The exception to my rule.

Advantages: see review
Disadvantages: see review

...I am not a city lover preferring the peace of more isolated places. However there are a few exceptions and Aix-en Provence is one city that I always enjoy and would have no hesitation in recommending. Aix (pronounced x) is situated 25 km from Marseille in the centre of Provence. Getting there ************ By plane the nearest international airport is Marseille 25 km away. There are frequent flights from the u.k with several airlines. Fares vary enormously so it?s worth doing your homework before buying! Marseille airport has several car hire outlets and again I would suggest you check via the Internet, as it is usually cheaper to pre book from the U.K. There are fast rail links from Paris to Aix and the TGV station is well situated in the centre of town. The train journey takes only 2 hrs 50 mins and I have used it several times...

anwar 24.03.2005 · Read review
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Review of Aix-en-Provence (France)

Will you visit me

Advantages: a lot of!
Disadvantages: none!

...Ok. Today I'll try to show you round my town, Aix-en-Provence... Aix is a wonderful city in the south-east of France, near Marseille, in the "Bouches-du-Rhône"; the weather there makes it europeean, american, even japanese people's favourite holidays destination in France... A large part of inhabitants is student, so Aix is a young and dynamic town, always lively, winter as summer! 130000 inhabitants... among which 40000 students!! Many of them are strangers, they come from everywhere, England of course but also Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Spain, Russia, Italy, Romania, Poland... That makes Aix a cosmopolitan town, where to meet new persons is really easy and pleasant. Aix is known for its great culture too! If knowledge interests you more than parties and Swedish girls (or guys!), no problem, Aix is your place too...

French_romain 02.02.2003 · Read review
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Review of Aix-en-Provence (France)

A year in Provence.....

Advantages: Great views, great food, great dink, historical and artistic attractions
Disadvantages: Those Roads, Expensive generally

........if only! Just back from one of the best holidays of my life. Two weeks in Provence, and how I wish it had been a year as in Peter Mayle?s book?.. We booked our hotel, car hire and accommodation independently. We found our cottage by leafing through a Blake?s Cottages ? France book, and we were actually able to book on line, so we instantly knew which cottages were available for what weeks. However, we booked six months in advance and many of the cottages which we liked were already gone, so my advice is to book as early as you can, not that we were disappointed with our accommodation at all, quite the contrary. Our gite, which would have slept four, was a tad over £800 for two weeks, although the prices rose quickly after this, as is the norm for accommodation of this kind. We booked flights through British Airways...

helencbradshaw 26.05.2003 (27.05.2003) · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)

Two weeks in Provence

Advantages: Fantastic scenery, hot weather, 'interesting people'
Disadvantages: Hard work to organise, a very long way to drive

...this is turning into a bit of an essay so you will have to use some imagination here. Needless to say it was a fantastic place, the locals were all really friendly and our poor attempts at French were welcomed, if laughed at! The weather was fantastic there too.. we were right at the end of the season so temperatures were on their way down but still ranging from 25-30 degrees which is plenty hot enough for me! **TOP PLACES TO VISIT** A brief rundown of my favourite places that we visited: Biot - teeny village set on a high hill, famous for glassblowing and pottery, loads of gallerys and fab restaurants. Antibes - fantastic beach here, actually sandy! Also good Picasso museum and shops, take a walk around the city if you can tear yourself from the beach! Aix-en-Provence - really studenty place but well worth a visit, reminded...

miniloopie 26.09.2002 · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)

Three trips to Provence

Advantages: sun, great food, scenery, wine
Disadvantages: cold in Winter, hard to get around on local transport

...or resistance. From the ruined walls of the chateau the view of the valley and mountains beyond is magnificent. Vineyards and rows of fruit trees are laid out in orderly fashion in the land below. We spent each day exploring the region and beyond and have great memories of visits to Apt, Gordes, Bonnieux, Menerbes, Lacoste (Peter Mayle country) the beautiful city of Aix-en-Province and the busy but fascinating city and port of Marseille. Property prices are high in an area also populated by film stars, movie directors and authors, so we did not bother with our usual holiday fantasy of "oh if only we could live here". There are lots of rural Gites for holidays, many with the Gites De France logo. Also campsites seem plentiful. We loved the way of life, the friendliness of the Provencal people and the only downsides I can think of are...

cpwill 15.05.2001 (19.05.2001) · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)

Scrumptious Salmon en Croute

Advantages: Delicious pastry and filling
Disadvantages: Expensive and only available at Tesco

...My boyfriend and I recently invited some friends round for dinner and as we were looking around our local Tesco's for something tasty to dish up, we came across Tesco's Finest Salmon en Croute. Packaging Tesco's Finest Salmon en Croute comes in a cardboard box which is decorated in the same sort of style as other Tesco's Finest products. The box is black and grey in colour with Tesco's Finest written across the front. Salmon en Croute is also written across the front and there is a large picture of the product when it is cooked splashed across the front also. There is also a product description on the packaging which states 'Prime salmon fillet. Butter enriched puff pastry. Spinach and lemon sauce.' Once you open the box, there are two Salmon en Croute's inside which sit on a plastic tray. Cost Each packet contains two...

daylehall 09.08.2008 · Read review
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Review of Tesco Finest Salmon en Croute

Mas de L Hermitage apartments Provence Beautiful

Advantages: great views and fab food
Disadvantages: a bit isolated

...In September I went on holiday to the Var region of Provence, France for two weeks with my partner. We found a place to stay by searching on the net and didn’t know anything about it before we went so we were pretty pleased with what we found. Our criteria were as follows:- - somewhere with a pool not shared by many people - a good base to explore the region (near cote d’azur) from - near vineyards - somewhere fairly quiet i.e. not a large apartment complex - not outrageously expensive - nice, tidy apartment The apartment The apartment itself was very nice. We had a 2 person apartment in the main building which comprised large double bedroom with en-suite, kitchenette with dining area and a balcony with seating. The apartment was adequate for us. The only minor point was as we were in the eaves...

EmmaJ 07.11.2001 · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)

Birthday in Provence

Advantages: Friendly people, gorgeous scenery, lovely red wine :-D
Disadvantages: Too hot at times

...restaurant but we found some great places to eat (and a couple not so great!). The best place we ate (and luckily was my birthday dinner) was Restaurant L'Esprit Jardin attached to Hotel des Pins in Bedoin near Mont Ventoux. Absolutely superb! The food was divine, the service excellent and the setting just perfect. I just wish we'd tried the hotel out for our last night as it looked very welcoming but maybe next time! www.hotel-lhermitage.com www.hoteldespins.net I hope you find this useful and if you venture to Provence have a fantastic time!...

spookysooo 05.10.2005 · Read review
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Review of Provence (France)

Booking.com helps hotels cheat customers.

Advantages: extensive database of hotels, many quite inexpensive
Disadvantages: if a hotel cheats you, they will apologize, but do nothing.

...Booking.com: Colluding with Corrupt Hotel Owners to Cheat Customers? I am sorry to have to write this review, but I have tried for months to get Booking.com to address my complaint. I have reserved rooms using this service in the past, and have been very pleased. This, however, came to an end this summer. I booked a room at the Travel Inn in Reykjavik, only to find, upon arrival, that my wife, son, and myself were escorted to a car with no explanation. Eventually the clerk told us that we would be driven to the "other" location. The Travel Inn has, it seems, bought space in the Pavi Guesthouse (over a mile away). I would have refused on principle, but I know the situation in Reykjavik is such that I might have had no options. We were driven there, the driver stopped along the way to encourage me to withdraw money from...

seth66 23.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of Booking.com

Se7en Deadly Sins

Advantages: Great film, with good acting and nice criminal masterplan
Disadvantages: Possibly scary/gruesome

...I?m surprised I seem to be the first person to review the film Se7en (Seven) here on Ciao, and also that it?s classed as a ?horror?. Sure, the film features some pretty horrific stuff, but personally I?d have called it more of a crime thriller, albeit an 18-rated one with disturbing themes? The film came out in 1995 and was directed by David Fincher. It?s rated #55 in IMDB?s top 250 films (at time of writing ? 8.3/10 viewer rating) and features a number of star names: Morgan Freeman ? Detective Lt William Somerset Brad Pitt ? Detective David Mills Kevin Spacey ? John Doe Gwyneth Paltrow ? Tracy Mills The plot essentially concerns a series of homicides carried out according to the ?seven deadly sins? (bet those who?ve written about them in the Ciao café are scared now!) The case is taken by Detectives Somerset and Mills...

a-true-ben 13.07.2003 (14.07.2003) · Read review
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Review of Se7en