The Harvest Starts in Languedoc
August 30, 2010 by tony · Leave a Comment
Start of the harvest-
Machines pick most of the grapes-
But some hide for us
All around us are vineyards, for the next few weeks the harvesting will start very early, before daylight and grapes brough to the wineries.
stay with us in Villa Roquette and see the wine develop, stay long enough and you can taste the ‘paradis’ and soon the new wines.
Summer arrives in Villa Roquette
May 22, 2010 by tony · Leave a Comment
Unusually, today I have done nothing at home in Villa Roquette – I should be concreting,plumbing, tiling, painting as well as writing blog posts, advertising, marketing, in addition to researching properties and creating new websites – but, I have just sat down, put my feet up and done – nothing – diddly squit – until now as I am obviously writing about doing nothing which is something I suppose.
My excuse is that yesterday I set, mixed and laid a few tons of concrete for the new apartment terrace, I got carried away as it was such a great day and just kept on ’till I ran out of gravel, so today I have done nothing 
It has been a good day for doing nothing, hot, calm, dry and sunny – a perfect day in the South of France – our guests are charming and have also done nothing, jut relaxing by the pool, Miranda and Jack have done nothing as well, just getting a tan – Carole of course has been working hard bringing cups of tea and feeding us all.
So now for the summer – can I manage a few months of this, mix a little concrete, feed the fish, walk the dogs – yes, I think I can.
So now to get ready for the winter – I will be marketing long winter breaks in our apartments, or our B&B at super fantastic special rates. We had a smashing couple for three months last winter and it would be great to share out home again with long-stay guests from October through to April (or longer – whatever) – the (very important) central heating operates fine – and winter barbecues or Carole’s great Table d’Hôte meals are wondrous with the local good red wines.
Join us for baked oysters and Champagne on the terraces this Christmas
Property Prices in France
May 20, 2010 by tony · Leave a Comment
With a stronger dollar and a weaker euro, interest in buying a home in France is strong. For me, having lived here for 20 years, it is obvious that France, especially Southern France, is the best place to live.
If you are thinking about buying property in France then the first question is – how much does property cost in France. A better question, perhaps is – how much do homes sell for in France.
All French property is sold and valued by the area of usable living space in the main house, not garages or utility rooms, but main rooms, bedrooms, living rooms etc. This is shown as the price per square meter, it does not include the land or outbuildings. This habitable area is very precise and will be shown on the legal documents, tax assessments and all paperwork for a property. All property in France is sold through a Notaire and this price is reported and the cost per square meter is calculated from actual sales made.
There are now a number of websites offering help for you to find the price of French real estate. I have written about pap.fr before they have search form you can identify the cost paid per square meter.
On Facebook today I discovered from a really good blogger PollyVousFrancais another really slick site http://www.meilleursagents.com/ – it even has a mobile app wher you can point your phone at some proeprties in France and get the price properties have sold for in that location.
It is important to stress that these are not valuation or even estimates of the price of a specific property in France – but aggregated figures on historical sales.
The two sites above are OK for a quick snapshot of price indication, but If you are thinking of buying property in France do some deeper research into trends from sites like….
Immoprix
Paris Notaires
National Institute of Statistics and Economic studies
Notexpert
Other sites good for researching data on properties and places in France include….
http://www.lescommunes.com/
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/FR/
The botom line is that any property is only worth what someone is prepare to pay for it – but don’t make the mistake of comparing prices in other countries with prices in France.
On the Trail of Pilgrims in Languedoc
May 1, 2010 by tony · Leave a Comment
For centuries the aim of many Christians has been to make a pilgrimage to Compostela in Spain – over hundreds of years, millions of people have traveled by foot along tens of thousands of miles of tracks and paths through Europe to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried.
A great many of these routes – nearly always off the old Roman and main roads – crisscross the landscape of Languedoc in Southern France.
All along these routes a huge service industry evolved and today I still see earnest looking pilgrims with floppy hats tied on with string and a sturdy stick to support them, striding up ancient, carefully restored, pathways in the middle of nowhere.
Languedoc has many chapels, priories, churches and other historic buildings which are still the target for travelers. Many are on sites which have been important habitations for thousands of years. These sites offered security, shelter and sustenance although today they are often remote from the main roads and large towns – which is probably why they were safe in the first place and why they have survived, often intact.
An interesting site about an hour from us in Montblanc is the Priory St Michel de Grandmont , built on the site of far older beliefs and cultures, it offers the visitor a glimpse of life as a medieval monk?
Maquis Bir Hakeim
February 14, 2010 by tony · Leave a Comment
In the second world war the French resistance fought the occupation of France. near us there are many memorials, this one for the Maquis is near Moreze…
A warm and Sunny Day in February
It was not a “Dark and Stormy Night” – but a bright and Sunny day today, so we went to the seaside to collect some seashells for my Mum.
Not much more to say really except “Wish You Were Here” and show some photos or Marseillan Beach and Marseillan Town (the beach is on the Mediterranean and the Port is slightly inland on a huge inland sea-lake.
Marseillan Beach on the Mediterranean in Languedoc
Marseillan harbour Entrance Languedoc France
Marseillan Port
Front Entrance for Villa Roquette
We collected plenty of sea-shells, but could not get a stick-of-rock for my Mum.
Eiffel Eyeful
January 4, 2010 by tony · Leave a Comment
- Image via Wikipedia
I thought I had written about this before. When you are in Paris you can book your ticket for the Eiffel Tower online and print it out. This official service is at Tour-Eiffel.fr
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Beziers the Gateway to the South of France
Our home in the village of Montblanc is between the towns of Beziers and Pezenas. We are a few minutes from the Mediterranean, and are now the focus of a communications network of airports, motorways and high speed rail connection – yet we nestle in a calm and tranquil river valley which has not changed for centuries.
- Image by tibchris via Flickr
I am busy sorting out the marketing for our Apartments and Bed and Breakfast accommodation in our home and
we are offering some great deals and discounts for 2010 in our January Sale.
These are exciting times, the new Motorway from Paris, the A75, a
rrives a few kilometers from us. You cross the highest viaduct in the world, often above the clouds, at Millau.
For centuries, over 800 years, after the crusade against the Cathars, Languedoc was a forgotten backwater, lost in time. The combination of sun, soil and steam-trains in the 19th century brought enormous wealth to this quiet paradise, but not many visitors. The Internet has changed this – in under 20 years, Languedoc has become not only the most desirable place to live in France, but the wines, once considered a vast lake of  cheap plonk, are now rated as some of the best in the world. The sun shines longer in Languedoc and communications are the best in France with the best road, rail and air connections in France.
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- Image via Wikipedia
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At the center of Languedoc is the city of Beziers. An ancient Roman town which still has bullfights in the arena each year. Famous for the birthplace of the Canal du Midi, a World heritage Site and also for the massacre of thousands in the crusades against the Cathars in the 14th century.
Beziers is coming back to life with a new airport and new ideas to show the world how Languedoc became the cradle of Western Civilisation in the age of the courts of love of the troubadours.
A new website from Beziers begins to show the return of this cradle of enlightenment.
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- Image via Wikipedia
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French Village Transport
November 12, 2009 by tony · Leave a Comment
There are over 30,000 villages in France, each one has a unique ‘personality’ – I always advise people coming here, looking for a place to live, to first and foremost, find the village they like, not the house. Two villages only a few hundred yards apart can be like chalk and cheese.
In our region, Languedoc, villages are all about 3 to 5 km from each other almost on a neat gridlike pattern, this is a comfortable walk and many a happy day can be had walking (at first) from bar to bar, cafe to cafe, discovering the countryside through the vineyards.
Between main towns and cities, public transport by bus is good, but the last leg to the village is not so simple. Most villages have very few bus services a day, often only two a day. So a car is essential if you plan to make frequent trip to discover the hundreds of unique places around Languedoc and the South of France.
I have just had an email exchange about this which is typical of the questions I am asked and where we try to help….
===
Tony (et al),
Your place looks pretty good from here. We’re very interested in coming to see you in June of 2010, but a few questions:
We were hoping to spend a week in the north, then finish our tour de France with a week in the south.
How accessible are you to rail? (web link doesn’t work) How about plane, if we wanted to fly out nearby, instead of traveling back to Paris or wherever to get home (US).
How about cyclomoteur rental? Anything close? I remember my old Cady fondly. We’d like to be able to get around a bit.
Jerry
===
Hello Jerry
We would love to welcome you next June.
The main rail station of Agde is only a few minutes from us, the TGV goes directly from Paris regularly every day and takes just under 4 hours.
There are flights to the US from Montpellier airport (Delta Airlines, via Paris), under an hours drive from us, and regular flights to Paris from Beziers airport just 20 minutes from us.
The are plenty of cycle rentals around – I will look into cyclomotor rentals, we have never been asked for this before.
Would happily lend you the Cady, but I don’t have it anymore, but at 5 miles to the gallon you needed the 74 gallon tank it had.
I look forward to hearing from you
Tony
===
Tony,
thanks for the reply. I’ll look at the TGV. I think you are saying that I can fly into Paris and change to a flight that will take me to Montpelier or Beziers, or vice versa. I’ll look at that also. Is there a good bus route available to get from either Montpelier or Beziers to Nizas?
My Cady, by the way, was a moped by the people who made the Mobylette. I don’t remember the gas tank being that large. I was thinking that we might enjoy the scenery more if we were putting along rather than pumping along. Do they still make Solexes? I have no fond memories of them, but they worked, pretty much.
We’d be coming to France the first week of June and then coming south the second week. Since you are offering such wonderful terms, we might play with that a bit, but I’m bringing my daughter, and I wanted her to see more than just one place, if you see what I mean. At the same time, we didn’t want to spend two weeks rushing from place to place, so…
Cheers,
Jerry
===
Hi Jerry,
Our home is in Montblanc a village not far from Nizas, where we used to live. International Flights to Paris arrive at Charles de Gaulle (CDG) – most internal flights are to Orly, the connection is not simple and can take a long time so it is important to make sure any connecting flight is to CDG – Delta, I think is the only one with the same plane to USA from Montpellier (MPL).
The TGV rail links are superb, inexpensive, fast, comfortable and clean – city center to city center – they are quicker than plane all over France.
I was talking about a 1948 Cadillac I used to have and posted on Facebook this week – the mobylettes are much cheaper to run.
Unless you stay city center, where a car is useless and a liability, in just about everywhere else in France a car is important. Public transport, away from railway stations, only works between main cities with perhaps a twice daily link to most villages.
I agree that seeing the countryside by bike is a great way to explore any area of France and there is just so much to see in even a very small area that you do not have to make huge journeys – I have not found any rentals for Mobylettes yet – the Solex stopped in France a long time ago – but they did make them in Russia or somewhere and imported them for amusement a couple of years ago.
Adge rail station is not far from us, we could meet you there, but you should think of hiring transport to discover any part of France outside a city center.
Yes, we are offering some fantastic bargains as we are just starting gain with new accommodation.
Happy to help in any way
Best wishes
Tony
It Is Good To Be Back
August 21, 2009 by tony · 3 Comments
What a week – Friday already and for the first time in over a year I have sat at my desk every day to begin to relearn how to use a computer.
One big change is that I am now all Apple – so most of the programs I have been using for over twelve years are not relevant, new text editors, new file management systems – I’m not sure my brain can cope with this – the big benefit is that I no longer have to suffer the slings and arrows of Microsoft – I once thought I could not use a computer without Firefox, but,believe me, Safari rocks.
Where have I been since last June? For the first three months I was trying to help a company who rent luxury apartments in Paris, I thought of them as friends and believed they had a good service and system, boy oh boy was I wrong. After three months it was as clear as crystal that they had no intention of paying their debts and the information I had been given was a pack of lies. So back to the sunny South of France and I totally immersed myself in getting our rambling old house into a good, high quality commercial venture. From next week you can come to our home in Montblanc (by the Mediterranean not Mont Blanc in the bumpy bit in the middle of Europe).  I have started to build a website describing what we can offer at VillaRoquette.com We hope to share a glass of wine (or three) with you here soon.
An interesting year – but it is good to be back again.