Ac50

This website will give you the information you need http://www.stgeorgesparis.com/cean We've been quite a few times over the last few years, and it's a lovely service, held at the Chapelle de la Miséricorde, rue Elie de Beaumont, Caen. You should be able to get more details from the website. 

Hi Jill there is a fairly new bus service running here at the moment http://www.mobi50.com/horaires_ligne/index.asp?rub_code=6   There is also a good train connection from Cherbourg to Caen, which has a bus link out side the station at Caen to the ferry port at Ouistreham. Cost for that is 3 euro (last time I used it) I know what you mean about the train connections though.  I was looking at going from where we are to Le Havre so I could use LD lines as a foot passenger. Only way I could do it was to go in to Paris and out again.  Would have taken about 8 hours.

Sorry for going slightly off topic, but do you think the ferries will be affected next week Will? I'm due to travel back to UK on Brittany ferries from Caen!

There is a brocante de Noel next weekend (17/18 November) at Molay-Littry, in Caen 2 December, Villiers-sous-Mortagne 9 December.  

I have just been looking at the BF website.  I know they are stopping the Cherbourg-Portsmouth crossing in October but when I looked at Cherbourg-Poole or Caen - Portsmouth, they stop at 15 November.  Does this mean there will be no ferries crossing from Normandy to UK from mid-November or will they be posting a winter timetable soon?  

It's that time of year again, and there are plenty of vide greniers being held here in Normandy this weekend. There is a big one at Briquebec and Coutances tomorrow and we have a big one here in Carentan on Sunday.  If you want to check out where the rest are being held, you can look at www.calendrier-des-brocantes.com Hopefully it will stay nice and sunny so we can get out there and check out some bargains!  

Can anyone recommend a nice hotel in Lyon, preferably close to the centre of town?  Have looked on Trip Advisor but can't find anything posted for this year.  Thanks  

Thanks for the suggestions.  Hadn't come across the bus option when I did a search on google, so it's a big help from you both.

I did post this in the travel section but no replies, so thought I'd try here. I wondered if anyone has done the trip from Normany to Orly airport, and if so, how easy it was, especially if travelling by train?  I know we will have to go to St Lazare and then change, but not sure what it's like getting from train to airport at Orly.  Would it be easier to hire a car?

I never said how unsympathetic people were to my posts in the past - I said I was fed up with only getting negative comments about immigrant teenagers attending school in France. You seem to have missed my point entirely.  I was trying to encourage other parents who are thinking of moving to France with teenagers, not blowing our own trumpet. I'm sorry, but as you say your children are in their thirties, I'm not sure why you are contributing to this forum anyway, as opposed to someone like ourselves who have had children go through the system and are trying to help others in the same boat. In fact, I really am offended by your comments and think they are completely off the mark.   

How easy is it to get to/from Orly airport?  Usually use CDG but need to get to Orly from Normandy the end of the month. Is it possible to use SNCF or better to hire a car as I don't want to leave ours at the airport?

so people don't want to know that it's possible for English speaking teenagers to make it in the french education system? How stupid of me to forget we don't do positive on this forum! Do you have teenagers in France?

Hi Deby, Do you have teenagers?  I am curious as to why would you be nervous of introducing 13/14 year olds into France with no language skills?  There are many people who have done so successfully and given their children opportunities they otherwise wouldn't have been exposed to.  Each child reacts differently and we had a back up plan if ours had found it too difficult.  Perhaps one of the problems with British nationals is we are too scared of taking a chance, especially where another language is concerned.  It's one of the things I love about the French in general - they are so confident and proud of their heritage.  When I compare our 3 to teenagers of friends in UK, I am so glad they had the chance to live here.  It was certainly not easy in the beginning but if ours can do it, then so can others.   My husband had been an academic all his working life, until we moved to France. Where ever you go, that system thinks they are better than any other.  Speak to any UK academic and they will say the system there is still  the best in the world.  One of the reasons our eldest didn't want to go to Canada is because many European universities wont accept north american degrees, yet speak to anyone in Canada and they will say their education system is fantastic.  I am not sure where this survey was conducted regarding the french university system, but my husband is still asked to be part of the jury who decide whether to award a Phd when it is defended by the candidate, here in France.  He was recently in Brest and he will tell you that it is certainly much harder for a french candidate to get a Phd from that respect, than it is for one in UK or Canada, where he is also involved in post graduate research.  Our eldest's first year at Caen was exshausting but paid off when she was accepted into second year.  She certainly had more lectures and was expected to work harder than first year students in UK who are helped much more by lecturers and tutors.  One of the reasons I stopped posting on this forum was because of all the negative comments I used to get every time I posted something positive about the education system in France and how children could cope with it.  You only have to read comments from Val2 and Chris to see we are not alone, although I do find it interesting we are all in Normandy/Brittany!  Whatever you may say, I know  that we have given our 3 a good start in life, and the fact they can now speak other languages fluently is a big bonus.  They wont be scared of taking a chance in the future, or hold themselves back by talking themselves into believing they can't do something before they even try, because they know already that they can do what many say can't be done.

Hi Chris Sylvian is a great guy - as is his dad.  We have bought all our vehicles from him, including Rebecca's first car, a 15 year old Renault 5.  I got a nice Laguna from him last year, first car I'd ever bought without my OH checking it over!  He's certainly nothing like your stereotype car salesman.  Do you live in Carentan or further out?  We are in town now, close to the train station.  Where does your son go to school?  Our youngest 2 were at Notre Dame,in Carentan, before going to Institut St Lo.  They were really helpful, arranging extra french lessons etc.  The English teacher there (sadly he was transferred to Caen) even arranged for our middle child to meet up with his daughter who was the same age, as he was worried she was lonely.  Glad to hear your 2 are happy.  It makes such a difference - to you all!  

Hi Val, what subjects is your son going to study at Brest?  My husband was there recently as once of the judges for a doctoral thesis (he's a marine biologist) He's done lots of work at the university of Brest and we've visited often, it seems a great place to study. None of ours are doing science, think they had enough of it growing up!  The main thing though is they are happy and I agree with you entirely when you say that those who want to do well here will do so. I thought I'd be sad when our "baby" finally left school, but to be honest I feel quite liberated and am really looking forward to this new phase in our lives.