I thought it was due time to update my previous blog post about playgrounds on the French Riviera. If you have children, the region has lots of options for playground fun. I have included mostly free public options. …Continue reading here for playgrounds and where kids can play for free …

Contributor blog post by  Jemma: French Lessons has stumbled on Hogwarts School of Miraculous Strings, and it’s right here in the heart of the Côte d’Azur.  How surprised and charmed – and humbled – we are . . . “The cello matter is more complicated than I thought,” a local friend emailed …

TGV Service Fast Train to Nice I’ve just returned on a TGV train to Avignon after spending 24 hours in Nice. The quick trip on the fast train to Nice was planned with Patricia Sands and Nancy McGee to finalize our plans for the Memories Tour in September. The train …

Contributor blog post by Jemma: Lolo and I stand on a sidewalk in the easygoing town of Juan-les-Pins. We’re debating. The store sounds young to me, like the name of an aspiring rap artist. At last, we open the glass door of Banana Moon. “Bonjour!”  I say to the shop’s sole …

Contributor blog post by Jemma: “Moi, je veux prendre le penne au pistou,” Lolo says to the waiter in fluent, properly French-accented French. Her order is no surprise. Pesto penne is one of my 13-year old’s favourites. The wiry waiter turns his gaze to Philippe, who sits beside me at …

Contributor blog post by Access Riviera: Summer school holidays are over but you still need to keep the kids entertained until September rolls around and schools go back. Here are some of my budget-friendly suggestions for families to stay entertained through summer and beyond. Parc Phoenix is one of our favourite family …

One of my summer highlights is the chance to catch up with author Patricia Sands during her annual visit to Provence. Sands is a remarkable person. She is a wife, mother, grandmother, writer, photographer and a possiblitarian. Yes, for Patricia Sands, it is possible to achieve anything in life if …

Contributor blog post by Jemma: Let summer begin! It’s not just that the calendar has sailed past June 21, varyingly known as the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and France’s Fête de la Musique, when entire cities put on their dancing shoes. Non, another sign of summer – at …

Aixcentric is the name of Lynne Alderson’s blog, an online resource for anyone looking for current events in the Aix-en-Provence area. The blog was “born” out of Alderson’s frustration regarding discovering details about interesting happenings…just a little too late. Her second book “Art in the South of France, The Inside …

Deborah Bine spent her childhood in Charlotte, North Carolina dreaming of “faraway places” (her words). Her early travels included visiting her Aunt Rose in exhilarating Manhattan. “Aunt Rose owned New York — or so this sixteen-year-old ingénue from the Carolinas assumed.” On this voyage, Deborah learned some travel lessons that …