Introducing some Australian friends....

{image - French Desire website}

Today I would like to introduce you to two Australians; Sharon & Dave Stratford, who love France and have set up a couple of business ventures in Australia, which have resulted in many Australians buying a property in France and on the home front being able to purchase french items down under.

{Sharon and Dave Stratford}

Sharon and Dave's love affair with all things French started 15 years ago when they visited France as part of a whirlwind six week round the world tour.

Since then, the couple with their 2 children, have been back to France over a dozen times with their trips ranging in duration from one week to two months.

Sharon has even written a book about her experiences whilst hunting for a house in France which I found very entertaining and it reminded me of when I first came to France.

The French Desire website is a wonderful site to visit and not only does it contain details on their property hunting tours, it also includes a lot of information about France and includes sections on what to do, where to go, recipes, language and even contains reviews on books that you are "must reads" for anyone visiting France.

Their latest venture is a directory; frenchaustralia.com.au where you will find details on everything that is french in Australia or has an Australian connection.

For those of you who do not know I lived in Sydney for a few years and are the proud holder of an Australian passport and as a result when living abroad have been to many a fabulous party thrown by the Australian Ambassador, how else do you get your hands on a bottle of good aussie red when living in Turkey?

I cannot believe how many businesses there are in Australia that offer french items, and it was interesting to read on one shop's forum that someone was desperate to get their hands on some vichy mints. They are also our favourite bon bons and we always have a packet in the car.

We are proud to have Maison No.20, Maison de Poitiers and Fabulously French included on these websites and wish Sharon and David the best of luck with their new venture and are sure that it will be a great success. Nous souhaitons bonne chance et espérons vous voir bientôt.

A demain mes amis/see you tomorrow my friends

L x

ps Lili I will try and put the english equivalent next to any french words that creep in, I did smile and do apologise for not explaining what a vide grenier was but we are off to the cinema (same word in both languages) tomorrow night.