I'm going to France this summer! It is my first time, and I'm hoping it lives up to expectations! Has anyone been there before? If so, tell me what you enjoyed about it and where you think I should visit

I've been to France, although it was many years ago. Which part of France are you visiting? I personally didn't enjoy Paris too much, as it was very crowded and 'touristy.' But I liked a little seacoast town I visited called La Rochelle; it was very romantic

And my favourite part of visiting France was definitely the food! I remember getting the sweetest and reddest strawberries while I was there.

Yes French food could be nice, though I am not fond of the way the French do ham, or how they do allegedly Italian food . I do love French cheeses though, and bouillabaisse, and it is best to go to the Brasseries to eat in preference to fast food places like McDonalds.

I've been to France three times in all, but the third time was only for a day or three, in association with the ANZAC Day centenary of 2015. A lot depends on what you want to see, and do, in the country, and that time, 26-28th April, 2015, I was visiting Northern France, around Villers Bretonneux, where there is a museum for those Australians who were sent to that town in World War I to help defend it against invading German forces. This year Villers Bretonneux was the site for Anzac Day commemorations, as the battle of Villers Bretonneux occurred a century ago, on 25th April, 1918.

I've also been to see the American war graves and monument overlooking Omaha Beach in Normandy, which commemorates the D-Day landings of 6th June, 1944, which helped put an end to World War II, and which would be of great significance to American visitors there, in particular. Further along the Normandy coast are Sword and Juno Beaches where the British and Canadian troops landed. France, today, looks very green and tranquil for such a turbulent history.

As well, I've been to Honfleur, St Malo, Mont St Michel, Epinay (the centre of the champagne producing area), Rouen and Rheims. I wish I could go back to have another look at the cathedral in Rouen, in particular, as this Normandy city is much more historical than for being the place where St Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. And the tour we went on to visit Normandy and a bit of Brittanny, didn't take in Bayeux where the famous Bayeux tapestry is normally located.

I personally didn't enjoy Paris too much, as it was very crowded and 'touristy.'

Yes, the Louvre is not a place for the faint-hearted, especially on a French public holiday, and it is important to beware of pickpockets. Around Versailles there are too many people trying to sell souvenirs and virtually everyone gets pushed in, in large groups that is easy to get detached from if you can't keep up. Even the Eiffel tower can get a bit too crowded. Often in those places I saw more when with my own family rather than with the larger tourist group. There is a gilded statue of St Joan of Arc, just down from the Louvre, in the Place des Pyramides, adjoining the Rue de Rivoli, in Paris, and if you see it, please give it a wave for me. It is one landmark that is hard to miss, and one place where I knew exactly where I was. Beware of Paris traffic.

Has anyone been to New York city? My brother is going and would like some tips on places to visit (especially places to eat ) I went there once, but it has been years (and I was only 10)!

I was there for a couple of days in 2000 - when the WTC was still there - and I had a recommendation from another traveller to go on the Circle line boats, which take you right round Manhattan. The guide tells you about everything you are seeing, and it was a great start to my visit as I knew approximately where I was. I went up the Empire State and was able to identify some of the buildings from above (after the boat ride).
I recommend you find a good basic guide book and use it to make a short list.

Thanks, Coracle. I will pass on this info to my brother.

If I were going I would just want to eat all the good food! My tourist stops would consist in stops at restaurants haha. When I went years ago, I remember thinking pizza in New York was sublime.

We've had a number of new members join recently from various countries around the world, so I thought it'd be fun to bump this thread back up again.

Starting off with a question... what are the average dates of a school year in your country? Here in the USA, it depends on where you live. The midwest where there's a lot of farming country, it's usually mid August to mid May. If you go to the coasts it's usually mid September to mid June. The current pandemic had me wondering how schools have been interrupted around the world.

In Australia, the school year starts in the last week of January or first week of February and ends in mid December, so that every school year fits perfectly into the calendar year. Which is the way it should be and the only logical way to do it, obviously.

I'm not in contact with anyone there who has school-aged children at present, but the lockdown began in March, about halfway through Term 1 (which normally ends around Easter). They're now talking about possibly allowing schools to go back by the end of July, which would be early in Term 3 (there are four school terms per year in most states). So it's a matter of losing about a term and a half of school, but returning in the same school year about halfway through it, rather than on the verge of a new school year. I suppose how that's handled will be up to the respective state education departments for public schools and up to the individual school for private ones. At least nearly all students will be in the same boat when it comes to the impact on their schooling and I'm sure allowances will be made for that.

New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere, where summer is from December to February, and includes Christmas and New Year.
The school year starts at the end of January or beginning of February, and has four terms, divided by 2-week holidays (breaks) around Easter, in early July, and September/October.
This means that all the end of year tasks and activities happen along with Christmas events and preparations, and plans for summer camping trips!

Zambia is also in the Southern Hemisphere though we don't have a summer/fall/winter/spring season break. It's more of hot/very hot/rainy/coldish and then back to hot. So there's no such thing as a two month long summer break. Basically for most schools the school year starts in January and is divided into three terms. So the first term goes from January to March then there is a month long holiday during April, then the second term is from May to July then holidays in August and lastly the third term is from September to November with holidays in December. There are so mid term breaks which last for a week in the months of February, June and October.

The only difference is for some big international schools that have connections with Europe and America so they try to follow the more northern hemisphere calendar. I think this is mainly for their twelfth grade students, most of whom choose to go and study abroad and need the school year to end by July. So the school year will start for them in September as opposed to January but they still follow the same three term system with the same holidays breaks.

Honestly it was very confusing for me at first when I moved here, but after three years I've gotten used to it and now get confused by how the school system works in my native Russia. Most of my siblings are teachers so I thought I wanted to invite some over for December (it's a good month to visit Victoria Falls, right in the rainy season when the water levels are high) and they have to remind me that up there they don't get the whole month off school like we do here but only a week off at the end.

In Russia there isn't really a standard way the school year runs. That is to say it always starts in September. For elementary school it will end in mid May, for middle and high school usually mid June. And then of course everyone gets the last week of December and the first week of January off because of New Year's and Christmas. Other than that it's sort of up to the school to decide when the spring and fall vacations will come around.

This is the best thread I could find to post a piece of news I just wanted to share with other NarniaWebbers: last Thursday, after almost 10 years of living in the UK, I finally became a British citizen!!!  

This is me at the ceremony (hope it's OK to post a personal photo!):

[img] [/img]

I should add, I'm still an Aussie as well. Both countries allow dual citizenship, or else I wouldn't have taken it!  

@courtenay  Congratulations! Or as we  Narnawebbers say, Conga Rats!

I have a British Passport, but what else did you have to do to gsin citizenship?

Congratulations @courtenay !! That's so very cool. Now, weren't you looking at moving to the USA somewhat soon? Or maybe that was before Covid... 

Posted by: @coracle

@courtenay  Congratulations! Or as we  Narnawebbers say, Conga Rats!

Thanks  

I have a British Passport, but what else did you have to do to gsin citizenship?

Basically, I had to have lived here for at least 5 years on a long-term work visa (the visa I originally came on, which lasted two years, wasn't eligible) in order to gain an "indefinite leave to remain" permit (permanent residency), and then hold that permit for at least one more year, after which I became eligible to apply for citizenship. The actual application wasn't very complicated, but it took a few months for it to be processed (I applied in April and was accepted in August).

Posted by: @fantasia

Congratulations @courtenay !! That's so very cool. Now, weren't you looking at moving to the USA somewhat soon? Or maybe that was before Covid... 

Actually that idea started after the pandemic did, but I've had a change of plans. Partly because travel to the US is still impossible from both the UK and Australia and there's no telling when that will change, but also because I unexpectedly got a new job (in a different part of England from where I was before) that I absolutely love, and I'm so happy where I am now that I've decided to stay!  

I'm not sure if this really counts as a cultural curiosity, but I thought there wasn't any other thread that was better for it, and it might not really be a big enough thing that it would deserve a separate NarniaWeb thread  

But it is a big thing in Europe, and it is a bit of a curiosity as well: On Sunday 14 January a Scandinavian monarch will retire, and Europe will have a new King!  

It's the Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, who has decided to leave the throne to her son, because of her health issues. Earlier she has said that she would stay in office to her last day (like Queen Elizabeth II did), but lately she has been on sick leave (for some back surgery) enough to think things over again, and has changed her mind (which is the curiosity, as it hasn't happened among Scandinavian monarchs for hundreds of years. Other European monarchs have retired, but not the ones up North). She has decided that for all parties involved, it's better that she hands her throne over to a healthy young man (of 55). She's 83.

She announced the news in her annual speech on New Year's Eve. Even the Prime Minister had apparently not been told, so she had to rewrite her New Year's speech to accomodate to the new situation.

Then on Sunday 14.01.2024, in the early afternoon, her son Crown Prince Frederik will become (but will not be crowned) King of Denmark. (I've checked, and it will be covered on Norwegian TV. I hope I can get the chance to watch it - as you may have noticed last year, I'm a bit of a royalist, and not only with British royalty).

His wife will become Queen Mary of Denmark. She's not originally Danish - she's Australian - the first Australian European Queen ever! (Or, to be exact about it, she's Tasmanian.) She married Frederik in 2004. They have 4 children, and their eldest son will become Crown Prince Christian on Sunday. He celebrated his 18th birthday in October last year.

I once watched Crown Princess Mary giving a birthday speech in honor of her husband - possibly for his 50th birthday - and to a Norwegian ear, her Danish was flawless. Best wishes for their reign!