Le Bar sur Loup: Fete de L’Oranger

Today’s guest post is by the ever-popular anonymous.
You’ll just have to trust me when I tell you that anonymous has a world of experience traveling around the south of France.  He/She has wisely chosen to write about one of the best festivals in the region, the Fete de L’Oranger in Le Bar sur Loup. Enjoy….

Le Bar sur Loup

Le Stuff has carelessly and foolishly revealed the name of one of the few remaining hill towns, as  yet untouched by tourist hands, that hovers still high above the French Riviera.

At first I feared hoards of individuals bearing fanny packs and Flips would, upon receiving this intelligence, launch a destructive invasion leaving tacky detritus in their wake.

However, subscribers to Le Stuff

Roland Garros: A Guide To The French Open

Today’s guest post by Rick Dominick is all about one of the world’s greatest sporting events, The French Open. Rick attended the tournament in 2007 and gleaned some helpful tips that will make any tennis junkie’s trip to the red clay of Roland Garros easier and more fun.

Go Rick….

Le Stuff’s Definitive Guide to Enjoying the French Open

The 2010 French Open is underway and you, like the rest of us, wish you were there.  And for good reasons; it’s the only major tournament played on clay, the tournament is held in an elegant neighborhood in Paris, and for tennis lovers, the points on “terre battue” are long and hard-fought.  If you are considering making the trip in 2011, here are our suggestions for making it a great adventure.

1) Plan to attend the tournament during the first week of competition.
Week 1 is the best time to see all the top players. The grandstand courts host the premier matches while the grounds courts host everyone else.  You may want to watch Federer or Serena compete on the Phillipe Chartrier or Suzanne Lenglen stadium courts but hardcore tennis lovers will want to scour the grounds courts for their favorite players.  The heavy, red clay makes for long, carefully crafted points and matches. Sit within a couple of feet of the players on the smaller courts and enjoy the fine competition.

Get up close and personal on the grounds courts

2) Book your trip in advance and get tournament tickets through the http://www.rolandgarros.com website.
If you want stadium tickets sign up for tickets in January or February.  You’ll be notified once the lottery for tickets is completed.  Re-seller tickets on the internet and scalped tickets are available closer to tournament time but tend to be expensive.  Grounds tickets can be purchased

Alec Harvey Guest Post: Thoughts on France

Alec Harvey, Features Editor for The Birmingham News, has been kind enough to submit Le Stuff”s very first Guest Post.  For those of you who are regular Le Stuff readers, you may remember I posted a story in July about the, um, transmission problems Alec encountered early on during a Spring 2007 trip to France.  I really do hate to mention it again, but honestly it’s just too difficult for me to let it go.

So thanks Alec for your contribution, and I very much look forward to our next adventure.  I encourage everyone to pick up a copy of The Birmingham News, one of the nation’s most respected newspapers, and to check out City Scene, found in the Entertainment section every Friday.  There’s no better way for hipsters like you and me to get a handle on the goings on in The Magic City.  Finally, “Alec Harvey’s blog and column” (does this guy ever sleep?) can be read at http://blog.al.com/aharvey.

Sincerely,

Le Stuff

Two years ago, I fell in love with France .

I had visited Paris the summer after I graduated from college, and I probably fell in love then, too, but the nearly 25 years that had passed had dimmed that affection. What remained were memories of good food and a little too much good wine, but not much about the people and places I encountered.

This time, I don’t expect the love affair to end.  Visiting the countryside of France is much different from the hustle and bustle of one of the world’s greatest cities.  The villages have a quaintness that Paris can never duplicate, and their charm – and that of the people that inhabit them – is not likely to fade.

If you’re planning a trip to the South of France