Logis De France Les Chataigniers, Saint-Jorioz

At the sign of the yellow fireplace

Advantages: Independent hotel character meets reliable value
Disadvantages: Few big city or very posh hotels - if that is a disadvantage

for the predictable mediocrity of the chains. The only two problems are: how to locate such hotels in advance when planning your itinerary, and how to know what standards at what prices to expect on arrival. You can ? and I often have ? travelled in France without elaborate pre-planning, only seeking somewhere to stay when night falls, but it is easier if you have a reliable guidebook to hand. There are many guidebooks to French hotels available, and the local Tourist Office or Syndicat d?Initiative will usually provide free lists of those in their area. Increasingly though, I find myself turning to the most reliable, best-organised and most information-packed guidebook I know, the list of members of the Logis de France. The fact that it costs nothing makes it better still ...

torr 28.09.2004 (02.10.2004) · Read full review
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Review of Logis de France

"Lille De France" - Geddit?

Advantages: Near London by train, cosmopolitan feel, excellent transport connections, eating out, plenty to see
Disadvantages: Dog poo

Bossus (Hunchbacked Cats Street, what kind of a name is that?). I freely admit that this was probably the best quality lunch I?ve ever had, but at £100 each, it bloody well should have been. The gaff certainly rises to the occasion, once you get past the unassuming door in the fish and lobster shop that fronts it, being all chandeliers and mirrors. Oh yes, the food?s good and they don?t mind if you spend 3½ hours eating it too. A great spot for pushing ?le bateau? out. Back to reality, our eating this time was still on planet Earth, with prices to match. We had already pre-booked via the web, La Brasserie de la Paix just off the Place Du Théatre and tucked away in a corner, almost hidden by the verandas of other restaurants. Endearingly, I?m still getting e-mails in French from them, advising me of various saints? day closures. Bearing ...

BNibbles 07.12.2004 (09.12.2004) · Read full review
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Review of Lille (France)

tour de france

Advantages: a great hit from a great band
Disadvantages: none man

A hit song without an album, this was prized vinyl for many years (Warner Bros. 20146-0 A), until EMI smartly rereleased it on compact disc in 1999 with a little multimedia built in, whose centerpiece was a basic video for "Tour de France," assembled from old film footage of the aforementioned cross-country bicycle race. Fueled by heavy breathing, clicking bicycle spokes, and precise electronic syncopation, this single had all the elements of a breakdancers' paradise. Dreamy harp trills shimmered in response to an almost Asian melody line, punched by bass guitar pops, keyboard stabs, and ethereal string samples, suggesting the expansiveness of the French countryside and rolling hills, without ever forgetting that the race is in progress. The lyrics here (sung in French) are atypically human, giving an added warmth that other Kraftwerk ...

philnewall 11.08.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Tour De France Soundtracks - Kraftwerk