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Category: France

France travel blog

Diving the ghosts of Corsica, Part I

Diving the ghosts of Corsica, Part I

It had been 18 months since my last dive, and I fumbled clumsily whilst preparing my gear. I was sitting with two other divers in the spring sunshine, beside the picturesque little harbour at Erbalunga, Corsica. Our dive operator Rym, who took the task of conducting our refresher dive seriously, asked us questions about equipment and protocols as we fitted our kit together. Soon we were leaving the harbour in his fibreglass hull inflatable for a nearby spot, and rolling…

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The Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry

We were in the neighbourhood, so my sister suggested we drop into the Normandy town of Bayeux and check out the Bayeux Tapestry. Now I’m always the first to admit my ignorance of something, and although I had heard of the work, I have to say I knew nothing about it. I imagined an old tapestry, hanging vertically in a cold, dark, ancient chapel somewhere in France. But mate was I in for a history lesson. As I contorted our…

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Visiting Mac

Visiting Mac

It was one o’clock in the afternoon when we pulled up beside V.C. Corner Cemetery, near the small village of Fromelles in northern France. It was cold and drizzling rain, and the gloomy light made it feel much later in the day. We were the only visitors. We made our way though the gates and onto the lush, wet grass. Six large trees border the edge of the cemetery, and were sporting fresh, early spring growth. Beyond lie neatly cut…

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A Look Around the Louvre

A Look Around the Louvre

Keen to avoid the ticket queues outside Paris’ Louvre Museum, Vicki and I thought we’d be smart about it and pre-book online. The Louvre website informed us, however, that due to a technical issue online booking was unavailable, so we resigned ourselves to just turn up the next day and take our place in line. Jumping off the train at the Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre metro station, we joined the throng surging towards the exit. I’d heard many…

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