Dunkerque (62 Pas de Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais) manages to brighten up the miserable nothern French winter with its annual Carnival from22 January – 10 March 2012
The most famous, the nosiest, the most mental, but also the oldest, is the Dunkerque Carnival. For weeks on end, groups called fisherbands take the measure of each other, confront each other with sarabands and songs, disperse and liven up the town, and finally come together in one huge choir to celebrate their sailors, honour Jean Bart, and claim, with body and voice, their herrings thrown from the top of the belfry.
If you’ve never done Carnival here, you’ve never seen a real carnival !
With its climax on Shrove Tuesday(21 Feb 2012)– or Mardi Gras – Dunkerque Carnival has its roots in the secular festivities which took place as local fishermen prepared to leave their families and sail to the fishing grounds off Iceland, sometimes never to return.
After two days of costumed parades, ‘Trois Glorieuses’ is now the high point of celebrations which are marked by balls that take place all along this coastal community from long before this iconic Tuesday until long after.
As well as being on the most enchanting of French waterways through the quieter countryside of northern Burgundy, the Canal du Nivernais also offers a great cycle path alongside the canal.
Running from Auxerre (90 Yonne, Bourgogne) to Decize (58 Nievre, Bourgogne) via Clamecy(58 Nievre, Bourgogne) this is a delightful meander of 175km with a new metalled cycle path alongside the canal.
At Decize you can link to the Canal Lateral de la Loire and then the Canal de Briare to make a circular return route. on the website you can find information on hotels and B&Bs, cycle repair/hire shops etc – see www.le-tour-de-bourgogne-a-velo.com
With the completion of the 800km (500miles) cycle route along the Loire Valley comes a new website, a mobile site for use with your smartphone and a Facebook page.
loire by bike
Cleverly the French have produced an integrated approach to using the glorious Loire Valley as a tourist cycle route, enabling visitors to plan a route in detail (including hotels, restaurants, cycle shops etc) – details of access to the cycle route by car or public transport – maps, signposted cycleways, places to hire bikes and up-t0-date information via Facebook.
We know the French love cycle racing, but this is altogether a gentler matter – river valleys tend to be fairly level, and vehicular traffic can be avoided, so it should be family friendly.
And remember part of the Loire Vally is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and amongst the many attractions is Orléans (2012 is the 600th anniversary of the birth of Joan of Arc(aka the Maid of Orleans), and Nantes continues to rock as a venue for extravagant modern art.
Apart from producing excellent wines, Chablis (89 Yonne, Bourgogne) being the most northerly of the Burgundy Wine areas, it is also a pleasant small town with a weekly street market on Saturdays,
So, that’s the end of SeaFrance, the downside of which is that competition on the short sea Dover- Calais route is now reduced. Norfolkline/DFDS (Dover-Dunkerque) offers great value and the slightly longer crossing and more northerly destination does not add too much to your journey, and the links to the French (and Belgian) autoroutes are excellent.
P&O Ferries still run Dover-Calais with high frequency
The Commercial Court in Paris ordered the full liquidation of SeaFrance on the 9th January 2012. As a result, the company is no longer able to trade.
SeaFrance has always respected its obligations to its customers and regrets not being able to fulfil any outstanding customer bookings. The company has set up an automatic refund process for all current bookings and customers will be contacted about this process by email within 24 hours. Customers’ bank accounts will be credited with a full refund as soon as possible.
The staff of SeaFrance are grateful to all their customers for the loyalty and confidence they have shown and hope that they will be able to make alternative travel arrangements.
Any customers wishing to contact SeaFrance directly should call 0845 458 0666.
The world capital of Wine holds its wine festival 28 June 2012 to 1 July 2012.
This festival, organised by the town of Bordeaux, is an opportunity for fans of fine wine, good food and culture to enjoy a great festive moment. It will be a celebration of the senses on the largest square in Europe, right on the banks of the Garonne.
The riverbanks and the Esplanade des Quinconces will welcome more than 300 000 gastronomers and culture-vultures throughout this four-day event.
The festival spreads over 12 acres right in the heart of Bordeaux itself. Visitors will thus be able to sample vintage Bordeaux and other local wines, and also meet local producers, visit wine-producing chateaux and discover the Gironde area as a whole.
With over 400 000 samples, hundreds of visitors in the fields, initiations to proper wine-tasting technique and 40 000 people every evening, you’ll be so busy having fun you won’t want to leave! Come and join in with this enthusiastic celebration of wine (to be enjoyed responsibly, of course!)…
An opportunity to combine the 2012 Tour de France with a Jura wine tour is offered by John & Carolyn Scallan at their B&B in Burgundy9-11 July 2012:-
Are you interested in the Tour de France? Do you like wine? How about a couple of days that canmix the two? We’re running a combined Tour de France and wine tour of the Jura for a group of between 4 and 6 enthusiasts.
As you may know “Le Tour” passes close by here without actually racing! Stage 9, the Time Trial between Arc et Senans and Besancon, is on Monday 9th and, although the full route has not been revealed yet, would appear to be a straight North Easterly run up, or near, the main N83. Arc et Senans is about 35 miles from here and Besancon is about 58 miles. Tuesday 10th July is a rest day so there is the chance to explore the beautiful Jura region and get to know the highly individualwines that come from the area. Wednesday 11th July has a stage running from Macon, about 75 miles from here to Bellegarde sur Valserine, also about 75 miles. Again with the route not disclosed until late May (small inadvertent press releases not-withstanding) we can’t give you any idea of thebest places to go but ….
We’re offering a two night break which will cover the nights of Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th July which will feature the following:-
Two nights B&B accommodation
Special “Introduction to Jura Wine” Dinner
One day wine tour, including tastings at two wine makers, as well as picnic lunch and
sightseeing
Transport to and from a local restaurant for evening meal
Picnic lunch for Wednesday 11th July
The cost will be €145 per person based on two sharing in our twin or double rooms. Contact us for details and availability (use the form below)
The most famous, the nosiest, the most mental, but also the oldest, is the Dunkerque Carnival. For weeks on end, groups called fisherbands take the measure of each other, confront each other with sarabands and songs, disperse and liven up the town, and finally come together in one huge choir to celebrate their sailors, honour Jean Bart, and claim, with body and voice, their herrings thrown from the top of the belfry.
