French and Stanford in one post!

Many of you know that La Croque Madame is a Stanford sports nut.  Therefore I was very happy when Stanford beat USC in football 21-14.  People thought that since we no longer had Andrew Luck as our quarterback, that we were done.  But the Cardinal has a new quarterback, Josh Nunes.  He was interviewed on ESPN for a segment that aired this morning.  Besides being a cool quarterback, it turns out that Josh took 3 years of French in high school, and that he was asked a question in French. Josh answered in French; pretty good French, too.
So, French is for diplomats, science geeks AND American football  players.  Ouais!
Click here to see the video.

Summer is over, so time to plan for next summer!

Bonjour tout le monde!
School has started, and most people are back into the rhythm of the season: classes,work, homework,  the usual. And, of course, that means it is time to think about what you are going to do next summer!
I have an answer for you - Madame's custom tour to France and Italy.  Spend 12 days touring Paris, taking the TGV to the South of France, visiting Monaco before entering Italy and walking through Cinque Terre.  The tour ends in Milan before we board a flight home.  Imagine sitting at a cafe in Paris, seeing the Roman aqueduct of the Pont du Gard, strolling along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice with friends and family.
The deposit that holds your space on this tour is only $95, and a payment plan is available.  Don't miss out on this fabulous voyage!
For more information and pricing, visit www.tinyurl.com/Europe2013.
Questions?  email me - Jacki

La Pire Haleine du Monde - no translation needed!

A new place to visit! Saint-Cirq Lapopie, recently voted France's favorite village

Bonjour tout le monde!
As I was perusing the newspaper, I came across this Los Angeles Times article on a cool medieval town that  is suffering from its popularity.  Although I have not been to this part of  France, it seems like a great place that is "off the beaten path"; after all, who doesn't want to go where the locals go?

The Minitel - Gone but not forgotten

The Minitel has been around in France since the 1980's.  The little screen and modem were free to  households, and they could actually do some online shopping, play games, play the Stock Market, look up phone numbers and addresses for people and businesses throughout the country.  The longer you were "online", the higher your phone costs were; even though, it was pretty cool, and the forerunner of the PC.  Now, it will be phased out, and will take its rightful place in history.
L'héritage du Minitel continue d'influencer le monde du numérique | France-Amérique

I love to travel.  Car, plane, boat, you tell me that I'm going somewhere, I will ask "what do I have to wear, and how many pairs of shoes do I need?".  When I was small, my family took road trips mostly to visit relatives in Texas and Mississippi, but we also went to New York, Montreal, and British Columbia as well.  That is how I got the bug.
My favorite place of all is Paris - wow, wild guess.  I love walking around seeing familiar and new things and places. Even though Parisians have the reputation of being cold and rude, I don't find them that way.  They are just trying to get from one place to another around tourists who will stop at the drop of a dime to look at some random thing. You might be rude, too!
If you are in Paris, be sure to visit the Opera district - the Opera house has a ceiling painted by Marc Chagall.  In order to see it, you have to take the tour, but I think that it might be cool!  I do have to admit that I have never done it, that is on my list.  However, when you are done, walk around the back of the building to the Galeries Lafayette and visit the main part which is covered by a gorgeous steel and stained glass dome.  Take tons of photos while you dodge the cosmetic section shoppers, then progress by escalator to the cafeteria on the 6th floor and walk up stairs to the urban park that is the observation deck.  Not many tourists know about it, and you can sit on benches or on the ground while soaking up the sun.  Ahhhh....
In the next few posts, I will be talking about my favorite places and posting pics if I have them.  In the meantime, think about visiting Paris, the south of France, and Italy with me next June!
(www.tinyurl.com/Europe2012).  Don't let the price scare you - it goes down with traveler #20, and then again at #25, so enroll now and bring a friend!

The stained glass dome of the Galeries Lafayette

The "park" on the roof!

The Apollo Room in the Louvre, dedicated to French artists; it also houses some of what crown jewels are left.  Very cool place.