On est arrivé! After a long day of travel, we’ve arrived in Nevers. Starting with a long bus ride to Boston and ending with a 2-hour train ride from Paris, our traveling is complete; The group for The White Mountain School has arrived in their destination, Nevers. There were some moments in Paris when I was convinced that we might miss our train. We had other plans, not even the broken jet-way could delay our progress! When we arrived in Nevers, we went for a long walk to get comfortable with the town. By doing a short scavenger hunt around town, we were able to visit a few very prominent landmarks including Le Palais Ducal and La Cathédrale Saint-Cyr. Every question helped us learn more about the city and the monument that we visited. After our walk, exhausted, we all met up with our host families who, thankfully, prepared dinner and allowed us to go to sleep.

On Tuesday, we awoke to fabulous weather. Of course people were ready to complain about the wind or the cold but the baby blue sky was gorgeous. All of the students started their days in class with their hosts, experiencing the French education system for the very first time. At 10 AM, the Americans & their French peers gathered for a brief introduction to the school, pastries and coffee (much needed). There was a chance to meet the faculty of Lycée Saint-Cyr and to reconnect with their friends from America.

There were stories of delicious food, stories about the language barriers and stories about funny interactions with their families. Everyone seemed sleepy from the jetlag but content and excited for the rest of their trip.

After lunch we gathered again but this time for a beautiful drive across the French countryside to the town of Gien. Along the way we passed some famous vineyards including de Ladoucette famous for Puilly-Fuissé and the perched village of Sancerre, which is famous for it’s Sauvignon Blanc. We also passed a few Charolais, famous cattle from the Burgundy region. We also snuck past a few farms that produce some excellent goat cheese. Next time I go that way, I will be stopping!

Gien is famous for La Faïence, known to Americans as hand painted earthenware. While many towns across France, Nevers (our host city for this trip) included, are famous for la faïence, Gien has managed to combine the art of pottery and decoration (now often contemporary rather than traditional designs) with relatively modern industrial techniques. That being said, every item they produce crosses roughly 20 sets of hands before they can be sold in stores. Nearly every aspect of production requires the touch of a human! The tour was great. I forgot my camera but when I see students tomorrow, I’ll ask them to share some pictures with you.

Here is a copy of their brochure which displays small sections of the production process.

Below I’ve added an image of a modern place setting. The quality is a bit low since it is taken with a telephone but I think you’ll get the idea.

Tomorrow, I promise to bring my real camera to take some better photos. I hope that the weather holds out! As always, I’m eager to help you with your next trip to France. Whether it is tasting wine in the Rhône valley or exploring small villages, Postcards from France can organize the vacation of a lifetime. Contact me for more information.

À bientôt,

Thomas Pace

We’re out the door!

The French Exchange between The White Mountain School & Lycée Saint-Cyr de Nevers is about to begin. We’re leaving today! After a long flight and a quick change of transportation in Paris, we’ll be settling into the French lifestyle in La Nièvre. This trip promises to be lots of fun with exciting cultural visits, homestays and, according to the forecast, sunny skies.

Please check back often for regular updates from the field. Enjoy!

If you’re interested in taking your students to France on a cultural excursion, contact us at Postcards from France. We can arrange a custom trip for any budget and every destination!

Thomas Pace

Detailed view of the tower.

So maybe I’m more excited than most people but everyone traveling to Paris should take advantage of this. The Eiffel Tour now has online booking!

There are of course some upsides to the online booking. Everyone who has visited Paris has seen the ridiculously long lines that you must wait in if you’d like to purchase a ticket to travel to the top of La Tour Eiffel. So not only do you get to skip the line, you also get to pick when you’d like to visit. I’m excited that on my upcoming tour to France that I have solidified that in my schedule.

The negatives could be numerous. Having a booked visiting time means that you’re bound by certain time constraints; you must arrive on time! Weather can also hamper visits to the Eiffel Tower. Driving winds often close the highest level of the tower – if you pick the wrong day when booking, you might miss out on your visit.

In other recent news, I’ll be traveling to France in about 10 days doing a tour with The White Mountain School. This is the ever-popular French exchange program with the Lycée Saint Cyr in Nevers. On this tour, students will be spending time in French classes, staying with host families and exploring the towns in the Burgundy and Loire regions. Highlights include visiting Les Hospices de Beaune, Domaine Dublère, Bourges and more. After ten days in la Nièvre, we’re headed to Paris! This should be a very exciting whirlwind visit to the wonderful capital of France. We’ll be headed up the Eiffel Tower, wandering around Le Louvre, sleeping in Montmartre and eating our way across town. It should be quite an adventure. Stay tuned for regular updates.

Haven’t you wanted to go to France? Would you like a guided visit of Paris or Provence? Check out Postcards from France and our upcoming tours. I’d be delighted to provide you with the trip of a lifetime. Contact me directly for more information.

Sincerely,

Thomas Pace
Owner & Guide

Our newest tour, Provence & Rhône Wine, is planned and ready for departure. This is a six-day trip based in Avignon, France that will explore the vineyards, villages and markets across Vaucluse. Each day will include picturesque scenery, delicious meals and fabulous wines. We’ve even calculated some extra time to visit some lesser-known spots, great for relaxing walks, photographic excursions or enjoying un pastis.

The guide for this trip, Carl York, is the Sommelier at a high profile New York City restaurant. Carl is currently pursuing the elite Master of Wine qualification, a title that only 279 people worldwide can employ due to rigorous studies of viticulture and wines from across the globe. He is a fun-loving wine guru with a deep appreciation of French culture and cuisine, an excellent guide for this trip.

As a participant, you’ll be treated to delightful accommodations where you can relax and excellent meals prepared by some of the best regional chefs. We’ll be visiting some famous locations but we’ll also venture to areas of local interest to experience the authentic Provence. Best of all, every aspect of the trip is flexible. We can customize the trip to your desires ensuring that you have the vacation of a lifetime.

Trip Details
September 19 to September 24th, 2010
$3600 – based on double occupancy
6 nights lodging in an acclaimed hotel
Champagne welcome
Private tour of Avignon & Le palais des papes
Daily wine tastings & lessons at notable vineyards
Leisurely visits to Provençal villages
4 lunches & 4 dinners at a mix of casual bistros and fine dining restaurants

Are you interested? Reserve your spot today! If you have any additional questions please refer to this dedicated website or email us directly. If you’d prefer a private tour or a more customized itinerary, we can arrange nearly everything. Don’t hesitate. Sign up!

Although many of you may have already seen this video, I thought it should be posted here. Do enjoy!

Don’t forget to check out Postcards from France for all of your French Travel needs. We have new tours planned for Provence and the Rhône Valley this fall. Contact us for more information.

Sincerely,

Thomas Pace
Owner & Guide

More often than you might imagine people ask me questions about spending money while traveling in France. People still believe in the old-school methods of Traveler’s Cheques and exchanging cash in country. Well my friends, France is an extremely modern country and the Euro is worth more than the Dollar. As a result businesses in France are overly excited about Traveler’s Cheques, nor dollars for that matter. Ten to fifteen years ago, exchanging American money was as easy as entering a bank, speaking to a teller and signing a form. Today most banks avoid this type of transaction. They don’t want to have $ bills, they want €uros! Changing money in a train station or airport is still possible and, of course, there are sketchy places to change money in all of the tourist trap destinations, but by far the easiest way to get around Paris or France is with a Debit or Credit card.

Credit cards and Debit cards usually offer the best, most up-to-date, exchange rates for Euros. Everybody has one. Everybody uses one. Why hesitate when going to Europe? ATMs are available all over the place and with a limit of $750 (debit) spending per day most travelers will have plenty of spending money. There are only a few negatives that I can think of. We’ve heard the proverb: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” This is a good idea for money, and traveling, in general. While France is by far one of the safest places to travel, pickpockets do exist. Lost wallets do happen and people can lose money at more places than Monte Carlo. While I rely heavily on my debit card when traveling, I always have back up. I carry multiple cards and emergency cash is always a good idea.

Another issue that can arise from the heavy use of Debit/Credit cards in Europe is your card getting denied or “shut off” because of suspicious usage. If your bank doesn’t know that you’re traveling out of country, it might be a good idea to tell them. It isn’t unheard of for banks to decline transactions for travelers. Credit Card agencies and small banks are trying to protect their customers from Identity Theft and stolen card numbers. Unless you travel outside of the USA often, your bank will assume that $500 charged from Rennes is most likely theft. Be sure to notify your banks prior to your departure to avoid the embarrassment of having your card refused at a fancy restaurant.

Other options? Of course there are other ways that you can protect yourself but still have the comfort and usability of a Credit or Debit card. Visa now offers Visa Travelmoney, a prepaid debit card with a Visa logo. This allows you to get the best exchange rates, minimize Identity Theft and still have access to the money you need. For a small fee your bank, or Visa, can setup a new card with up to $3000. For individuals that were hooked on Travelers Cheques, I recommend this option. It allows you to spend freely and have the protection against theft and provides some travel insurance. One feature that makes it better than the old paper equivalent is its ability to be recharged. You can transfer funds online or over the phone from your bank accounts or a credit card.

Coming Soon
Postcards from France is adding a new Wine Tour to the calendar. This September we’ll be taking a trip to witness and experience winemaking at the most exciting time of the year, Le Vendange. The harvest is the most active time for wineries as they collect and crush grapes for the next bottling. Details are coming soon but we expect to travel to one or more vineyard a day tasting delicious bottles of red and white from the Rhône valley. We’ll focus on wonderful accommodations and gluttonous meals to make this a vacation of a lifetime. Stay Tuned!!!

Regards,

Thomas Pace
Owner & Guide
Postcards from France

Here are a few interesting articles from The New York Times.

If you’ve wanted to learn a language without traveling to a foreign country, the internet, obviously, is the way to do it. Here is a great outline of resources to explore.

Also, on a follow-up to La Tour d’Argent. They’ve lost their reputation, they’ve auctioned off their wine. Here is a peek into their plans and their future.

So lots of things have been going on in France, the French culture and the French-speaking world. I’ve been neglecting to post them recently so here is an overview of news that has caught my eye.

NPR did a quick profile for the 20th anniversary of the Pyramide du Louvre. The 3-story glass addition to the Louvre was quite controversial at first but, over time, it became more popular. Today it is one of the major reasons that visitors flock to this historical museum.

The Parisian populace is still awaiting Autolib’. This car-sharing service is modeled after Vélib’, a moderately successful bike sharing program. The program is still behind schedule for a variety of reasons. Due to the economic downturn the city of Paris doesn’t have the funds to purchase the 4000 electric cars that they plan to use. Also adding to the start-up difficulty is the inability of being able to purchase such a large quantity of electric cars; no car company has been able to offer a cost efficient electric model to outfit Autolib’ in Paris. Yet another difficulty could be the problematic nature of Vélib’. More than 8000 bikes have been seriously damaged and another 8000 have gone missing (or rather stolen). Many have been used and abused to the point of no return. Even though the service remains popular, there are certainly a few growing pains to the system.

Thanks to the inspiration and seeming successfulness of the Paris-bike-share, Montréal has celebrated its’ first year of Bixi, their version of Vélib’. This three-season service (who wants to ride a bike in the cold snowy streets in February) has been celebrated and will be returning next spring.

On the food front, former pastry chef and author David Lebovitz continues to produce. His blog draws the attention of foodies who are traveling to Paris and his new book, The Sweet Life in Paris, the challenges and wonders of living in the city of lights.

La Tour d’Argent, famed restaurant in Paris, is set to auction off 18,000 bottles of wine from their cellar!

Of course I’d love to point to a recent post on La Blogothèque. Vincent Moon grouped together the band Phoenix and filmed three videos near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Check them out!

Check out our new slideshow!

Interested in your own set of postcards? Contact us for details.

I’ve posted some photos of Paris in this map. Click on the blue markers to show a stellar photo of each location.

View Postcards from France – Paris in a larger map

More cities to come soon!