15.39 - Beyond the clichés: Small towns, family farms, and stone stories
This FREE le Bulletin newsletter will take us to mid-sized towns, windswept coasts, & villages of stone. It will remind you why exploring France’s layers is always richer than it first appears.
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Bonjour mes amis !
It’s wonderful to have you back here with me today! Bienvenue !
In this newsletter, you’ll find fresh articles, “Beyond the clichés: Small towns, family farms, and stone stories”
Watch out for and don’t miss the PAID subscriber edition of le Bulletin on Saturday this weekend: “15.39.a -Août Magnifique: The Riviera’s Cultural Crescendo- It’s not too late to subscribe←
AN IMPORTANT NOTE FOR YOU, yes, all of you.
Bonjour mes amis,
In case you haven’t already had a look, our new community Zine MyFrenchLife.org is looking better every day - Have a peep :)
→ PLUS our BookClub is active again! - click ← to find out more.
À bientôt !
Warmly,
Judy - 27.09.2025
1. MyFrenchLife™Magazine new articles
“There are many talented contributors to MyFrenchLife Magazine and I thank all of you for sharing your experiences with us in such an engaging manner.
You take us right across France & deep into many worm-holes. We delight in discovering
and learning more about France beyond the cliché”
Merci
Judy
a) Cahors, Lot, Occitanie: Five Special Spots
by Betty Carlson
This is a series about les villes moyennes – mid-sized French towns with a population of 20,000 to 100,000. They can be excellent destinations, either as a base or for a weekend getaway.”
…A year ago, I kicked off a project to get to know as many of these towns as possible, and Cahors was my first adventure. My stay there confirmed my desire to carry on; you can read more about that…” writes Betty Carlson
b) La Ferme du Vert: A farm and a hotel in Wierre-Effroy, Le Pays Boulonnais
by Caroline McCormick-Clarke
We have been coming to Wissant for decades. We first visited in the early 1990s, shortly after we moved from Brighton to Kent and bought our first home together.”
My husband was completing his final year studying for his Law degree at the University of Sussex, whilst I worked as a Science teacher in a grammar school in the then gritty Medway towns. So money was tight, but we had some fun escapades.”
Dover was a twenty-minute drive down the A2, and at that time, there were plenty of cheap ferries, and the new Eurotunnel service offered amazing deals.”
On one such trip, we drove along the picturesque coastal …” writes Caroline McCormick-Clarke
c) A vernacular atlas: A tour de France in stone, with Architects Marion Pinet and Pierre Pollet
by Victor Coutard
My friends Marion Pinet and Pierre Pollet founded their architecture practice at home in Larnagol, in the Lot region, deep in the southwest of France.
Specializing in rural architecture and folk art, they approach their work with elegance, determination, and intellectual depth. Together, we have created the association La Matière des Villages, which aims to treat vernacular heritage as a resource for the future.” write Victor Coutard
2. Merci mille fois
“Thank you for subscribing to ‘le Bulletin’, the newsletter of MyFrenchLife Magazine.”
Judy MacMahon
Chers amis (dear friends)
Every week, I feel lucky to have your company.
Together we’ve strolled the backstreets of Cahors, where everyday life in mid-sized towns feels so different from Paris or Provence.
We’ve joined Caroline on her deeply personal journey to Wissant, full of ferry crossings, budget adventures, and the magic of returning to the same place decade after decade.
And we’ve also paused with Victor, Marion, and Pierre to see stone not as something static, but as a living archive of French heritage.
These stories remind me that France reveals itself slowly—through people, memory, and the smallest details. Merci mille fois for sharing this curiosity with me.
Until next time, je vous embrasse,
A bientôt
Judy
judy@myfrenchlife.org
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Thank you! I love your posts. You look lovely and chic!