tina

I have also been investigating some gitses/houses in the Arcachon area for my next family vacation in a few months. I particularly need something quite big, since there will be 5 of us going. Here are the sites I like best so far: http://www.homelidays.co.uk/EN-Holidays-Rental/fr_aquitaine_33-gironde_fr/arcachon_r3.asp Most of their houses seem quite large. I also found this site that looks good: http://www.casamundo.co.uk/france/aquitaine/arcachon.htm I especially like the old-looking cottages! Otherwise I've been searching the official site of Arcachon for accommodation ideas: http://www.arcachon.com/pageseditos,458,left_2366AFEF,accomodation,arcachon.html This last site is also good for ideas on what there is to do there.

[quote user="Clair"]There is a good selection on this site: http://www.cuisine-vegetarienne.com/, including a section on basic recipes and a list of vegetarian recipe books. I don't know about you, but I like being able to flick through a recipe book before shelling out. I need to see if it's got pictures, how it's written and if it 'talks" to me! I read this blog, which is bio and almost totally vegetarian. [/quote] Thanks for the suggestion, I love the website! Some really good recipes I will have to try. The blog also looks great. I also need to be see a cookbook before I buy it- either I'm attracted to it or not, and I can only know that by physically holding it in my hands and flipping through it!

I'm really motivated to learn how to cook proper French food but I haven't yet found a French cookbook that I really like. I'm not into fancy cooking, but I like good quality simple meals. I know that most French food has some form of meat in it, but it would be great if I could find some vegetarian recipes, since I don't eat any type of meat or fish. Any ideas?

Some people are making good points about international schools in France but I don't think they should be looked at badly. Although they are private and can be very expensive, they give an excellent eduation and many of them offer the Baccalaureate International which is widely recognized around the world. If you are worried about your kids not learning French and not assimilating in the culture, there are other ways for this to happen. They can join local sport teams, get involved in other hobbies or clubs outside of the school, get to know your neighbors' kids, etc. Also it's important to know that the French also send their kids to international schools, so they will be meeting French kids there as well!