Switching to winter tyres in France
Last year, I bought a new car. It has big tyres, so I looked at the cost of snow tyres and thinner wheels online, hoping it would be cheaper than in La Clusaz or Annecy. Undecided, I visited Norauto for …
Last year, I bought a new car. It has big tyres, so I looked at the cost of snow tyres and thinner wheels online, hoping it would be cheaper than in La Clusaz or Annecy. Undecided, I visited Norauto for …
Le Grand Bornand is marketed as a family ski resort. They even hold a week-long summertime kids’ festival, and provide all sorts of family entertainment throughout the year. So it’s no surprise there’s only one nightclub in town. Lalu Discotheque …
Just when you thought chocolate adverts in France couldn’t get any weirder (I’m thinking about the Kinder Maxi advert where a woman on a train offers a random kid some chocolate, while some lyrics “If we sleep together would it …
French TV excels at dubbing over original-language movies in French. Why bother with subtitles when you can talk over world-class actors? But it’s not just the world-class actors who are dubbed. Take this McDonald’s advertisement. It advertises Toy Story DVDs. …
Do you collect stamps at supermarkets? The ones that give you a discount to some big brand name as long as you’ve spent hundreds at the supermarket offering the great deal? I remember my mum collecting stamps for a new …
Did you know that France is the world’s most popular country for tourism? Despite their reputed gruffness, the French population must be doing something right, right? France is a proud nation of people who (sometimes illogically) support regional food and …
An unnerving advertisement has made its way back onto French TV. It’s the Tipiak ladies from Brittany. Basically, these three old ladies are sitting around chatting in their traditional Brittany outfits (which really look like a lot of effort to …
After years of rumours and promises, La Clusaz has finally announced its plans for the outdated Bossonnet ski area at the top end of town. In 2012, trees were cut down to make way for a new chairlift, but no …
Every fancied living in the French Alps? What a high-altitude paradise it is, with all that snow, the furry wildlife, the hot summer sun and crisp summer nights, and the fields of banana plants. Eh? Banana plants? No, they’re not …
The Tour de France races through Manigod, La Clusaz, St Jean de Sixt and ends at Le Grand Bornand later today. I took this photo this morning while the course is being set up. Traffic is only allowed to flow …