A couple of notes: We LOVE the chambre d'hote experience in France. One should know that they span a wide range of price and degree of fanciness. There are plenty of elegant ( and fairly expensive) ones like this. There are also quite a lot of smaller and simpler ones - often a single or widowed woman with one or two extra bedrooms in her home. A lot of those are not out in the countryside but in towns. These days, of course, the airbnb thing has become a way to connect with them. We started traveling in France (by bicycle) long before airbnb existed and found them by going to the tourist office on arrival in a new town and asking for a list. And that way still works fine.
One of the best things about staying in a B&B is that you can interact with the hosts and other guests. I find it a great way to improve my French (when the hosts are French, anyway).
Wow, what a beautiful place! Thank so much Diane for your videos. I'm in Canada and eagerly awaiting the time when I can travel back to France. Small towns are exactly the places I seek out and Bnb's are definitely the way to go for an authentic experiences.
Will be a great pleasure if you come to my home I like to start with bed and breakfast will be helpful for each other to improve my English so you are welcomed!🎈
Bonjour Diane, 100% based on seeing your blog we decided to book three nights at the Manoir de Jouralem. We were there last week and thoroughly enjoyed it - we had an amazing stay. Merci beaucoup for the great tip and greetings from Holland! Pieter
We love staying in B & B’s as it’s much more interesting than a hotel. You can network with other guest regarding the best restaurants, places to go and things to see which is a wealth of info. Sometimes you even make friends. If you want privacy, you can have that too. Thanks Diane as this was really nice to see. If we are ever in France one day, we would definitely stay here.
Well done review & a lovely B&B. It wasn't mentioned, but Mel and Hywel sound Australian, rather than British. If so, that must be an interesting story, of why / how they ended up in France.
Oh wow what a beautiful place I cannot imagine having a 379 year old place. So much history. Thank you for bringing this to us. The owners sure take pride in their B&B Have a lovely week ( Judy )
Just discovered your channel a year after first trip to France. Beautiful episode, great people and amazing setting. Loire is on our itinerary for France #2. Bravo.
Hi Diane I am enjoying your videos very much. My wife and I moved to Provence from New Mexico 14 months ago (with our THREE dogs!).. It has been a very difficult year but things are starting to settle down now. We are slowly learning to speak French, we have bought cars and a house, and we are now addicted to baguettes and cheese. The language tips you give are especially useful. Best regards from Robert and Kathy
This was great to see. We have stayed at B&B’s throughout the US and always had a good experience. Get to know the owners/innkeepers and the other guests and you will have friends for life.
Thanks for this video, Diane! My wife and I will be visiting France this summer to see our ex-pat son and his family (with two small kids!), with an idea to stay at a B&B. We're just now starting to figure out the particulars and videos such as this will be extremely helpful.
Hi Diane, I'm a French expat living in Indonesia... and I'm getting addicted to your channel, probably because it warmly shares your passion for beautiful France, thus makes me miss it a lot! I'm also glad that many foreigners like Mel and Hywel fall in love with my country, and I hope more and more will follow. Keep up the great work!
This is so wonderful... I love this channel. I’d like to see something on international students who come to study French cuisine and baking. France is known for this and my daughter is intending to be one of those international students in the coming few years. I’d also love to learn more about the Champagne region and French wine making in general. Lastly, with such a diverse culture in France, it would be wonderful to learn more about the various regions... from the Mediterranean region to Lyon, Paris, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, etc. Truly having the local experience in the various regions would be priceless. PS - I loved your tours of the bakery... ooooh la la!
Merci Diane! What great info, so that any of your viewers going to France can frequent this establishment! I will pass on the info to anyone I find visiting France! Woohoo!
Beautiful property! We'll be in France for Christmas next year, but on the other side of the country! (Alsace-Lorraine.) However, the next time we're there for a longer trip, I think a bed and breakfast would be wonderful.
So beautiful! If I would want to see the nearby towns and other sites, how would I get around? Is there easy transportation to these surrounding sites or even getting to public transportation as a foreign visitor...how is it done? Thank you! Really enjoy your channel!
An inviting video. I shall have to make my way up there once this pandemic ends. Being vegan, I often bring some of my own food so I have to check in advance to see if this is possible. I've stayed in several Bed & Breakfast's in France and agree that they are not to be missed.
Oh, yes! We much prefer B&B’s over hotels. We were able to stay at a lovely B&B in Blois. How to find them, though...what resource would you recommend to find gems such as this?
Hi there, not sure what you mean by non-sponsored? I don't know of a site that has every single B&B in France, but there are some good ones. There's a UK site that has a great selection of high-end properties, some in France called Sawday's. In French, there are apartment rental sites like Homeaway and VRBO. TripAdvisor also has a B&B section with reviews. France site specifically that might be of interest: www.chambres-hotes.fr/ Hope that helps!
@@OuiInFrance Thanks for the very prompt reply yesterday, Diane! Your B&B website recommendations are great. I've perused through both the French and UK sites quite a bit today. Much appreciated! We were originally scheduled to be in France starting next month, but the "Trump Pandemic" nixed those plans. Hopefully my wife and I can do this trip next year. At least now I'll have more time to try to learn some basic French online. Do you have any opinions on the various French on-line language apps? I've been using Duolingo the past several months, but I've heard a fair amount of criticism about it. Any thoughts on your end? Thanks!
@@raymondmiller5098 You're very welcome. Glad they were helpful! I'm not a huge fan of Duolingo if your goal is to actually speak and understand French speakers in real-life circumstances. I think in theory the app can be helpful but the phrases were so random and obscure that I don't think they prepare you very well for face-to-face interactions. Check these out instead: www.fluentu.com/blog/french/best-apps-for-learning-french/
@@OuiInFrance Greetings from northern CA, and thanks again, Diane! I was told that "italki" is also a good lang. resource, but it seems that this would perhaps be good only after one at least develops some rudimentary French language skills. Best regards, Ray
How lovely! I have not stayed in a B&B, but will strongly consider it next time I get to travel! I have stayed in a near Sarlat. You might consider a video on them... they are another fun alternative to the multi-national hotels, especially, perhaps, if travelling as a family.
Hi there! It can be a little cool but quite comfortable. Spring is a great time to come before the summer crowds take over. But with COVID-19, hard to say how things will unfold then. Thanks for watching!
To say you're "all out of something" is to say you have nothing left. Phoque is a seal in French and sounds a lot like f*ck in English, so saying you're all outta f*ucks is saying you're fed up, you're tired of all the nonsense, you just don't give a crap. Hope that helps!
I feel bad that you did all this work and advertising for them, and they couldn't discount your stay, at the very least. You had the option to make a generic video, but you made it about them, specifically. I think you are a nice person, and I don't like to see you being taken advantage of. Imagine how much money they have made through this video. In my opinion, it's the least someone should do, especially if this is something benefitting them financially. I'm usually against bloggers demanding and asking for free things, but this wasn't a short clip of you having a meal at some place, and asking the place to comp your meal. This was an in-depth view on the family, and the manor. It was more on the lines of an ad campaign for them. So disappointing! I'm so upset for you!
A couple of notes: We LOVE the chambre d'hote experience in France. One should know that they span a wide range of price and degree of fanciness. There are plenty of elegant ( and fairly expensive) ones like this. There are also quite a lot of smaller and simpler ones - often a single or widowed woman with one or two extra bedrooms in her home. A lot of those are not out in the countryside but in towns. These days, of course, the airbnb thing has become a way to connect with them. We started traveling in France (by bicycle) long before airbnb existed and found them by going to the tourist office on arrival in a new town and asking for a list. And that way still works fine.
One of the best things about staying in a B&B is that you can interact with the hosts and other guests. I find it a great way to improve my French (when the hosts are French, anyway).
Wow, what a beautiful place! Thank so much Diane for your videos. I'm in Canada and eagerly awaiting the time when I can travel back to France. Small towns are exactly the places I seek out and Bnb's are definitely the way to go for an authentic experiences.
Will be a great pleasure if you come to my home I like to start with bed and breakfast will be helpful for each other to improve my English so you are welcomed!🎈
What a beautiful property.
Bonjour Diane, 100% based on seeing your blog we decided to book three nights at the Manoir de Jouralem. We were there last week and thoroughly enjoyed it - we had an amazing stay. Merci beaucoup for the great tip and greetings from Holland! Pieter
So happy to hear that, Pieter! It's a wonderful property run by a lovely couple. So glad you could experience it in person. ;-)
I LOVE bed and breakfasts over hotels all the time. Now, if I could WIN the lottery!!
Beautiful bed and breakfast. Lovely family too.
We love staying in B & B’s as it’s much more interesting than a hotel. You can network with other guest regarding the best restaurants, places to go and things to see which is a wealth of info. Sometimes you even make friends. If you want privacy, you can have that too. Thanks Diane as this was really nice to see. If we are ever in France one day, we would definitely stay here.
Thanks so much for watching!
Well done review & a lovely B&B. It wasn't mentioned, but Mel and Hywel sound Australian, rather than British. If so, that must be an interesting story, of why / how they ended up in France.
Dianne, thank you for your wonderful and informative blog and UA-cam channel. Simply the best on France I’ve seen.
Thank you for your kind comment, means a lot!
Oh wow what a beautiful place I cannot imagine having a 379 year old place. So much history. Thank you for bringing this to us. The owners sure take pride in their B&B Have a lovely week ( Judy )
so much history and so much sex in that house
Just discovered your channel a year after first trip to France.
Beautiful episode, great people and amazing setting. Loire is on our itinerary for France #2.
Bravo.
It would be a dream come true for me! Hoping I can stay at such a place soon. Merci beaucoup!
Outstanding renovations were made to the manor. I am impressed. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Diane
I am enjoying your videos very much. My wife and I moved to Provence from New Mexico 14 months ago (with our THREE dogs!).. It has been a very difficult year but things are starting to settle down now. We are slowly learning to speak French, we have bought cars and a house, and we are now addicted to baguettes and cheese. The language tips you give are especially useful.
Best regards from Robert and Kathy
This was great to see. We have stayed at B&B’s throughout the US and always had a good experience. Get to know the owners/innkeepers and the other guests and you will have friends for life.
Thanks Richard, so glad you enjoyed the video!
Thanks for this video, Diane! My wife and I will be visiting France this summer to see our ex-pat son and his family (with two small kids!), with an idea to stay at a B&B. We're just now starting to figure out the particulars and videos such as this will be extremely helpful.
What a beautiful place. Would love to stay there. Just stunning.
Hi Diane, I'm a French expat living in Indonesia... and I'm getting addicted to your channel, probably because it warmly shares your passion for beautiful France, thus makes me miss it a lot! I'm also glad that many foreigners like Mel and Hywel fall in love with my country, and I hope more and more will follow. Keep up the great work!
This is so wonderful... I love this channel. I’d like to see something on international students who come to study French cuisine and baking. France is known for this and my daughter is intending to be one of those international students in the coming few years. I’d also love to learn more about the Champagne region and French wine making in general. Lastly, with such a diverse culture in France, it would be wonderful to learn more about the various regions... from the Mediterranean region to Lyon, Paris, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, etc. Truly having the local experience in the various regions would be priceless.
PS - I loved your tours of the bakery... ooooh la la!
Looks like a lovely place to stay. Thank you for the walk-through!
Beautiful bed & breakfast ... Beautiful family ... Cutest dog♡ ... Thank you for sharing your experience !!! ♡♡
Agreed, they are wonderful! Thank you for watching (P.S. Dagny the dog is mine ;-))
@@OuiInFrance ... Dagny is soooo cute and as you said a well-behaved dog ... are always welcomed. Have a great day.
Wonderful place, wonderful people, wonderful video !
Thank U so much for the tour.
Keep up the great work!
i would love to see many more.
Merci Diane! What great info, so that any of your viewers going to France can frequent this establishment! I will pass on the info to anyone I find visiting France! Woohoo!
Beautiful property! We'll be in France for Christmas next year, but on the other side of the country! (Alsace-Lorraine.) However, the next time we're there for a longer trip, I think a bed and breakfast would be wonderful.
This is great Diane. I loved the video. Especially loved the history behind the Manoir!!!
Gorgeous Place! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for this very useful review, I’ll be looking them up!
Those walls could use with a few nice colourful art pieces to brighten them up.
Absolutely beautiful 😊 I just love the history! Such a novelty for this Aussie 😜
Looks lovely.
Well done thank you.❤
Thanks, nice relaxed idea for travel in France.
Well done, Diane! This segment feels like Saturday morning PBS.
Outstanding video, thanks.
Lovely! Thank you for sharing this video, it’s great to have alternatives. We have stayed in B&B’s before and we love it.
Great tour and advice! Beautiful place and country!
Great video
So beautiful! If I would want to see the nearby towns and other sites, how would I get around? Is there easy transportation to these surrounding sites or even getting to public transportation as a foreign visitor...how is it done? Thank you! Really enjoy your channel!
An inviting video. I shall have to make my way up there once this pandemic ends. Being vegan, I often bring some of my own food so I have to check in advance to see if this is possible. I've stayed in several Bed & Breakfast's in France and agree that they are not to be missed.
Merci, et bonne chance Mel and Hywel !
Great vid. Merci
UGH that couple is living the dream
Oh, yes! We much prefer B&B’s over hotels. We were able to stay at a lovely B&B in Blois. How to find them, though...what resource would you recommend to find gems such as this?
Great idea..will be booking for b&b in my next trips!
I've stayed in B'n'Bs, but they were nothing like this! Beautiful.
this one is a "luxury B&B"... some are just modest houses, or farm, but usually the reception is friendly.
What a lovely B&B!
Thanks! Interesting 👍
Un endroit extrêmement inspirant, même pour un Français !
Great video! A question: Is there a reputable, objective (non-sponsored) website for all of France's B&B's (including guest's reviews)??
Hi there, not sure what you mean by non-sponsored?
I don't know of a site that has every single B&B in France, but there are some good ones. There's a UK site that has a great selection of high-end properties, some in France called Sawday's. In French, there are apartment rental sites like Homeaway and VRBO. TripAdvisor also has a B&B section with reviews.
France site specifically that might be of interest: www.chambres-hotes.fr/
Hope that helps!
@@OuiInFrance Thanks for the very prompt reply yesterday, Diane! Your B&B website recommendations are great. I've perused through both the French and UK sites quite a bit today. Much appreciated! We were originally scheduled to be in France starting next month, but the "Trump Pandemic" nixed those plans. Hopefully my wife and I can do this trip next year. At least now I'll have more time to try to learn some basic French online. Do you have any opinions on the various French on-line language apps? I've been using Duolingo the past several months, but I've heard a fair amount of criticism about it. Any thoughts on your end? Thanks!
@@raymondmiller5098 You're very welcome. Glad they were helpful!
I'm not a huge fan of Duolingo if your goal is to actually speak and understand French speakers in real-life circumstances. I think in theory the app can be helpful but the phrases were so random and obscure that I don't think they prepare you very well for face-to-face interactions.
Check these out instead: www.fluentu.com/blog/french/best-apps-for-learning-french/
@@OuiInFrance Greetings from northern CA, and thanks again, Diane! I was told that "italki" is also a good lang. resource, but it seems that this would perhaps be good only after one at least develops some rudimentary French language skills. Best regards, Ray
you can search for "chambres d'hôtes" on google. There are several sites
👏
How lovely! I have not stayed in a B&B, but will strongly consider it next time I get to travel! I have stayed in a near Sarlat. You might consider a video on them... they are another fun alternative to the multi-national hotels, especially, perhaps, if travelling as a family.
Thank u. Y is it there’s always a bath tub, but no shower thingy?! 😳😳. Je vous remercie.
We plan on staying in B&Bs
Their kids are cute.
I would make plans for April 2021 but who knows anymore. How's the weather in late April-early May?
Hi there! It can be a little cool but quite comfortable. Spring is a great time to come before the summer crowds take over. But with COVID-19, hard to say how things will unfold then. Thanks for watching!
I know your t-shirt, All Outta Phoques, is a play on words....but I can not come up with the meaning....can you explain?
To say you're "all out of something" is to say you have nothing left. Phoque is a seal in French and sounds a lot like f*ck in English, so saying you're all outta f*ucks is saying you're fed up, you're tired of all the nonsense, you just don't give a crap. Hope that helps!
I'm planning a trip in April 2020. How much did it cost to stay there.
😍😍😍
I feel bad that you did all this work and advertising for them, and they couldn't discount your stay, at the very least. You had the option to make a generic video, but you made it about them, specifically. I think you are a nice person, and I don't like to see you being taken advantage of. Imagine how much money they have made through this video. In my opinion, it's the least someone should do, especially if this is something benefitting them financially. I'm usually against bloggers demanding and asking for free things, but this wasn't a short clip of you having a meal at some place, and asking the place to comp your meal. This was an in-depth view on the family, and the manor. It was more on the lines of an ad campaign for them. So disappointing! I'm so upset for you!