I was so disaapointed yesterday as we rang to try and book a table for my 65th birthday (today ha ha) only to get an answering machine to the effect of "We are on our winter break see you in March" - In one way I was glad as we came to the conclusion the food is so good they take off the rest of the year on the proceeds of satisfied customers so will hopefully be able to indulge next year - on the other hand we had to find somewhere else (luckily so old favourites still open in Winter).
Jennifer, for those of us living and working here, kids in school, family (french) just up the road, etc. etc. and living in rural areas there aren't enough hours in the day!!! Yes rural france for others can be very rural but why on earth settle in areas like that (especially tourist areas) when you know there's nothing going on in the winter?
Alan - you're less than an hour from Carcassonne - lots of English Language movies (VOST) there at the Cap Multiplexe.
Dept 82 and you would be welcome to have some.
Simon is right there are plenty of things going on in the winter, I go to as many events as I do in the summer. However, I am a great believer in making one's own entertainment. I have never understood why people need external activities, stimulation or entertainment facilities. Can't you just sit by the fire and read a book, write letters, paint a picture, learn to play an instrument or something else? or if you need fresh air go for a brisk walk, prune the garden? ;-)
I’m glad that you mentioned the other Northern European locations. I ‘do’ far more in the winter here in France than I ‘did’ living either in the South of England or in Germany. When I read Simon’s list I presumed that he meant choose any from the list. The list is endless. The bigger question is about why anyone who craves the sophisticated lifestyle of city life should have chosen to live in an out of the way part of the French countryside. I’d call it bad planning. Winter heat is subjective. I’m not particularly fond of getting too hot, it’s another reason for living where I live, and do far more cycling and walking in the late Autumn, Winter and early Spring than I ever do in the summer. I have an outdoor lifestyle and able to arrange my activities to cover all 12 months of the year. I would guess that Simon can as well.
Hi Phil,
We are entering our second Winter in Mazamet, and facing similar issues. We arrived from Australia to our first Mazamet Winter last year and found it quite a shock. I agree that theatre and movies are not very entertaining in French. We are members of our local mediateque, so we can get DVDs in English or with English subtitles. But more to the point, we find that we discover events after they've occurred rather than before, as we would if they were advertised in our native language. Fortunately, we have wonderful neighbours and friends who keep us abreast of most things. As we are the type of people who plan ahead, we've arranged a program of things to keep us busy when going out is not suitable or pleasant. Pam is travelling, while I am studying French and other things.
On the subject of house sitters, we have just joined up with trustedhousesitters, as a strategy for extending our stay. This is because our current home exchange finishes next March and we are not finding a new one for the following months. We thought that house sitting may provide what we need, but nothing so far. I was just about to advertise our house in Australia on the website, but I think that I won't do that now.
Its not that bad really.
Alan
Wow - you seem ever so 'nice' Jennifer - but please don't worry your pretty little head about how much sleep I get!
On your 'minor' points...
I live in the Ariege Pyrenees - loads of skiing (alpine and cross) and snowboarding, all winter - all be open in a couple of weeks.
I have a Pilots Licence - micro-lighting, paragliding, ULM's - all very popular down here - mountains, valleys, great thermals.
Village fetes - sure, the Summer ones are the main ones but we have evenings in our Village Hall all year round - Ceroc, Paella evenings, Moules Frites, New Years Eve, Belote, Hunt Evenings etc - at least one a month.
Snow and Skiing are normally accompanied by lots of sun - you should try it! I've had some of my best tans skiing - and my best BBQ's outdoors on a glorious winter sunny day. Try that as well - you might like it :-)
Restaurants - plenty of mountain (and village / town) restaurants open here all year round - in the winter they all serve hearty local dishes - not all brilliant but very filling. Then there's hot spiced wine.....
The other activities you mention are quite obviously not ones favoured by the original poster. My list was meant as an ideas list for someone who is quite obviously a little 'lost'....
I'll try not to hit any trees when I'm flying or kiiing but, if I do, I'll be sure to let you know Jenny luv so you can have a good old chortle...:-)
Anyway - off to see The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 in Toulouse this after - TTFN !
I’m so sorry but I really had to laugh at this…Diary of an Overachiever???
Whilst I appreciate fully the good side of life in rural France and would no way denigrate it, you have to be seriously myopic not to appreciate a lot of things close up in winter and long grey, wet, dark days can be challenging.
Minor points:
Ski-ing: how often do we seriously get enough snow to properly ski? Grass ski-ing is it?
Micro lighting: shouldn’t that be filling up A&E in local town?
Village fetes: fetes are summer affairs.
If it snows for your ski-ing it’s not exactly the weather for your BBQing?
Restaurants: many close for the winter. Ever been to St Emilion in January?.. A veritable ghost town
Book reading, photography, wine tasting, visiting museums, cycling, fishing … Only do these in winter!? Surely activities anyone does anywhere, any time???
I think “the lady doth protest too much”. OK …maybe a bloke but I like to get my quotes accurate.
Don’t know where you get the time to write the thousands of blogs you do on Survive France, sir. Margaret Thatcher would have been proud of you … Fours sleep a night?
Rural France is great but it does have its limitations in deepest darkest winter as do most other approximately Northern European locations. It’s a case of grin and bear it and load up the log burner and yes, Simon, would agree to the extent that friends and family contacts are most important but perhaps - sacre blue - a few dollars saved up over the summer are well spent on a decent winter break in sunnier parts.
Happy Microlighting and skiing Simon…whoops was was that a tree you just missed?!
We go to Mauritius for 10 weeks.....dah-dah-da-dah-dah!
Depends where you are Phil.
I do lots f walking, as long as it's not too inclement. Always loads to do around the house. I listen to music (all the time), read and write mainly for pleasure but occasionally in the role as a poorly paid journalist. I watch television occasionally, mainly for sport. I'm a jigaholic with at least one jigsaw on the go (usually two !). There just aren't enough hours in the day in the 'quieter' months !
Thinking back to last winter I actually spent a huge amount of my time outside sorting out my garden. I suppose that that is only possible where the climate allows but here in the Poitou Charente there are plenty of suitable days.
If you really need culture why not do a couple of city breaks? With cheap flights and hotels it would be easy to spend a few days in London, Paris, Rome, Berlin…
Can I collect or will you post?!?!
Arts and crafts. What more do you need!!?? I could happily be locked up and snowed in for 6 months at a time doing that! :-)
Well done Jack - that sounds just wonderful! Enjoy the warm sunshine :-)
I wondered, a bit tongue in cheek
When you are young (ish) you enjoy the fresh winter weather. It gave me time to catch up with all the neglected jobs I could manage from the armchair. Now, however life is different, since my female cat Penny adopted me, I take her off to Spain as soon as it is time to use full time heating in the house. I save on electric and bois chaufage and instead for 4 months I pay 100 euros per week for a 2 bed apartment in the sun. Penny loves it. A walk in the sun beats a walk in the cold any day of the week
You live in Corsica! Are you the famous only other one?!! We have pied a terre near Ajaccio but are planning on building proper house for retirement.
Extraordinary.......but it may be a joke?
I'm not even going to start...! :-O