15.51 - The week before we turn sweet 16: Five spots in Castres, Paris love & Provençal dreams
Today marks 15 years and 51 weeks of bringing France to your inbox. This FREE edition: unexpected Castres, champagne-soaked Paris memories, a photographer's leap of faith. Plus, what's coming Saturday
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Bonjour mes amis !
It’s wonderful to have you back here with me today! Bienvenue !
In this newsletter, you’ll also find wonderful fresh articles taking you to France beyond the cliché: The week before we turn sweet 16: Five spots in Castres, Paris love & Provençal dreams
Watch out for and don’t miss the PAID subscriber edition of le Bulletin on Saturday this weekend: “15.51.a - Sixteen Years of Choosing Light: What This Week Taught Me About Why We’re Here“ - It’s not too late to subscribe or upgrade←
À bientôt !
Warmly,
Judy - 20.12.2025
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) Castres, Tarn, Occitanie – Five Special Spots
by Betty Carlson
Overshadowed by its drop-dead gorgeous, UNESCO-crowned, prefectural neighbor Albi, Castres often gets short shrift in these Occitanian parts, reduced to its talented and suitably burly rugby squad.
I don’t care for rugby, and I really don’t care for Francisco de Goya (de Goya, you may ask? Read on).
My Castres (il)logic went like this:
Castres is home to the Musée Goya
Goya is gloomy and terrifying
So, let’s just not be rushing off to Castres anytime soon
I was, of course, mistaken.
Here are five reasons why:…” writes Betty Carlson
b) A Love Letter to Paris at Christmas time
by Caroline McCormick-Clarke
I have started to write this article on Christmas Eve. All the preparations for Christmas are complete. We will eat ham, colcannon and Madeira gravy together for supper later. Perhaps a little trifle if we have room.”
If our energy levels and the weather prevail, we may walk to our local church for 30 years, to celebrate Midnight Mass, for one last time on Christmas Eve. If not, we will definitely go early on Christmas Day morning.”
I pour myself a glass of chilled champagne (Veuve Cliquot is my favourite).”
This is a love letter to Paris. Between Christmas and New Year is one of my favourite times to be in the City of Light. From decades ago, when we were both young, penniless and full of hope in the early 1990s, through the challenges and turbulence in our middle years, to now, as we consider “retirement”, change and possible new beginnings - Paris has always been our city, a place of love…” wrote Caroline McCormick-Clarke,
c) How did I end up in Provence?
by Joanne Maclennan
Did you know (why would you!) that it has been almost 18 years to the day that I decided to set up my business in France as a photographer?It has been almost 20 years since I have lived here. When I say it out loud, I find it hard to believe. It has been almost 18 years since I have known Mike, my husband. I became a stepmother to a 9 and an 11-year-old before I became a mother to my own daughter, who is nearly 14, and my stepchildren are now 26 and 28.
It has been about 22 years since I came back from a workshop in India with David Bathgate and decided that I wanted to become a photographer. I quit everything to follow my dream. I then decided to move to another country where I didn’t speak the language and follow that dream.
2. Merci mille fois
“Thank you for subscribing to ‘le Bulletin’, the newsletter of MyFrenchLife Magazine.”
Judy MacMahon
Chers amis (dear friends)
Between you and me, I’m rather proud of this edition. Three completely different France stories - from unexpected Occitanie to romantic Paris to brave Provence - and each one genuine, lived, real. That’s what we do here, isn’t it? France beyond the cliché.
Now, I’d love to know: which story are you diving into first? Leave me a comment, share your favourite bit, tell me about your own French adventures.
And if Saturday’s PAID le Bulletin edition isn’t already in your INBOX, you can fix that now, oui?
We’re celebrating 16 years together, and Saturday’s edition will be rather special. Now, about my end-of-year gift to you: normally, an annual subscription is €45 for 12 months, but say yes before 31 December, and I’ll give you 15 months instead.
Oui, you read that right - 15 months for the price of 12. That’s only €3 a month! → Don’t let this one slip past you, non?
Bisous, Judy x
Judy x
judy@myfrenchlife.org
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I look forward to seeing what you have planned for the 16th anniversary issue! I will definitely get to it although I will be stepping back from Substack during the holidays.
Such a pleasure to be in the same issue with Caroline and Joanna, two wonderful women I feel like I know thanks to Substack. Actually, let's just say I know them!