By Jemma: It’s all about the ants. I’ve never forgotten the advice from one of my earliest writing teachers. You can go on a glorious picnic – the food, conversation, and the weather all perfection – but you have no story until the ants arrive. They invade your blanket and …

This guest post is by Susana Iwase Hanson, the founder of Provence Living Cotignac.  Susana is multi-talented and tri-lingual. She lives with her family in the Var in the beautiful, rural village of Cotignac (read more about her interesting backstory here). But after living on many continents, big city living …

The Old School Expat The word expat has always made me feel uncomfortable. It conjures up in my mind an old-fashioned view of a person. Someone who takes tea with the best china in their adopted country and then proceeds to whine about their surroundings. I am no doubt generalising, …

By Vaucluse Dreamer: By the start of November, our little place was in a state of chaos in readiness for the work to start. The rooms were piled high with relocated furniture & building supplies and Andy had laid new Travertine floors throughout the 2 main spaces upstairs that would …

If you’ve been searching for French property for a while and find the system confusing, then you’re not alone. On the face of it, things in France seem to work the same way as in the UK, Australia, America or the Netherlands. Maybe you contacted an estate agent assuming that …

In keeping with our yearly tradition and being a supportive wife while my husband does the challenging cycle up Mont Ventoux, I needed to find a place to pass the time. Thus the Spa des Écuries at Hotel Crillon le Brave was my “sacrifice” for a few hours. Well, what choice …

French Healthcare Information One of the most asked questions for this American expat in France is about healthcare. “What do you do about healthcare when moving to France?” The simple reply is “travellers insurance.” The answer you really want to know is “don’t worry about it.” I couldn’t be more serious. …

Back in October, our lovely foodie friends Alexandra Dudley, Laura Jackson and Billy & Jack visited us (see Cooking up some serious sunshine in Cotignac) and stayed just outside Cotignac in a beautifully renovated farmhouse from the 17th and 18th centuries, the Domaine Saint Joseph. Its owner, Charlotte Baring, is a talented …

The following is an excerpt from my second book Are We French Yet? Keith & Val’s Adventures in Provence. My wife Val and I live part of the year in Provence. Our friends Xavier and Marie-France are kind of our cultural guides, making sure we have local experiences that foreigners …

House purchase negotiations are a delicate process anywhere in the world. Tempers quickly flare, and communications can break down because of misunderstandings or hurt feelings. When you don’t speak French fluently and don’t know the ins and outs of French customs and the French real estate market, then things could …