DID YOU KNOW...

My friends at France Today have asked me to share the news: the magazine has been redesigned and they'd love you to see it. For a limited period only, they are offering you the chance to sample a copy of the new and improved France Today magazine for only £2.50 / $3.50 including delivery. New subscription rates coming soon! The magazine is now more than 100 pages, with 3 x more content than before. To get your sample issue ($3.50 / £2.50), if you live in the US and Canada, click here. If you live in the rest of the world, click here. Take advantage of this special offer available until 23rd April 2013.

Canadian painter Claude Simard will launch a new exhibition in Calgary called "Paris & Provence Remembered." The show runs April 18th to 25th, 2013 at Masters Gallery; the opening reception is April 10 from 2 to 5 PM with artist in attendance. For info click here or email: claudeasimard@sympatico.ca.

Great news for Americans traveling to Provence! The low-cost airline XL Airways France has announced its new JFK/Marseille/JFK route. When the seasonal flights become fully operational by early June, 2013, they'll be the only direct non-stop flights between the U.S. and Marseille (Marignane or MRS), the major airport in Provence. The start date for JFK/MRS is May 31st. Here's the schedule for now: On Sundays you can fly from New York to Marseille. On Wednesdays, you'll be able to fly in either direction. On Fridays, you can fly from Marseille to New York. Starting May 13,  2013, the Paris-based airline will also fly direct non-stop between New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG). For all the info, click here.
 
Just Provence is now including a meal prepared by a personal chef with many of their Provence rentals in spring and fall. For one gorgeous rental house in St. Remy that's included in the offer, click here. For the Just Provence website, click here,

You can now get Starbucks coffee and other products by mail in France? My friend just placed her first order at StarbucksStore.fr  (Sunday) and had her favorite coffee at her home in Cannes in Wednesday....      

A new wellness oasis has opened in the heart of the French capital.  Located in what were originally the stables of Prince Roland Bonaparte’s hôtel particulier, the Shangri-La Hotel, Paris’s new retreat includes fitness facilities, an indoor pool with an outdoor terrace and a beauty treatment center. The transformation of the space is a tribute to the creative vision of interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, the hotel’s long-time collaborator.  According to Alain Borgers, the hotel GM: “The space, as conceived by Pierre-Yves Rochon, is the culmination of several years’ consideration, as well as renovations carried out with the highest respect for this place and its heritage, both past and present.''  The Shangri-La Paris is in the 16th arrondissement, in the former private home of Prince Roland Bonaparte, grand-nephew of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.  Now restored to its original splendor, the landmark building retains its residential heritage, offering 81 rooms and suites, nearly half of which have views over the Seine and the Eiffel Tower. For more info about the new wellness center, click here or call:+33(0)1 53 67 19 78. For info about the hotel, click here. They're also on Facebook and Twitter.

Author/writer/consultant Mark Spivak, who hosted Uncorked! on the former Palm Beach NPR affiliate for 12 years, has just launched , a wine show available for download here. In the first episodeQuench! with Mark Spivak you'll discover how an Italian porn star became a winemaker and how beer is helping rebuild an abandoned Trappist monastery. Davin de Kergommeaux explains why Canadian whisky gets no respect, and Brian Ellison of Death's Door Spirits discusses the trials and tribulations of being a craft distiller. If you like the show, you can subscriber and have it delivered to you each week. 

Thinking of settling in Monaco? A new booklet called “Settling in the Principality of Monaco” has been published in English by the Principality’s Monaco Welcome & Business Office. All the information is also available for download on the Internet. Click here. 

After seven years in the South of France, English-owned outfit Diamond Diving has recently been awarded PADI 5IDC Resort status.  Diamond Diving is based in Golfe Juan (between Cannes and Antibes), just a half an hour away from Nice Airport.  In addition to the Instructor Development, Diamond Diving prides itself on the quality of other PADI courses from Discover Scuba Diving right through to DiveMaster, how well they look after small groups (maximum 12 divers) and of course the high quality of fun local diving.  For info diamonddiving.net is the website.

Author Sheron Long, who wrote Dog Trots Globe: To Paris and Provence, is offering a free download of her e-book Sniffing Around Provence. If you enjoy humorous adventure stories, travelogues, or photo-essays, you'll love following Chula the Sheltie in this fun family read suitable for all ages. Sniffing Around Provence is a fun escape for dog lovers and anyone interested in experiencing a slice of French life and culture. Get the free download here.

Through March, 2013, Provence Paradise in St. Remy is offering four master bedrooms, each with en suite bath, on a B&B basis.  Each offers all the comfort, atmosphere and personalized attention for which this popular resort hamlet is known. Rooms are 125€ per night, with a three-night minimum. For a recent story about Provence Paradise, click here. For their website, click here. For more info, contact: stephanie@provenceparadise.com

Le Méridien and Air France have announced A Photographer’s Journey: A Discovery of Details from Takeoff to Turndown, a photo exhibition by international photographer Jimmy Cohrssen.  The interactive exhibit is now online here, with shots of Cohrssen’s journeys through culturally rich cities and resort destinations such as Istanbul, Shanghai, Bora Bora, Tahiti and Paris. Fans of the two French brands may vote on their favorite photos until November 23, curating the final exhibition which will be unveiled December 11 in New York City. For more info, click here. 

Leggett Immobilier is looking to hire real-estate agents in France. To get a recruitment pack, click here or email sarah@leggett.fr

Southern Burgundy Explorer is a new iPhone/iPad/iPod touch travel app about the Saône-et-Loire department of France. It has 225 entries and 2,500+ photos. Southern Burgundy Explorer lets users explore and learn about a part of France that many miss. Romanesque Churches, WWII historic sites, the once largest church in the world, prehistoric caves, forest adventures and leisurely cycle rides, vineyards where wine can be bought direct from the producer. Also included are practical travel tips so that travelers get the most out of their visit. Southern Burgundy Explorer is the first app in English about Southern Burgundy. Southern Burgundy is just an hour and a half from Paris on the TGV (high speed train) and is accessible from the A6 Autoroute (toll road) that runs between Paris and the South of France. You can get all the info and purchase the app from iTunes, from Google for Android or from Amazon for Kindle.

Eurostar, the high-speed passenger service linking London and mainland Europe, has introduced a new quiet coach facility on-board all of its trains for travel from September 2012. Passengers booking Business and Standard Premier tickets for travel from September 11th onwards can choose a seat at no extra cost in a dedicated quiet coach at the time of booking. This service is being introduced in direct response to customer requests for the option of a quieter environment in which to work or wind down during their journey. Throughout June, Eurostar is also offering business customers an itinerary of exclusive events in all of its business lounges. With afternoon tea, beer tasting and spa treatments all scheduled this month, the special, hand-picked collection will help business travellers escape work for a few moments and indulge in the local culture.  Events on offer in June include cocktail evenings (St Pancras), massages and other spa treatments (St. Pancras), afternoon tea (St Pancras), pastry chef workshops (St Pancras), wine tasting (Paris Nord) and more. For more info or to book, click  here.  

The Spa by Cinq Mondes has opened at the Five Hotel & Spa in Cannes. Spread over 820 sq. ft. of contemporary design in calming shades of white, the spa features four treatment rooms, two saunas, a hammam, a scrub table, relaxation room and high-tech gym. Created by French-born Jean Louis Poiroux, the spa offers treatments and rituals influenced by the cultures from five continents and integrate traditions from Indonesia, India, Thailand, China, North Africa, Japan, Turkey and the Polynesian Islands. There are also fitness training programs. With a great location behind the famous Croisette in Cannes, the hotel has 45 rooms and suites featuring custom furnishings, from embroidered folding screens to blue porcelain antiques. The hotel even has a private yacht for mini-cruises between Monaco and Saint-Tropez or romantic dinner cruises around the Lerins Islands. For more info, click here. To see my story about the opening of the hotel, click here.

The British Council will open a new English Language Centre in Marseille in September, 2012 offering a broad range of courses for children ages 6 to 17 and for adults. All British Council teachers have at least a first degree and a qualification in English language teaching. Courses for children take students from beginner to proficiency, offering them the chance to take the Cambridge ESOL exams. These courses will run during the school year (30 or 60 hours) and intensively during the school holidays. Courses for adults will include: General English, Business English, Preparation for IELTS and Cambridge exams as well as more specialised professional English language for Legal and Financial English courses.  These will run on the basis of 30 hours over 8-week periods throughout the year. For more info, click here. 

Sébastien Pilat is the new Director of the five-star Hotel Crillon le Brave, the elegant Relais & Chateaux property overlooking Mont Ventoux in the Vaucluse. Original from Brittany, he was Restaurant Manager of the Obélisque Restaurant at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris and later went on to run the Hotel de Castel Tres Girard, a three-star in Morey St Denis, in the Côtes de Nuits. (Sébastien's wife Nathalie is from Burgundy and they're both highly passionate about wine.) For the past three years, Sébastien has been General Manager of the Hostellerie de l’Abbaye de la Celle, Alain Ducasse's 10-room hotel and Michelin-starred restaurant  in La Celle (60 kilometers east of Aix).  Crillon le Brave owner Peter Chittick tells me: "Sébastien is a committed and charming advocate for great local restaurants, excellent service and a spontaneous passion for food and wine. We're looking forward to his powerful influence in further developing the quality and character of our restaurant in particular." Sébastien and Nathalie have twin 10-year-old boys, Romain and Oscar, and Sébastien starts his new job on April 18th. 

Great opportunity! SolarShare can help you get a free solar PV (photo voltaic) system installed on your roof in Provence, thanks to current tax credits and subsidies. SolarShare is a non-profit promoting solar PV energy in Provence. The group financially aids and facilitates the installation of rooftop panels on private homes.  For more info, click here.

Lausanne-educated hotel director seeks hotel (or other exciting) position in Provence, preferably in or near St. Remy. He has 20-plus years experience managing four- and five-star properties and is fully bi-lingual in French and English. For more info, click here or call 06-77-09-14-33. 

Daniela Loretz has left the Hotel de l'Image (St. Remy) and set up her own reflexology, acupressure massage and yoga relaxation studio at #15, Place de la Republique in St. Remy. It's a great central location with plenty of parking. Small-group yoga classes will be priced at 120€ for ten one-hour sessions. Massage is 60€ per hour and packages are available. Daniela can be reached at 06-60-77-64-66 or loretzdaniela@yahoo.com or danielaloretz.com. She speaks English, French and German.

Sabrina Sadeghi Millecamps has set up shop teaching yoga in St. Remy. Trained in New York City, she is certified by Yoga Alliance and has taught in New  York, Aspen and Paris. Sabrina is American and is fully bi-lingual. For info, schedules, pricing and more, see her website here or contact her at: sabrinadarya@hotmail.com. 

Alan McBride, an Australia-based journalist, is seeking invitations for lodging and classes in France in 2012. Areas of interest include language, cooking, photography, birds, animals, music, cycling and the Tour de France. Clips and more info upon request: amcbride01@gmail.com 

Aurelien Cottet has launched a website called The American Clubs, filled with all sorts of English-language events in France. He also runs job listings, classifieds and more. To see the latest edition, click here. To sign up for the free newsletter, click here. To contact Aurelien directly: contact@theamericanclubs.com.

The Marseille Chapter of Democrats Abroad France is launching a women's caucus in Marseille. They are looking for candidates to chair this caucus. Send names to: pamela.king@free.fr. For more info on the caucus, click here.