're talking about the Stevenson trail, the GR10 in the Pyrenees or maybe the GR5 in the Alps. We are also talking about going to some other parts of France that we haven't visited before. So many possibilities!

What are others planning or considering for travel in France next year?

Kathy

We going to Paris for three weeks in March. Since we've been there several times before, we have no particular plans, other than lots of walking and lots of eating. I can't wait!

I'm hoping we'll be able to do something in the fall as well, but we have no definite plans. I'm leaning toward Burgundy, where we've never been.

At this point, it looks like we won't have the opportunity for our usual long trip over the summer. With just a week, I'm voting for a return to Paris. Humnn. I should probably start looking at apartments. Any new ideas for a 1 BR with a/c that won't break the bank?

quote:

Originally posted by Chris:
We going to Paris for three weeks in March. Since we've been there several times before, we have no particular plans, other than lots of walking and lots of eating.

My two favorite Parisian pastimes.

Kathy,

Hmmm.. Well let's see.. Two nights in Paris next May and then on to The Luberon Experience with you and Charley. Ending with a couple of nights in Avignon/Aix.

I am so psyched!!!

All the Best,

Leslie

We have plans to be in Paris for three months starting the end of April. We are renting an apartment in the 9th arron. right here

We plan to take a few short trips from Paris, possibly Edinburg, Madrid, Barcelona, etc. by plane as well some trips by train including Bruges (one of our favorites), Normandy, Brittany, Strassbourg.

Hi Kathy,

Where next? One of my favourite subjects.

We hope to return to France next June for 2 weeks. One of my brothers has rented a 3-br home in Drome-Provence for the entire month - in Châteauneuf de Mazenc. He has stayed there several times in the past few years & has invited us to join him. We would like to go for the last 2 weeks

It will give us the opportunity of re-visiting some of our favourite places in the area and the chance to find new favourites in Provence, over in the Ardeche and along the Rhone. Plus we will be visiting Provence in a different season from our 2 previous trips.

The only issue is one of our work schedules - not mine, I've been retired for 7 years.

Nice topic, Kathy!
Me 'n my little girl will be in Paris in early July, and it's her first time there, so we are both totally juiced about it!

While we are in Paris, I hope to make another daytrip to Chartres and walk the labyrinth inside the cathedral, again. I've thought about staying overnight there, just for the experience.

I'd also like to take TiaD to Vimy to visit the Canadian War Memorial there, so we should have a very full 2 weeks.

"The quality of life is so different in France. There is the possibility of living a simple life."
~ Johnny Depp
Brenda

Great subject!

After agonizing for months, I just booked the Studio Mazarine(Parisbestlodge)apartment for the month of September.I have always wanted to take an intensive French language course in France and I'm finally going to do it. Haven't chosen the school yet but I'm working on it. Any suggestions? Husband Bill will work on his scetching while I study. This is the first time we've rented an apartment so commiting to a whole month was scary. I'll keep you posted on how it works out.

Kathy

I live in the Loire Valley south of Blois, but I have travel plans for next year too. I'd like to go to Burgundy -- the Morvan region, specifically, and the towns of Château-Chinon and Autun. Maybe Avallon and Vézelay too. That's countryside that is totally different from our gentle Loire Valley landscapes. If anybody knows of a good gîte I might rent, I'd love to know about it. I need one that allows dogs... Or who knows, maybe we'll go camping.

Have you checked our reviews for that region, Ken?

I hope you do go to Burgundy before we do. Your trip photos and blog descriptions are always terrific!

I had such a wonderful time in Paris the last few days of August into early September, I'm contemplating doing it again in 2008! Just thinking at this point ... but thinking seriously. I loved the long, long lovely days - and the city didn't feel crowded. (Except on Rue de Rivoli!) Of course, it won't be the same without the rest of the Mod Squad there ...

I also want to get back to Normandy, staying south of Honfleur this time so I can finally visit Mont St. Michel - maybe an overnight there. A couple of days in Rouen is on my radar, too.

So many fab places, so little vacation time!

Chris, thanks for the link to the listings for Burgundy. They all seems to be bigger than what we would be looking for, but it's fun to look at them anyway.

We will be spending eleven days in Paris over the Christmas season this year, staying in the VRBO apartment #83284. We'll be able to spend Christmas with our children and our granddaughter Yuki. We have tickets for Tannhäuser at the Bastille opera on Christmas eve.How good does that sound? Then we'll be back in our little maison secondaire in the Dordogne starting this year in late May so that we can rebuild our little garden shed. We'll probably be there into mid-August for this, our 16th year. By the way, we will be taking the non-stop Airfrance flight from Seattle-Tacoma to Paris this December, a flight that was recently (last June) added at Sea-Tac. As I think about having survived a serious heart-attack this year, I am more than ever grateful for my family, for France, and for Slowtravel friends.

Dennis Michael Martin

Hello Dennis, Christmas in Paris sounds great. Not to mention May in the Dordogne. Maybe there will be some way for us to meet on one of those trips. Ken

In January, 2008, my husband and I are taking a long-delayed (40 years late!) "semester abroad" abroad in Paris. If the long-stay visa gods smile upon us, we will stay longer. (Thank you Kaydee for posting all your old information on the exhausting subject of the long-stay visa.) We had expected to begin our Paris adventure in the spring, but we sold our house in one week and need to be outta here by December 15. Go figger in this real estate market. We will use interest on the house proceeds to pay for the furnished apartment we booked for three months with an option to book for six months and hopefully beyond. While we will not be taking any jobs away from French citizens, we do have some writing gigs lined up from this side of the Atlantic. "Have laptop. Will travel." We do plan to travel within France and probably to Italy (Thank you, Jim Zurer for your expert advice on Sicily last year.) We will try to take our French up a few levels--perhaps an immersion over the summer if we wind up staying beyond our "semester." On the home front, we're plowing through the Rosette Stone, Level 3. We're renting French comedies and watching them with French subtitles. This takes our minds off packing, long-stay visa Catch 22s, and scary thoughts about coming face to face with the officials at the embassy on October 23. (Anybody besides Kaydee see the problem here? It can take two months to get a long-stay visa. We have an apartment booked for January 1. Yes, we woudda, shoulda, coulda made the embassy appointment in the Pleistocene Age, but oops, we were busy getting our house ready to sell. We're probably "trop stupide" to be allowed into France.) My husband says he's going to get up at noon every day, head out to his favorite cafe for an expresso double, and see if Juliette Binoche has called off the order of protection against him. Thank goodness he says stuff like this regularly because after 27 years of living and working as freelancers in a house with three floors, we will be in a one-bedroom apartment, all we could afford with our tanking dollars. A bientot.

We are thinking of the Luberon/Provence for early June.....I can't wait! However the Languedoc is also in my radar. My family came from there in the 1600's.

I went through the long-stay visa process in 2003 at the French consulate in San Francisco. I was in a situation similar to yours, Scribos: my house sold in just four days and the people who made me an offer I couldn't refuse wanted me out in 30 days. So I had to scramble. I wanted to wait until the deal was done on the house sale before I applied for the visa, and then I didn't know how long it would take. It turned out to take two months. Only then could I schedule my departure for France, where the house I had bought was sitting empty in the middle of a very overgrown yard. It all worked out, though.

Nothing in 2008 unfortunately (we're thinking Vermont and Italy this time) but in 2009 I'll be returning to Paris with Sammi and my Mom (assuming Sammi doesn't change her mind again!). Can't wait.

I'm also hoping for a trip outside of Paris, in France sometime in 2010 - but that's really long range.

I'm waiting for enough miles to accrue to book my solo flight to Paris in late February. I plan to spend a week checking out some of the many places we've not gotten to in our last few trips and maybe doing something I don't do much of on trips with my husband -- shopping

After reading blogs from both Kathy and Marta, I'm trying to figure out how/when I can take an immersion French class next year - but then I start thinking my French is actually stronger than my Italian, and maybe I should go to Italy instead. Tough decisions ahead.

Judy

I just went back to read all these posts, and it sounds like we'll have many travelers to France next year. That will give us all a lot to talk about: questions to ask, stories and photos to share. I'm interested to see that several others are planning language study as part of their travels.

I'm looking forward to GTGs with other Slow Travelers in France next year. (Dennis, maybe we'll manage to make it to the Dordogne next summer. And that rental in Paris looks great.)

Kathy

We plan to spend some more time in France next year during our seven months of travel, but since we are still on this trip I haven't begun to think about when or where.

The Dordogne is a must for us as we have not spent time there yet and Provence and riveria call as well.

Maybe we will actually make a get together in France this year!

Sigh. Reading this thread makes me drool. I've been more of a lurking than participating ST'er for awhile--some may recall my enthused proclamations about moving to Paris when I returned last November from my most recent three week stay there.

I soon crept back into life with old dogs: feeling loving remorse that whatever travel plans I make await their passing. Well, Phoebe went down in my arms at the vet in June to a spleen tumor and now romps over the Rainbow Bridge. Her 'sister' Murphy remains, turning 15 and nearly lame with bone on bone arthritis, not living much of a dog's life but seemingly determined to not abandon me, sleeping most of the day and struggling to get up to go pee.

Then one day I read WT's blog entry on spending a month on Santorini in their camper, and was bit by the bug: *that's* what I want to do! Buy a camper and travel open ended, all over France and Europe, for as long as I want, with my new Vespa, to meander and take photos to my heart's content, visiting ST'ers wherever they may be, parking awhile to take French classes along the way. I can stay at my friend's house in south Paris (Courcouronnes) as a base, giving me a French 'residence'-- for what it will be worth in navigating the aggravations of getting a long stay visa.

And this is what I'm planning for 2008, or whenever sweet Murphy's body proclaims she's had enough.

I've been lost in characteristically obsessive research on motorhomes and the logistics of obtaining one to accommodate me and Buttercup, the Vespa--large enough to feel homey for a few years, but small enough to not feel like a gross monster--from a dealer who will manage registration and insurance for me. It's all an exciting, daunting blur at the moment.

I would like to read up on Kathy and Ken's experiences with obtaining the long stay visa, and will do a search on that. But if you guys have links to what's been written here, I'd be grateful.

Ken, I'm especially interested in your experience, as I'm in Marin County and will be navigating the San Francisco French Consulate, too. I don't think I'll be selling my house, but renting it out, and living on 2 rents plus Social Security--which will pose its own set of Consular problems, I'm sure.

Thanks to all here for endless inspiration and practical information and rewhetting my appetite for *very* sloooow travel. I hope I can meet some of you next year.

Karen

Karen, I don't know if the case for my getting a visa was normal or exceptional. The reason I say that is that I lived and worked in France off and on as a teacher over a 12-year period when I was younger. I had visas and cartes de séjour back then.

The French bureaucracy claims it never loses any paperwork, and now I think it's true. Day before yesterday I got a letter in the mail from a government office informing me that I will soon be eligible to collect French retirement benefits. Imagine my surprise. It's won't be much, but it means I'm in the system and have been for a long time.

When you get a visa, you never know why your application was approved. If it's rejected, they don't have to tell you on what grounds. I know someone whose application was rejected with no explanation. There didn't seem to be an easy way to find out why.

The requirement for a long-term visa is that you must prove you have sufficient resources or income to support yourself for the length of your proposed stay. That general means having the equivalent of the French minimum wage, which is not much (but as the dollar declines in value it keeps going up for us Americans).

I don't really know but I imagine that people who own property here must get more favorable treatment than those who don't. What I did was buy a house out here in the country for much less money than I could have ever gotten a house for in California. Then I sold my house in SF and applied for the visa. It worked.

Thanks, Ken. Indeed, your situation was far more fortuitous than mine for a visa. It seems to be luck of the draw.

Karen

Only the consulate can tell you what documentation you need to provide. I found nearly all the people I dealt with at the SF consulate to be cooperative and efficient.

I thought I would bump this thread from last fall and see who else has confirmed their plans for France in 2008.

Since I started this thread, we have confirmed a fairly-quick spring break trip in March: three nights in Paris and a week in Bonnieux.

We are also beginning to finalize our family's summer plans, looking now at arriving back in France in early June to do the two week Stevenson walk in the Cevennes/Ardeche. After that, we would take a few days to explore some new areas outside Provence, before heading to Bavaria and the Salzkammergut, two other areas of Europe that we love. Charley and Kelly would return home, but I would stay on to go to the language school in Aix again. I'm looking at staying for four weeks this time.

Anyone else have plans to update? And don't forget to post to the trip calendar. This is a great way to connect up with other Slow Travelers-- visitors and locals. Our Slow Travel GTGs have always been a highlight of our travels.

Kathy

We only have a week planned in France this year. We're going on a Greek Island Cruise in September and have added on an extra week at the end. 5 Nights in Aix en Provence and 2 nights in Paris before flying home. Sadly, that was the best we could do. Watch out for 2009

Den and I will be back for our 2nd trip to Paris for 2 weeks this May. We plan to relax a little more than we did last year on our first trip(so much to see, so little time!)

We've also started talking (very tentatively) about retiring in Paris in about 12 years. This could be the first of a long series of fact-finding missions.

Jo

We will spend the last half of May in Paris and the Dordogne. We're also taking the long way back to CGD and swinging through Brittany and Normanday for a few days on the way back. All hotels are booked but I have a restaurant list that's way longer than we have time for, so the next task is to work on that!

We had planned to go to Croatia but when looking for flights I came across a one from Seattle to CDG for $710 ($595+tax) that we just could not pass up! And we are so in love with France these days (it's our 3rd trip in 4 years) that we don't mind putting Croatia off.

It's nice to get an idea of what other STers are doing, as we are trying to decide ourselves. We have the first half of July to work with, and we know Paris and the Luberon, but we aren't sure where else. It's a toss up between more of France (possibly Languedoc?) or back to Venice, or maybe Rome. There's something very good about just France, but we really miss Italy... The tough decisions of a traveler...

I'm back to Paris again this year. This time it's my daughter and I for a whole week, May 3-10(3 days in London to start). We can't wait. I think Paris gets better each time you go. It's like something draws you there....this will the the 3rd year in a row and I still need more!!

This time I really plan to slow down and just savour the city. We're staying in this great apartment http://www.chemouni.com/saintlouis/
in a great location on Ile St. Louis.

Then we (husband and another couple) have tentatively planned a couple of weeks in June or the fall. At least one of those weeks will be spent on Corsica. So researching that trip too.

Linda

We're off to France for 3 weeks on May 15 (already counting the days). With another couple we're spending a week in Paris (at an apartment in Palais Royale in the 1er), a week in a house in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, and a week in an apartment in St. Jean Cap Ferrat on Cote d'Azur. Wife and I are refreshing our high school/college French with classes at University of Tennessee, but based on our experience in Paris in 2005, it's really just to make our trip more fun.

Sam

Hi Linda,

You will absolutely love Corsica. My cousin-in-law's wife is from Ajaccio. We were there for the wedding and managed to do some touring around the southern half of the island. It's not called the "Isle de Beauté" for nothing !

They are in the midst of constructing a gorgeous looking villa (second home/rental) just west of Ajaccio and overlooking the Med. Needless to say, we are pretty psyched by this development...

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try to answer.

-Kevin

Kevin that great to know! It does look beautiful. We tried to work it into our big holiday in 2006 to Italy, but the logistics of getting to and from there was just going to use up to much time so we passed on it.

Is there a better side, such as a leeward vs windward side of the island, weatherwise to stay on? We've got our eye on this place http://www.alba-marina.com/sejour-pinarello.html . Would you consider spending 2 weeks on Corsica rather than just one?

Thanks Kevin....it's great to always find someone with tons of info!

Linda.

Linda,

The Ile St Louis apartment looks amazing! Please let us know how you liked it, it may be on our list next time.

Have a great trip, we get into Paris the day you leave.

Jo

Months ago I asked your advice for our "Mop
up Tour of France" and now I've finalized our
plans for May 17 - June 21.

A week in an apartment in Honfleur to explore Basse Normandia. Then we move on to a gîte
on a farm outside of Rochfort en Terre in
Brittany. Another gîte in Lurcy Levis in the
Allier area near Nevers.

We're going to Kerry's farm near Barga for
a little infusion of Italy then we end up
in yet another gîte in Bar sur Loup.

Guess it's time I brushed up on my French -
especially since Dh is fervently uni-lingual!

"normandia"? Sort like Cascadia?

Hi all,

Well, we will finally be returning, after 7 long years, to our beloved Paris in late March/early April for 8 days! Me, DW, and our two not-so-little ones (9 and 11 now, were 2 and 4 last trip).

We're staying in this apartment at the corner of rue de Ciseaux and rue du Four in the 6th:St. Germain apartment It doesn't look bad, and it was actually within our budget! We had booked another apartment, only to start reading horror stories about it on Fodors.com, and the apartment was ultimately pulled off the market. But I think we did OK on this one.

And we are all but crawling out of our skin with anticipation for that first walk after dropping off our bags, over to the rue de Seine and the Champion supermarche, etc., for "supplies!"

And get this - the kids want to blog! Hmmm. Bye for now.

Dan

After spending the last week in June in Piemonte at the Bauer B&B with STers Jan (jgk) and Kenny, we will head to Provence for a week (June 29 - July 7) at Kevin Widrow's B&B, Le Mas Perreal. It's our first trip to Provence and we can't wait!

Cecelia

we are heading back to the Dordogne for another week made delightful by Sue and Peter Clark at Le Peytol (reviewed by Giny) - wonderful gite and host and hostess

then east a bit to the Lot for a week and then finish up with 2-3 days around Albi before flying out of Toulouse

I've learned to keep our travels in a tight area to save travel time and really get to know an area as best we can - after seeing most of France we really like the Dordogne

CKENB - check out WWW.bnb-gite-leclos.com - wonderful gite and B&B around Beaune - wonderfully done and Vero is a great hostess - I reviewed our stay with her in the gite reviews as well - check it out - tell her Dale sent ya!! love your blog - we have a very nice week around Chinon 2 yrs ago

have fun all! Dale

quote:

a week (June 29 - July 7) at Kevin Widrow's B&B

A week at Le Mas Perreal in lavender season -- sounds like heaven to me!

Leaving April 15 for 6 weeks in France.A couple of days in Paris, then Paris to Avignon, pick up a leased Citroen, (as we did 2006 and it was great)overnight in Arles, cos we missed the market last year, a week in a house in St Remy, a week travelling to the Dordogne. A week in a house in Le Bugue, a week in the Loire, a couple of days in Versailles and then an apartment in Paris for a week. Should just about be over the 24 hour flight to get there and ready for another one to get home! I am counting down the days!
Sue

quote:

Originally posted by The Rhodes:
I'm back to Paris again this year. This time it's my daughter and I for a whole week, May 3-10(3 days in London to start). We can't wait. I think Paris gets better each time you go. It's like something draws you there....this will the the 3rd year in a row and I still need more!!

This time I really plan to slow down and just savour the city. We're staying in this great apartment http://www.chemouni.com/saintlouis/
in a great location on Ile St. Louis.

Then we (husband and another couple) have tentatively planned a couple of weeks in June or the fall. At least one of those weeks will be spent on Corsica. So researching that trip too.

Linda

OMG! That is one beautiful apartment!

Oh Leslie.....we are so excited about being able to stay there . I found it last year and it wasn't available for the dates we needed then, so bookmarked it for another day...and yeehaw...! This time I'm really going to just take my time wandering aimlessly around, stopping at cafes, in and out of shops and spending a good hour or two in Shakespeare & Co looking for a good book to enjoy on that great terrace with a nice glass of vin . We thought we'd splurge on the apartment a bit too because who knows when we'll get the chance to do a mother/daughter vacation again.

I will definitely write up a review when we get back.....but yikes...then everybody might want to stay there!

Sauveur has been great to deal with so, so far, so good.

Linda

We are heading back for our 3rd trip to France.

This time, it's the Cote d'Azur for 10 days. We'll spend a few nights in Nice at the Hotel Suisse, then we have an apartment rental for 7 nights in Mougins. The apartment isn't anything exotic, it was an available week through a timeshare (my home timeshare is in the Dominican Republic). Just basic, but so affordable! We were able to get two tickets all the way to Nice with frequent flier miles, so this is an economical trip for us.

Our main focus is the outdoors. We love day hiking and gardens.

Cameron

We're starting out with a week here in Pommard, near Beaune, toward the end of September. Then moving on to Bonnieux for almost 2 weeks, staying in Le Lieutenant apartment here -- many thanks to Margie and Larry for helping me pick that apartment. And ending up somewhere along the Cote d'Azur for a week -- if friends can join us and split the cost, I'm very tempted by this apartment in Old Antibes. My only regret: missing Paris this trip!

We arrive May 23 for 3 weeks. We begin in Dordogne and then move to Provence. We will also spend some time in Switzerland.
I haven't finalized anything except flights.
Because we leave our car in a different country than we start, I'm still researching my options.
We have been to Paris and Normandy before, but this is our first trip north.

I loved reading about what everyone is doing!

We will be in France in June after 4 (too quick) nights in Italy. We (my husband, 12yo, 15mo baby, and I) will be in and around Bordeaux for a week and then off to a week in Paris at VRBO #113302. I haven't booked the hotel in the city of Bordeaux yet, but I am staying at the same places I have stayed 2 other times in the Medoc (Le Luc at www.achener.com I love this place!) and Auberge de la Commanderie in Saint-Emilion.

In Paris, I know we will do the tourist sites for our 12yo and do a day trip to Normandy. I am tossing around a day trip to Champagne as well. In Bordeaux, the only thing we will book ahead are a couple of Chateau tours/wine tastings.

I can't wait!!