Travel another way

Thirty-year-old Amélie Mauresmo announced this morning she is officially putting an end to her tennis career. Some tears were shed by the most famous French tennis star when she made the announcement at a press conference.

Tennis became her passion while watching French tennis player Yannick Noah when she was only 4. She became a professional player in the mid-90s . Her biggest wins were Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2006.  Her only regret :  not winning the French open ever!

She will also be remembered as the first French athlete to reveal her homosexuality while still on the courts.

Six American ladies managed to hide a big surprise to Sharon on her birthday. She had been told she was going to travel for a week, but she had no idea what her destination would be until she finally got to San Francisco airport, from where she flew to Marseille. But it was not her final destination: Barbara, her girlfriend, took her on a train ride to Avignon, where 5 friends of theirs were expected them.

                                               Carol and Sharon in Chateau-Neuf-du-Pape

 Allison was also there and joined the jolly group along ! Everybody had a great time, visiting the area (hilltop villages, ranches, markets …) and enjoyed the Bastide in Luberon.

                                                                  Sharon, the birthday girl !

  Allison, chocolate-tasting in Oppede                   Ready to board the van for another fun day!

                                                The whole group on the ranch in Camargue

For more information about our tours in France, Belgium and more, check www.frenchescapade.com

Women from Canada and from the USA have joined me this week to tour Provence. Provence is known for its breath-taking sceneries, its historical hilltop villages and its art. We saw all that, but its natural beauty was at the heart of this week’ s delights.

Camargue is always a highlight, with the visit of Thibaud Ranch, where Olivier and his friends always put on a show just for us.

Roussillon with its ocher walk is a kind of fairy land, with magical colors.

In Les Baux, houses are nested in cliffs around the medieval castle, or down below the village walls.

In Saint Remy de Provence, Van Gogh also discovered the beauty of nature and depicted it on many of his paintings. We visited the hospital where he stayed and painted a few months before his death.

We took pictures of all of that, and we will again tomorrow, when we will admire the Pont du Gard, one of the most impressive roman ruins in Provence.

To find out more about our coming trips, visit www.frenchescapade.com

If you know me well, you know that I love tennis. I love watching it and playing it . Although I won’t be able to watch as much of the US Open as I want, I am extremely excited about Km Clijsters ’s results.

She has won her first games very easily even though she is just back after taking 2 years off,  and she is now going to play …. in round 3. Ok, ok … some will say that I used to cheer for Belgian Justine Henin and did not care as much when it came to Kim. But that was a long time ago, when French-speaking Wallonia had a player in the game. Tonight my heart is Flemish (really, it should be , since I will be staying in the Belgian Flanders fo 10 days, starting tonight).

Well, Belgians are not easy to understand but for sure sport is a field where they seem to reconciliate (especially when they win).

And I have 2 reasons to cheer for Flemish  Belgium tonight. Kim will play against Belgian Kristen Flipkens ! The latter is not as well known, even though she recently made the news for posing naked in Menzo magazine. Anyway …  no stress for me tonight : there will be a Belgian winner on the court!

And for some fun and funny tennis ….

For our tours to Belgium and France, visit www.frenchescapade.com

                           Jackie, your travel guide and specialist about Belgium, France and California

                                                                         (see bottom  of article for latest trip discounts)

• The new Magritte museum is opening soon! On June 2, its doors will open on the magic world of the most famous Belgian surrealist painter. Located next to the Art Museum on Place Royale in Brussels, and not to be confused with the former Magritte museum, located in the painter’s home. While the old one focuses on the artist’s life, the new one will exhibit some 170 paintings by Magritte. Not to be missed! Tickets are for sale online.

• The royal greenhouse of Laeken are only open to the public in spring. This year, you will be able to admire the huge collection of rare plants in the superb 19th century greenhouses designed by Balat from Friday, April 17 to May 10 (closed on Mondays). It is a short window and therefore a privilege to enter this magical  space located in the King’ s palace gardens.

• The Foundation for Architecture is presenting its 2009 exhibition " the Time of the Boutiques" , from booths to ebay, ongoing until October 18, 2009. You will be immersed in the experience of window-shopping through ages. The foundation is located rue de l’ Hermitage, 105 – Brussels 1050. Closed on Mondays.

• On Saturday, May 16, 2009, you will be able to join the Belgian Gay Pride March in Brussels, with around 20,000 people walking the Streets of the Belgian capital. The parade is free and starts at 2 pm at the Bourse. It will end with the Rainbow Party at the Ancienne Belgique.

• Brussels public transportation are varied and convenient: 5 train stations, an easy train access to the airport and a great subway network in addition to a large bus and tram network. On April 4 , 2009, new metro lines were added.

Practical info: the Brussels subways (Metro)  run from 5am to 1am / Trains are every 7 minutes / a single ticket costs 1.70 euros  and a Day pass 4.50 euros / a 3-Day pass 9.50 euros.

To and from the airport, trains run every 15 minutes (Central station, Bruxelles Midi, Airport station located  in the basement – level – 1)

And because Belgians are unpredictable, watch this video taken at the Antwerp train station on March 23.  Public transport can be art!"

So to all of you who will be in Belgium this spring, enjoy!

If you want to join us on our August tour of Belgium with a special 50% off discount, check our website www.frenchescapade.com . It is a women-only 8-day trip in Wallonia and the  Flanders in a small group of 8, escorted by bilingual guides with a real knowledge of the country. I will be there!

All pictures were taken on French Escapade tours in Belgium.

Here is some update from the Vendée Globe sailing race. As I mentioned it in my post of november 16, this race is the toughest of all. Alone, no assistance possible and no stop around the world !

They were 30 to join the race 67 days ago: 28 men and 2 women. Today only 12 are still in : 9 men and 2 women. The leader, Michel Desjoyeaux, has long passed Cape Horn and is now sailing north along the bazilian coast.

The second half of the group is passing Cape Horn  right now and about to experience a big storm with strong gusts.

A special salute  to the 2 female competitors, Dee Caffari and Samantha Davies, ranking 8 and 4 so far, still in the race when 18 men have abandoned.

 Samantha Davies, 34, Britain /1st Vendée Globe entry / Boat: roxy

Here is an exerpt from Dee’s website on her latest race conditions:

“Dee and Aviva have now made their way through the first of the anticipated violent storms as they continue their journey towards Cape Horn.

Dee has spent a nightmare twenty four hour period in winds gusting between 50 to 65 knots.”   to be continued at http://www.deecaffari.co.uk/

 Dee Caffari, 35, Britain / 1st Vendée globe entry /Boat: Aviva

You can also view videos from Dee and other skippers live from their boat on the following page:

http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/media/videos/

As for the virtual race, over 200,000 people joined the race. My French Escapade boat is ranking 98, 159 !!!!

For complete detailed information, visit http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/

IWD has been observed for over a century. The USA was the first country to dedicate a special day to women on February 28, 1909.

So here is my top 12 selection of French women who deserve recognition.

I must start with Joan of Arc and I guess you do not need any introduction to this one. I would then jump right away to the French Revolution, and having mixed feelings about Marie Antoinette, I would rather praise Olympe de Gouges, who was the first French woman to fight for women’s rights.

A few decades later, George Sand (a female writer in spite of her name) was a real free woman. Her life was passionate and she collected lovers, from Frederic Chopin to Marie Dorval among many others. Colette was also a independent spirit whose love stories were as romantic as her books.

Even though Marie Curie was as Polish as French, I think she would not mind me mentioning her as a great French woman. During world War II, Lucie Aubrac was an impressive resisting woman ; her heroic actions turned her into a strong resistance figure. She passed away in 2007.

In the entertainment sphere, I would rather pass on Brigitte Bardot who has recently supported extreme right parties in France; my preference goes to great singers such as Edith Piaf , or to actresses like Simone Signoret, Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche.

Even though she  despised “women in pants”, I can’t help  mentioning the woman who used to live in an elegant suite at the Ritz Hotel , place Vendome in Paris : the unforgettable Mademoiselle Coco Chanel!

Finally, here is a special thought for Ingrid Betancourt, the French-Colombian politician, who has been a hostage for 8 long years in the Colombian jungle. I keep my fingers crossed for her to be released soon.

Happy Woman’s Day to all of you!