Clé France

France is well known for her food, whether buying to prepare at home, or eating out, bargains are always to be had. When buying fresh produce, nothing is nicer than to wander round a small weekly village markets. They always have oodles of local products, usually bio (organic) which would make any culinary expert drool and it leaves the common or garden cook totally spoilt for choice.

Eating out in France is always a pleasurable experience.

You can still get a five course lunch with a bottle of the proprietor's best red or white for between 10 and 12 euros and every mouthful is a delight. There are traditional (and totally erroneous) views of the French held by many English and the word 'boorish' is usually included in them. On the contrary, visitors to this part of the world will be bowled over by the welcome, charm and politeness of the locals.

It's like returning to an age when people had time to stop and talk to each other, whether they were acquainted or not.

People entering a bar or shop will always say a general bonjour to all present.

The lack of crime leaves the local gendarmes with little else to do but patrol the roads and hassle motorists. Having said that, they don't get much joy there either. The roads in France, certainly in this neck of the woods, are empty in comparison to English ones. Driving becomes a pleasure once more, rather than a chore.

You can drive for miles and not see another car, and traffic jams are just unknown to the local populace. On top of that, the French have this charming habit of flashing their lights to oncoming traffic whenever there's a gendarme lurking in the bushes. The result is that cars chug past bleary-eyed, yawning gendarmes at two or three kilometres per hour under the speed limit.

Lower Normandy, Brittany & Mayenne border region.

This region of northern France is definitely for anyone looking for a stress free holiday home or holiday. Bargains in wine and food are plentiful, the air is clear and clean and it's a place of peace and tranquillity. It's an area full of charm and restfulness with an abundance of the more peaceful hobbies like pony riding, fishing and wandering through enormous forests and it's only a couple of hours south of the port of Caen.

Fraser Blake, 70, author of 'Dear Chips' and 'A Rant Too Far?' grew up in Africa, was at school in Scotland, and worked for the British South Africa Police in Southern Rhodesia. He has taught English in Saudi Arabia and sold and renovated hundreds of properties in Northern France.

In 1998 Fraser was selling houses in the Mayenne department of the Pays de la Loire region and so was the obvious choice, when Cle France was started, to be their first agent on the ground in France. In retirement he writes, blogs, cooks, drinks wine, and hosts to dinner unlimited numbers of ex-pats.

Always on hand with a viewpoint, Fraser is going to share his views on France, the French and the British, and other people who buy in France. Sometimes informative, sometimes funny, painfully true, outrageously opinionated but always entertaining so we hope it adds a slightly different dimension to the usual normality of searching through the fantastic properties for sale on the Cle France website.

If you want more? then follow the links above where you can buy Fraser's published books.

Good morning David and Sharon,

I cannot thank you two enough for your help and support during the whole process from initial enquires to arranging viewings and the continual and personal support you give during the lengthy and bureaucratic buying processes (in France). Even though we had done it all before, each purchase is different and legislation is constantly changing and to have you two as back-up to ease us through the procedure and answer queries was just so very comforting.

Also your relationship with your Agent here was of obvious and mutual benefit to all parties and a further source of information and reassurance.

If I can single out your star quality it is that you always reply by return to questions and queries - even when it is to just say that you will find out and get back - which you always do. 

Many thanks and best wishes,

Linda.

Buying a renovation project in France can be exiting and Linda is enjoying owning a house in deepest Lower Normandy, it is nice when clients like Linda take advantage of all the services we offer, no query is too small and by everyone keeping each other infomred the process runs smoothly.

We know what the Romans did for us and we often see TV shows in our own countries on what our forefathers did for us but what have the French given us in the fields of technology, science and medicine in the last hundred years.

Cle France can give you many reasons why you should buy a house in France and lots of information about the buying process when considering a French property purchase, we can even give you reasons why French neighbours are the best but today and in the following weeks we are going to take a short look at France’s Contributions to the World!

In part 1 of this mini-series, we looked at six of the greatest French contributions to the world. Today, let’s look at few more you might find interesting. This series is meant not only to be informative but also to help you cultivate a deeper appreciation of French culture and its impact on world history.

Image by Nicolas Raymond on Flickr

1. Science:

The quantity and scale of scientific discoveries has grown exponentially in the last two hundred years. Each new discovery opens the door to new ones that give us greater insight into the way things work and often improves our lives. Henri Becquerel was a French physicist responsible for discovering radioactivity while Pierre and Marie Curie greatly advanced our knowledge of radioactivity through their discovery of radium and polonium. All three were the recipients of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903. Microbiologist and chemist Louis Pasteur developed vaccines for rabies, chicken cholera and anthrax and pioneered the process of pasteurization to which he lent his name.

2. Système International d’Unités (International System of Units):

Yes, it was France that developed the metric system, the most widespread system of measurement in the world today. The system was devised in 1795 to replace the irrational and confusing system of weights and measures at the time that comprised several thousand units of measure. The idea was to develop a system based on multiples of ten and thus the mètre (meter), gramme (gram) and litre (liter) became the basic units of measure that remain the international standard in the 21st century.

3. Cinématographie (Cinematography):

Brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière developed the very first commercially viable projector called the Cinématographe in 1895. This marked the dawn of movie history. The brothers would go on to produce forty short films in 1896 alone.

4. Braille: ouis Braille became blind at the age of three and twelve years later developed a system of writing and printing for the blind while attending the Institution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles (National Institute for Blind Children) in Paris in 1824. Braille consists of sixty-three characters used as part of a six-dot system made of cells and is the most widespread writing system for the blind in use today.

5. Montgolfière et Parachute (Hot air balloon and Parachute):

You might be surprised to learn that these too methods of aerial transport were invented by the French. Like the Lumière brothers, Joseph-Michel and his brother Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier were another pair of inventors who in 1783 successfully demonstrated the very first manned flight. The balloon flew over Paris and remained airborne twenty-five minutes. Although famed Italian polymath Leonardo Da Vinci came up with the idea of a parachute in 1483 (and the Chinese may even have invented it centuries before) it was French aeronaut Louis-Sébastien Lenormand who, in 1783, performed the first successful parachute landing that made parachuting a viable feat.

6. Photographie (Photography):

French inventor Nicéphore Niépce can be credited with creating the first permanent photographic image c. 1826 by way of the heliographic (sun drawing) process that used light to produce pictures. Niépce’s interest in lithography led him to develop this method as a way to compensate for his lack of artistic ability. The exposure time lasted a total of eight hours but his invention paved the way for future development of the photographic process.

Many of these French inventions have shaped the world as we know it today.

The next time you watch a movie, take a photograph, or use the metric system, take a moment to remember the origins of these inventions and the ways they have enhanced your life. Thanks to Niépce, we can capture moments in time and cherish memories through photographs for many years to come.

Thanks to les frères Lumière (the Lumière brothers), we can be entertained, informed and moved by motion pictures. Because of Louis Pasteur, we now have vaccines against certain deadly diseases while the contributions of the Curies and Becquerel have opened the door to breakthroughs in chemistry and nuclear physics.

Of course, there are many more inventions attributed to the French but it would take a book to explore them all in detail. So join me in saying “Merci, la France!” (Thank you, France!)

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

We know what the Romans did for us and we often see TV shows in our own countries on what our forefathers did for us but what have the French given us in the fields of technology, science and medicine in the last hundred years.

Cle France can give you many reasons why you should buy a house in France and lots of information about the buying process when considering a French property purchase, we can even give you reasons why French neighbours are the best but today and in the following weeks we are going to take a short look at France’s Contributions to the World!

The 20th and 21st centuries have proven to be fascinating periods in history.

There have been greater advances in the last hundred years than in all previous centuries combined. We live in a world where we can communicate with people across the globe in real time; where we can travel to the most remote parts of the planet; and where we can experience first-hand distant cultures that people for centuries didn’t even know existed. We have access to any piece of information, not to mention hours of entertainment, all within the palm of our hand. It’s easy to take all of this for granted but everything we come into contact with has a “history” of its own. It has evolved over a number of years, even decades or centuries to become what it is today.

The course of human civilization has been tumultuous since its inception. Cultures have taken shape independently from one another. Some have disappeared completely due to wars and disease. Each country or culture that exists today has contributed to the human experience in some way. The luxuries and conveniences we live with were often borne out of necessity but many times out of sheer curiosity. You could spend a lifetime studying the contributions of a single country and still not cover everything.

So what has France contributed to the world? More than you might think. Let’s take a look…

1. La Gastronomie Française (French Gastronomy):

The art of French cuisine has a long and storied history dating back to the Moyen Age (Middle Ages). The stereotypical “French chef” you see in many cartoons is, like many stereotypes, simply an exaggeration of la vérité (the truth). Haute Cuisine (High Cooking) is practiced by the best hotels and restaurants throughout France where food is treated as an art form not only in its preparation but in its presentation. Le Guide Michelin continues to set high culinary standards with its system of awarding stars to the world’s finest restaurants and Le Cordon Bleu (The Blue Ribbon) established in 1895 in Paris is the school to attend for ambitious chefs who want to learn from the best.

2. La Mode (Fashion):

Although the idea of fashion dates back to the earliest civilizations, fashion as we know it today began in France in the 17th century in the courts of King Louis XIV. Haute Couture (High Fashion) became a symbol of prestige and individuality among aristocrats who spent extravagant amounts of money on tailored clothing. Designs elements and coordinated ensembles established in French courts influenced courts in other countries and these styles would eventually trickle down to the masses. Queen Marie-Antoinette became the country’s foremost fashionista during her short reign. Today, many of the most prestigious and renown fashion labels are indeed French: Chanel, Vuitton, Hermès, Dior, etc.

3. Ballet:

Much like fashion, theatrical dance rose to prominence in the courts of Louis XIV. An avid dancer himself, the king established the Académie Royale de Danse (Royal Dance Academy) in 1661 devoted exclusively to the study of ballet. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, France remained at the forefront of ballet education.

4. Littérature (Literature):

Literature cannot be attributed to one country in particular, but France has produced its share of prolific auteurs (authors) whose works have been translated into dozens of languages, made into plays, adapted to the silver screen and have permeated popular culture in many western countries. Victor Hugo is an icon of the Romantic literary movement famous for Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame among others. Alexandre Dumas was another notable figure of literary Romanticism and author of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. Flaubert, Zola, Balzac, Proust, Verne, Saint-Exupéry, La Fontaine, Baudelaire and many others have penned classics that have stood the test of time and continue to be held in high esteem throughout the Western world.

5. Philosophie (Philosophy):

Philosophy began in the days of Ancient Greece with Socrates, Plato and Aristotle but France has been a great contributor to modern thought over the last four hundred years beginning with René Descartes, a scientist, philosopher and mathematician known as the “Father of Modern Philosophy.” Denis Diderot is responsible for creating the first encyclopedia while François-Marie Arouet who took Voltaire as his nom de plume (pen name) wrote works on history, poetry, prose, and science. Both of these men were forward-thinkers during the Siècle des Lumières (Age of Enlightenment) who advocated for the separation of church and state and became a voice for the disenfranchised populace.

6. Impressionnisme (Impressionism):

Impressionism is a quintessential French art movement that developed in Paris in the late 19th century. Paintings of the Impressionist movement were characterized by the transient use of light and color to portray subjects. Accuracy was eschewed in favor of a more free-flowing style of painting that emphasized the artist’s use of texture and tone manipulation. Famous Impressionists included Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Édouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, and Edgar Degas among others.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

Reports in the British press and on various television channels that the British are getting fed up with the thoughtless, noisy, intrusive, and discourteous people next door, prompt me to list a dozen good reasons why French neighbours are the best.

French neighbours are the best becasue...

1. they always smile, look you in the eye, and say bonjour

2. neighbours in the country will regularly make a gift of vegetables or fruit from their garden - often just leaving it on the doorstep

3. any little disputes are usually settled over a bottled of claret

4. they are always very grateful for any assistance they receive

5. they are always more than willing to help out whenever help is needed

6. they don't laugh at your funny accent and mistakes as you try manfully to master their language

7. they are always delightful company at a soiree

8. they are often a wonderful source of cheap goodies – for example a supplier of excellent Calvados

9. they will keep an eye on your property whether you ask them or not and contact you if ever there is a problem

10. they are always an invaluable advisory service on all aspects of gardening, again whether you ask them or not!!

11. they will always treat a foreigner with nothing but kindness and consideration

12. and finally they are respectful and neighbourly at all times : les voisins parfait!!

You may also like to read "Do the French mind having British neighbours"

If you want more? then follow the links above, in the images, where you can buy Fraser's published books.

Fraser Blake, 70, author of 'Dear Chips' and 'A Rant Too Far?' grew up in Africa, was at school in Scotland, and worked for the British South Africa Police in Southern Rhodesia. He has taught English in Saudi Arabia and sold and renovated hundreds of properties in Northern France.

In 1998 Fraser was selling houses in the Mayenne department of the Pays de la Loire region and so was the obvious choice, when Cle France was started, to be their first agent on the ground in France. In retirement he writes, blogs, cooks, drinks wine, and hosts to dinner unlimited numbers of ex-pats.

Always on hand with a viewpoint, Fraser is going to share his views on France, the French and the British, and other people who buy in France. Sometimes informative, sometimes funny, painfully true, outrageously opinionated but always entertaining so we hope it adds a slightly different dimension to the usual normality of searching through the fantastic properties for sale on the Cle France website.

Watch out for more rants and opinion next week or buy the book today for a rollicking good read.