Otelinn Logis de France, Caen

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

I?ve now been to Lille three times in the past year or so, each previous time, merely for the day. Only over the last weekend did we stay overnight. Why Lille? Well, rather like the reason dogs lick their naughty bits, it?s because we can. Lille is the first main stop in France on the Eurostar/TGV route from the Channel Tunnel ? yes, I know you could get a train that stops at Calais (Fréthun), but that?s like getting out at Bristol Parkway and expecting to be in Bristol! Gare Lille-Europe arrives outside your train window 1 hour and 40 minutes after London Waterloo International disappears. Stage 1 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), means that we now get to hurtle through Kent at 186 M.P.H. before slowing to a mere 100 M.P.H. to shrug off the 32 miles of tunnel in a mere 20 minutes. Doing 'a ton' MORE than even the over ...

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