tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:51:26 +0000http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/Dennis and WendyBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-114933092794413041Sat, 03 Jun 2006 10:30:00 +00002008-04-07T15:51:26.293ZAfter transferring money from our UK bank to our French bank account a couple of times and paying charges at both ends I did a little research and found some money brokerage companies, some of those I contacted were very slow to respond. However two did respond quickly and answered all my questions. I have undertaken transactions with both of them and all went smoothly, the rate was good and no http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/06/moving-money-to-france.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115356776369629456Sat, 20 May 2006 11:23:00 +00002006-07-22T11:30:10.666ZAfter an afternoon of fun at the park with the children, and having to drag my sister off the climbing frame we returned home to spend an evening with Graham and Eve, it was Eve’s birthday and unbeknown to her she thought we did not know. Graham had organised a cake and we had bought her a present and Nicole had kindly created some very nice Joyeux Anniversaire posters to put on the walls and http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/05/joyeux-anniversaire-eve.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115356733530532521Fri, 19 May 2006 11:21:00 +00002006-07-22T11:22:15.306ZFriday and market day again, we took my sister and her family to the market to savour the sights and smells. It was particularly hot and it was bustling with people, there were also some very amusing buskers playing all sorts of strange things. In the afternoon we took a ride to Laroque and visited our local supermarket and DIY store, wanted to make sure our guests saw all the best sights! A http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/05/its-market-day-again.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115356725089142101Thu, 18 May 2006 11:20:00 +00002006-07-22T11:20:50.893ZWell this is a day I have finally been looking forward to. My sister, her husband and their two children are arriving today for 4 days. Sadly there is not enough room in the car for me to go to the airport with Den to collect them, so I am left at home doing the last minute housework chores. The wait seems like an eternity, only to receive a phone call from Den to say the plane had been delayed http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/05/my-little-sister-is-coming.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115356705613116496Mon, 01 May 2006 11:12:00 +00002006-07-22T11:18:37.170ZI opened the shutters this morning to find a lovely hand tied bunch of Lily of the valley on my table outside. I can only assume they had been left by our lovely landlady and took them inside to put into water. It was especially nice as it was my Mums favourite flower and it did bring a tear to my eyes. Today we are going to Pezenas with Graham and Eve at it is a bank holiday and we thought it http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/05/what-lovely-surprise.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115349164204360351Sun, 30 Apr 2006 14:20:00 +00002006-07-21T14:20:42.043ZTime for another trip to the airport and the usual revealing of the hanky, sadly the end of another happy week with the family, kisses and hugs all round and they are on their way home again.http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/04/time-to-get-hanky-out-again.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115349160081623914Fri, 28 Apr 2006 14:19:00 +00002006-07-21T14:20:00.816ZFriday saw us taking our usual trip to the market to savour the sights and smells. I have to get my weekly fix of smells, cheese, spices, fruit, and freshly roasting chickens.http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/04/ganges-market.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115349151789083824Thu, 27 Apr 2006 13:52:00 +00002006-07-21T14:18:38.003ZThis afternoon we took a ride to Le Vigan, where Den spotted a watch he liked in a jewellers. I was not keen as it had a bright orange face. had promised to buy him one for his birthday that was in March, but as yet he has not found one he liked.http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/04/le-vigan.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115348986397560696Wed, 26 Apr 2006 13:50:00 +00002006-07-21T13:51:03.976ZAfter our earlier discovery of this wonderful restaurant we decided to take Mark and Kay there to taste the delights. Mark and Kay are very much like us and do enjoy well prepared food. As Graham’s girlfriend Eve could not make it to the restaurant when we celebrated our friend’s birthday they came along with us. The food I must say was equally as good as the first time and we all left feeling http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/04/here-we-go-again-auberge-de-la.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115348975432363315Tue, 25 Apr 2006 13:48:00 +00002006-07-21T13:49:14.323ZAfter our earlier exploits of Trains, Planes and Automobiles Mark and Kay finally make it for their return journey. I know it was a complete disappointment that they had not made it earlier but they are now here for longer and the weather is so much warmer.http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/04/mark-and-kay-finally-make-it.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115348960192118348Mon, 24 Apr 2006 13:45:00 +00002006-07-21T13:46:41.923ZTonight we have some friends over for dinner, Charlie is in our French class and has been living in France for about a year, and he and his partner Kate are renovating a house at Sumene. Kate is an artist and has an exhibition of her work at a local restaurant; we shall hopefully get along to view some of her work. Charlie is in the same field of work as Dennis and they can often be found http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/04/charlie-and-kate.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-114675232625509337Thu, 20 Apr 2006 14:18:00 +00002006-05-08T17:36:16.730ZFrench lessons in Ganges again this morning, we had to write an account of our bird watching day, on Sunday in passé compose. We both reached for the dictionary, and started to write furiously… this time Dennis came to the fore and produced a very remarkable piece of work, awarded a gold star by me for his effort! Keep up the good work Dennis, it will all become clear in the end. Hopefully in http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/04/gold-star-in-french.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115348947580050981Mon, 17 Apr 2006 13:44:00 +00002006-07-21T13:44:35.803ZWe are always on the lookout for good restaurants and have not found the best of them in Ganges, so was quite excited to receive an invitation from a friend to celebrate his birthday at Auberge La Filature. It is not too far from us and we had a very pleasant evening. They do a set menu with not an enormous amount of choice but that is what I like. I find if a restaurant has masses of dishes to http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/04/new-discovery-auberge-de-la-filature.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-114675223863948917Sun, 16 Apr 2006 14:16:00 +00002006-05-04T14:17:37.803ZOur French tutor invited us on a bird watching day at Campestre. It was to be an early start. We had to meet at 7am which meant we had to be up by 5am. We duly arrived at the rendezvous and waited as a slow trickle of other enthusiastic bird watchers arrived, the day before it had rained quite a bit and the weather this morning was very damp a thick mist hung over the valley where we were http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/04/i-see-no-birds.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-114675219737523474Sat, 15 Apr 2006 14:14:00 +00002006-05-04T14:22:20.250ZToday we visited Peter a gentleman we have got to know through the Languedoc page website. We have found a wealth of useful information here and it has been our bible to guide us through the stages of moving to France. The website has a good forum that covers many of the topics that crop up with the move, including everyday practical things like shopping, restaurants but also covers the more http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/04/sommires-market.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-114675202725084087Wed, 05 Apr 2006 14:13:00 +00002006-05-04T14:13:47.250ZDens brother and wife are now safely installed on the plane back to England. They had a fantastic time, I have always said you either get it or you don’t………..they got it. The scenery, the weather, the food, and not forgetting the wine. We visited the Cirque de Navacelles, I think I will start a rogues gallery of visitor photographs taken at the top. I think we will be seeing a lot more of it http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/04/hows-my-river.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-114439679741751562Sat, 01 Apr 2006 07:59:00 +00002006-05-04T14:10:49.436ZIt is Saturday morning and after yesterday’s heavenly evening meal we are now eagerly awaiting the arrival of Den’s brother and wife, they are due here on Sunday afternoon Ryanair willing. The house work has been done, just a few extra provisions to be collected from the local supermarket before they close.http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/04/eager-anticipation.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-114439675229575233Fri, 31 Mar 2006 22:57:00 +00002006-04-07T08:00:58.916ZWell we have been dreaming about it for months and tonight we actually went and done it. The sun was low in the sky but still warm on our faces, the trees were calmly rustling in the most gentle of breezes. The local church bells were ringing…… Soft music was gently filling the air and then the moment came we had been waiting for all these months. The cries of “dinners up” finally came from my http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/03/this-is-reason-we-came-here.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-114439666906560572Mon, 27 Mar 2006 07:56:00 +00002006-05-04T14:12:32.596ZIt was about 8pm on Monday night when we got a phone call from our son to say that Ryanair had cancelled his flight due to the French strikes. He was due to arrive the next day for a week. He was all packed and ready to go, the car park was booked, holiday booked from work. We were all devastated; we tried to find another way to get him here. Train, boat, plane we tried the lot, they were eitherhttp://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/03/all-packed-up-and-nowhere-to-go.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-114304333675637218Wed, 22 Mar 2006 16:00:00 +00002006-03-22T16:26:53.893ZThis is great ! You can call family and friends back home for FREE using SKYPE and your PC, you can even call normal telephones for an incredible price, and get a number so family can call you cheaply as well. http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/03/call-back-home.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-114304117359450867Wed, 22 Mar 2006 15:23:00 +00002006-04-01T07:50:20.153ZWe were very glad to have undertaken the lessons we did in England, this seemed to give us a basic level of language. However you very soon realise that there is a lot more to learn. We have enrolled in local classes that are government sponsored, we attend these twice a week. But we realise we still need to do more and are looking at the courses that are offered by Linkword Languages. They seemhttp://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/03/learning-french-language.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115348939458659361Fri, 17 Feb 2006 13:42:00 +00002006-07-21T13:43:14.586ZI cannot believe how quiet the house feels now the kids have gone, no noise, no rounds of making tea, coffee and squash for the girls, no queues for the shower, no family discussions on what shall we do today. It’s just me and Den pottering around on our own, roll on another visit.http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/02/all-quiet-on-cazilhac-front.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115348936118514623Thu, 16 Feb 2006 13:42:00 +00002006-07-21T13:42:41.186ZWell it is now time to say goodbye to Mark and Kay and the girls, I cannot believe how quick the week has gone and am feeling quite unhappy at the prospect of not seeing them all for a while. After YES another even more tearful goodbye we hugged the girls for the last time and watched them proceed through the gate and away out of sight. The girls look mystified at me snivelling into my hanky and http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/02/bye-bye-mark-and-kay.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115348927543397358Wed, 15 Feb 2006 13:40:00 +00002006-07-21T13:41:15.433ZWell after a very enjoyable week with Trevor and Paul it is now time to say goodbye, it has come about all too soon and cannot believe it is time for them to go. After YES another tearful goodbye they were on there way home to England. As we drove out of the airport Den suggested as it was a nice day we could go to Marseille for the day, as we still had our eldest Son and family for another day.http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/02/trev-and-paul-time-to-say-goodbye.htmlDennis and Wendytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014447.post-115348908429330176Wed, 15 Feb 2006 13:34:00 +00002006-07-21T13:39:19.240ZToday our youngest Son Trevor has an appointment in Avignon with a garden magazine publisher, he is the co-owner of Gap Photos who are specialist photo agency. We all decided to join him for the trip and catch up with him after his meeting. We dropped him off and went in search of a good restaurant, it was not long before we entered the main square of Avignon and found a suitable venue. The http://www.off-to-france.co.uk/2006/02/on-bridge-at-avignon.htmlDennis and Wendy