Discover France Selected Best Trip for 2009

Our Provence Multisport has been awarded by National Geographic Adventure as one of the Best Trips for 2009 ! See link on NGA site Not only is this a very important reward and great honor, it says something about the state of travelers currently:

Self Guided is Gaining in Popularity!
Value Matters!

We launched this tour in 2008 but really did not promote it much as we worked to perfect it. We have made a few changes to get the cost down and we have what we think is an even better trip. Included in this 2009 version are:

road biking - hybrid cycling routes in the provence countryside
canoing on the Gardon river at the Pont du Gard
Hiking around the Alpilles and Baux de Provence
Adventure Park activities including zip-lines in the Luberon
Mountain biking in the Luberon area of Provence

In option: an afternoon of Via Ferrata. Not sure what is via Ferrata? Check out the tour description for details: Provence Multisport

To clarify, this isn't a trip for hardcore athletes, nor is it a trip for beginners or persons who aren't getting at least 4-6 hours of exercise per week. It takes a little bit of skill in several areas. But, the mountain biking isn't technical, and the canoing is mostly on flat water, so these are manageable by fit and active people - something we have a lot of in our customer base!

This recognition by NGA will appear again in upcoming press releases and company promotions throughout the coming year. The magazine is on the news stands this week. It is only 1 of 25 trips, so if you are curious - go pickup a copy and check out all the great adventures out there!!

Full trip details: http://www.discoverfrance.com/regions/provence_cycling_tour_sgp2.html

NGA website: http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/25-best-new-adventure-travel-trips-text

Beer Flood

Today in History - someone sent this to me, and I realize it doesn't quite fit the scope of this blog but its October, and if any of the subscribers are like most cyclists I know, you''ll enjoy this little bit of beer history!


October 17, 1814
The London Beer Flood
They say too much beer is bad for you. Meux's Brewery Co Ltd was a London brewery located at Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street, one of the city's poorer districts at the time. On October 17, 1814 a vat of beer 22 feet high and containing approximately 135,000 gallons ruptured. The beer pouring out toppled other beer vats in the brewery. A flood of beer rushed out of the building into the streets slamming other structures in the vicinity. Two homes and a nearby pub were destroyed, trapping people under the rubble. Nine people died, eight from drowning and one from alcohol poisoning. The Brewery had already paid taxes on the beer and the loss threatened its operations. The owners appealed to parliament and recovered the taxes. A court found the event an "act of God" and the brewery was held not liable.

Bicycles For Sale in France

For our tour operator clients, European readers, or even some of you who own houses in France; we want to let you know that we will be selling all of our Eddy Merckx carbon road bikes starting now until all sold. We will replace the fleet with new carbon bikes for next year. We are also selling large number of Scott hybrids which will also be replaced with new Scott hybrids for 2009.

We are very happy with all these bikes, and they are in good shape. We will stay with the Scott brand in hybrids for sure, but we may also move to Scott for our road bike options.

To know more about these bikes, consult these pages of our newly redesigned website:

http://www.discoverfrance.com/discover_france_bicycles.html

Send questions by email - see the contact info at the right.

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Hot Deal in Sarlat Area

Dordogne France, near Sarlat, and near to our cycling and hiking tours, here is an offer if your plans have you in the area:

Hotel Domaine de Rochebois**** - golf packages also available
http://www.rochebois.com/

GASTRONOMIC PARCKAGE (2 nights)- Night in double room Villa vue Parc- Gastronomic dinner (without drinks)- Breakfast; Price for two people : 223€/person

Jazz Festival in Nearby Sarlat: From 4 to 17th october
For the third yead, Jazz is in Sarlat:

Hiking in Dordogne - see our hiking tour and if time allows in your schedule, we can arrange the above Rochebois stay as an add on! Good through October!
http://www.discoverfrance.com/regions/dordogne_hiking_tour.html