Saturday, February 11, 2012

Dinner party tonight – All French and once again demonstrating that the Brits can cook!!


Here we go again – another Saturday and another dinner party!  This time re paying the compliment of lunch with Benedicte and Patric on their boat in the Marina a few weeks ago. Our very good friend Danielle is joining us as well.

Tonights menu – see what you think??? We’ll let you know how it goes and tell you how much simpler tonight will be than the first French dinner party 4 years ago!


Fresh Pea & Mint Amuse Soup

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Home Tea Smoked Duck Breast Salad
with Pan Fried Fois Gras and a Spiced Orange Dressing

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Oven Roasted Fillet of Cod
with a Rocket & Parmesan Risotto and Parmesan Crisp

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Cheese – Of Course

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Raspberry Shortcake

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

France really is the best place to live ..........


Every year Uswitch.com calculates its annual Quality of Life Index for the best place to live in Europe and France has come out top again – thats the third year running!


A total of 10 European nations were involved in the survey that creates the index and ranked on the basis of points scored across 16 areas.

Amongst them were: cost of living (and thats not just the price of wine!), government spending, work-life balance, retirement age and life expectancy.

The UK found itself in last place for the first time, having struggled to compete in terms of hours of sunshine per year and number of days holiday.

Time to emigrate then- or at least to buy a holiday getaway that allows you to benefit from the improved quality of life?


...... a poll run in conjunction with the Index by uSwitch suggested 46% of people had thought about it...



We were encouraged as well by colleagues in the French Entree Property Finders Network who attended the France Show at Earls Court last month.  Despite concerns that people would be focussed on France losing its AAA credit rating, the forthcoming Presidential election and the fate of the Euro visitor numbers were up and the mood was positive.  There was a resounding thumbs up from people who are still decided on the idea of moving to France, either to retire or to take advantage of the benefits of the French way of life.


We are reliably told that conversations at the show focused on sunshine, quality of food, the education and healthcare systems and the ‘respect’ that is enjoyed by elders, teachers, policemen and each other.  It seems that despite the economy, the allure of France and the attraction of the french way of life remain undiminished – its easy to see why France remains the number 1 place to live in Europe.




Of course, that is why we are here and if we can help you realise that dream as well then we would be delighted to hear from you..........

Sunday, February 5, 2012

An opportunity to enjoy our favourite walk.....



We had a couple of hours free yesterday so we took the opportunity to put Alfie on his lead and take our favourite walk - Saint Malo to Tour Solidor across the Plage de Bas Sablons and around the Cite d’Alet.  The walk takes in the marina, a quiet stretch of beach for Alfie and a clifftop path which offers some beautiful views across the Rance estuary to Dinard.








It was a bit chilly ...... but hey it is February but the sky was clear, the sun was shining and it was very still.



Tour Solidor was built around 1370 and was designed to be a fortified keep to give Duke John IV of Brittany authority over the Rance estuary.  The tower now houses a museum collection which documents the stories of the sailors who sailed around the dreaded Cape Horn and survived.


For Alfie its just a causeway which he loves to swim from .........