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  Day 3236 (Saturday) 18 th April 2026 This is the cascade on Castle Hill, Nice and this is the Old Town in Nice.   Public holidays and national celebrations in France There are special days and national celebrations in France almost every month. Some of them are fixed Public Holidays, some are changeable Public Holidays and some are not holidays at all but treated as special days with friends and loved ones, days when traditions are held dear. There are eleven public holidays in France every year and several more days that are honoured and celebrated nationally. January 1  –  Jour de l’An –  New Year’s Day New Year’s Eve  and publich holiday New Year’s Day are generally celebrated with friends and family. January 6 –  Epiphanie: Fête des Rois  – Epiphany: Feast of the Kings It is a tradition is to serve a special cake called “ une galette des rois ” which contains une fève (usually a porcelain figurine). The person who finds the hidden fève in t...
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  Day 3235 (Friday) 17 th April 2026 This is Eze Village and this is Monaco.   It was another lovely sunny day, there is still a chilly wind blowing but we went out for lunch in the square and I wore cotton trousers and a blouse and Huw wore a T-shirt – finally spring is here. Town was pretty busy with lots of shops and restaurants re-opening for the season. Which French figure has the most streets named after them? The clue to this sign's location is in the name. (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP) In French town after French town, you’ll see famous names from history honoured on street signs - but who wins the prize for the biggest number of streets, avenues and boulevards bearing their name? Some street names are, of course, pretty generic and geographically meaningful - you know what you expect to find on a Rue de l’Église, or in a Place de la Mairie, whichever town you’re visiting.  Some are more fanciful - Paris' famous Champs-Elysées literally means 'heavenly fields'...
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  Day 3234 (Thursday) 16 th April 2026 This is Villefranche and this is the palace in Monaco.   You might be living in France if… (18 signs you’re a true-blue Francophile) You might be living in France if… 1. There’s nothing low-fat in your refrigerator. It’s not that nothing low-fat exists in France, but you’ll find very few items at the supermarket that carry that distinction. Yogurt and milk are two of the biggies, but beyond that, I’m hard-pressed to think of anything else we eat on a regular basis. Mostly, the idea is to eat everything in moderation – full-fat cheeses, creams, crackers, cookies, bread, etc.  2. You’ve lost 5 pounds. Eat what you want and somehow, miraculously, lose weight… Well, I’m not talking 10lbs here or that my body changed completely when I moved to France, but I did shed about 5 lbs. within the first year. The secret to all this craziness? Well, it all goes back to #1, eat everything in moderation and above all, no snacking. The French a...
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