Video Diary of an American in France

Experience France like a local with virtual video visits to events and places you won’t find in any tourist book or on any website

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  • France Photoblog

    France Photoblog

    Join us on a photo journey of France, Europe and beyond on our photoblog. Click on the photo or go to: www.france-and-beyond-photoblog.com

  • Chambery App

    Chambery App

    If you have an IPhone or IPod and are planning a visit to Chambery, buy my ITunes App. It will walk you through the city of Chambery to each historic landmark with walking directions, history, a map, and narrative. It's just $2.99. Click on the above photo of the elephant fountain for the link to the app.

  • Travel Resources

    Travel Resources

    Planning a trip to France ? Stay in a Paris apartment during your trip to the city of lights.

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  • Chambery Guide Book

    Chambery Guide Book

    Get my Chambery, France Guide Book free with the purchase of my Cookbook: 'French Comfort Food: Recipes of Savoie and the French Alps.' Get both for only $7.99. Click the photo to get more information or to purchase your books now.

  • French Tutorial

    A basic grammar and vocabulary review of the French language, as well as some informal & slang vocabulary and a special section on vocabulary for English-speaking expatriates living in France. Also included is an appendix on French pronunciation for English speakers as well as IPA transcriptions for most of the vocabulary lists and all of the verb conjugations.

    Visit the Store to buy the e-book for $9.95 or paperback book for $24.95.

Archive for the 'Food and Drink' Category


A few days ago you saw the video about the Motorbike Night in Fort Myers. Well, they also have a Classic Car Night occasionally as well. What beauties those cars were! Truly, they are more artworks than cars. Take a look.


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Posted in Culture, Florida, Food and Drink, Music, Things to Do, Travel, Uncategorized, Video, Weblogs | No Comments »


We’re having a much earlier interest in our French Alps Tours than in previous years. In fact, we already have five guests confirmed for the June tour and we may stop accepting guests at eight, so I’m giving my readers first chance at signing up for the June trip before my new, upcoming ad campaign hits the magazines. If we have enough interest, we may add on a September tour too, so drop me an email if you are interested. In the meantime, visit our site, see videos about the tour days, read about the stunning itinerary, and hear what others have said about the tour. Take advantage of the de-valued Euro too – the trip costs $350 less than last year!

 

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Posted in Chambery and Savoie, Culture, Current Affairs, Food and Drink, Seasons, Things to Do, Thoughts on the French Life, Travel, Uncategorized, Video, Weblogs | No Comments »


I want to take a minute to say Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to my readers. I hope this season is peaceful, joyous, and filled with the people you love, and happy events. This year I am spending Christmas with both my husband and my family and with my traditions, so it is particularly special compared to previous years. I want to wish you a joyous season with some footage that I actually took last year in Paris. I was flying out of Paris to Florida on December 15th, 2010 and spent the night in the city. I took advantage of that fact to go to the Champs Elysees in the city center to see the annual light festival. I took video and saved it for this year. I hope you enjoy it and it puts you in the mood to enjoy a magical, joyous Christmas.

 

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Posted in Culture, Current Affairs, Florida, Food and Drink, Music, Seasons, Thoughts on the French Life, Uncategorized, Video, Weblogs | 3 Comments »

Nov
23

Happy Thanksgiving!


This year I am very fortunate in that I get to celebrate Thanksgiving for the first time in four years. And better yet, I get to celebrate it with both my husband and my family here in Florida. It’s always been one of my favorite holidays so I’m very grateful for this opportunity.

I hope you are celebrating with your loved ones and that you find that you have much to be grateful for this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!


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Posted in Culture, Florida, Food and Drink, Music, Seasons, Uncategorized, Video, Weblogs | 2 Comments »


The town of Saint Mandrier, which can be reached easily by ferry, sits on the peninsula near Toulon, France. It’s tiny and completely walkable. Besides the boats, there are several cute restaurants and bars to quench your thirst and hunger, and cute little houses you can rent. We had a great dinner at Cote Mer with a fantastic bottle of Provence wine.


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Posted in Culture, Food and Drink, Things to Do, Travel, Uncategorized, Video, Weblogs | No Comments »


Here is another surprise we discovered on our drive between Toulon and Marseilles: Giens. This village sits on a mountain overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It’s tiny and artsy and a little touristy. Still we enjoyed a walk around and had a great lunch at Chez JO. Here’s a quick video of the town and a stop at a bay with Salt Lakes on our way up the mountain to Giens.


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Posted in Food and Drink, Things to Do, Travel, Uncategorized, Video, Weblogs | No Comments »


We’re taking a time-out from France to show you an event in Florida, where I am currently staying.

Every year, Fort Myers has a Zombiecon Festival in October to celebrate Halloween. You’re asked to bring canned foods to the event for those in our community who are struggling with being able to afford food. The Zombiecon itself is really hard to describe so it’s best if you just watch the video. Pretty damn fun and a real scream to attend (literally). The first video is mine from the first two hours of the festival. We didn’t stay past 10pm which is when things really get hot! So I added a second video produced by another attendee (videomelanie on Youtube) showing some of the shows that were performed.

Happy Halloween!


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Posted in Florida, Food and Drink, Music, Seasons, Things to Do, Travel, Uncategorized, Video, Weblogs | No Comments »