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Wander the World: Discover France at the Francophonie Festival · Wander the World with Pippa Hudson

0:00
Speaker 1: It is to France that we go today. But the
0:02
Speaker 1: good news is you don't actually have to book a
0:03
Speaker 1: plane ticket to experience French culture and the delights of
0:07
Speaker 1: French food and music and craft and design, because the
0:11
Speaker 1: Festival Francofonie is happening in Cape Town this very weekend,
0:15
Speaker 1: celebrating everything about French culture and cuisine right in our backyard.
0:19
Speaker 1: It is being hosted at the Belgian residence in borsof
0:22
Speaker 1: Road in Newlands. It is on Saturday from ten and
0:25
Speaker 1: till five, and you don't have to spend ascent to
0:28
Speaker 1: get in the door and immerse yourself in a little
0:30
Speaker 1: corner of France recreated in Cape Town. In fact, it's
0:33
Speaker 1: a corner of France and other countries with links to France,
0:37
Speaker 1: which I'll explain in a moment. But if you want
0:39
Speaker 1: to taste a baguette, see some Cancan dances in action,
0:41
Speaker 1: listen to French music, and explore the wonderful world of
0:45
Speaker 1: French culture, that is where you want to be this
0:47
Speaker 1: coming Saturday. And to tell us more about that event,
0:50
Speaker 1: as well as talking about travel to France itself, it's
0:53
Speaker 1: my huge pleasure to have with us in studio Sophie Bell,
0:55
Speaker 1: who is the Consul General of France in Cape Ton
0:58
Speaker 1: Bian Venue, Sophie.
0:59
Speaker 2: In QPP for having me.
1:01
Speaker 1: It's a huge pleasure to have you with us today
1:03
Speaker 1: the Francophony Festival. Let's start there before we go to
1:06
Speaker 1: France itself. This event is not only about France. It's
1:09
Speaker 1: a celebration of the culture of French speaking countries more broadly,
1:13
Speaker 1: isn't it.
1:13
Speaker 3: Absolutely we are celebrating Francophone cultures around the world. And
1:19
Speaker 3: what's important to stress is that more than three hundred
1:23
Speaker 3: three hundred million people speak French around the world, half
1:28
Speaker 3: of them being in Africa. You know, there's a growth
1:32
Speaker 3: of French speakers. This trend is really carried by Africa,
1:37
Speaker 3: and we will celebrate French speaking countries around the world,
1:40
Speaker 3: so not only France, but also Belgium, Switzerland, the DRC, Madagascar, Romania.
1:48
Speaker 3: You know, all these countries are part of this wider
1:51
Speaker 3: family of Francophone countries and it's very important to stras
1:55
Speaker 3: the diversity of cultures that we will be celebrating. As
1:58
Speaker 3: you mentioned this today the fourteenth of March at the
2:02
Speaker 3: Belgian Residency New Lands, so we are really waiting for
2:05
Speaker 3: you there.
2:06
Speaker 1: It sounds so exciting, and I mean you've listed some
2:08
Speaker 1: of the countries that have been my favorites to visit,
2:10
Speaker 1: like Madagascar for example, as well as France itself. But
2:13
Speaker 1: important to me to just pick up on what you
2:15
Speaker 1: said about Francophone Africa. I don't know if listeners quite
2:19
Speaker 1: everybody knows how substantial a portion of the French speaking
2:22
Speaker 1: world that is. There are twenty four countries on this
2:24
Speaker 1: continent that have French as an official language. So as
2:28
Speaker 1: you say, half of the entire body of French speakers
2:30
Speaker 1: worldwide are right here in Africa. So incredible diversity on display.
2:34
Speaker 1: What are some of the highlights you'd like to mention
2:36
Speaker 1: that visitors can look forward to this weekend?
2:38
Speaker 3: So of course you will find, you know, tons of
2:41
Speaker 3: delicious food Swiss raclette, Belgian beers, French cheese, macaroons, pastries,
2:49
Speaker 3: but also live music and performances. You already mentioned the
2:52
Speaker 3: French concan densers, so it's something new that we added.
2:56
Speaker 2: To this edition. We're going to have.
3:00
Speaker 3: Its Congolese music, you know, artisans and a lot of
3:07
Speaker 3: people coming showing their skills and what they do in
3:10
Speaker 3: their country. We're gonna have fashion shows, it's gonna be
3:13
Speaker 3: it's gonna be fun, it's kids friendly, it's free off charge. Really,
3:18
Speaker 3: I mean, it's my curd edition and I always have
3:21
Speaker 3: a very good time, So really join us this Saturday.
3:24
Speaker 1: Even French Dog breeds by the way, so if you're
3:26
Speaker 1: an apple lover, you must go and make sure that
3:28
Speaker 1: you take a turn at the poodle. One thing to mention,
3:32
Speaker 1: I know whenever we talk about events at the Belgian
3:34
Speaker 1: Residents parking and getting there, people worry about that. As
3:39
Speaker 1: as Sophie has mentioned, it's free entrance at the gate,
3:42
Speaker 1: but to get to the gate does not have to
3:44
Speaker 1: be a headache. There is parking available at the Stone
3:46
Speaker 1: Cottages near Kirsten Bosh, and there is a free shuttle
3:48
Speaker 1: that will take you from your car to the residence
3:50
Speaker 1: and back again. So don't let that worry you that
3:53
Speaker 1: you might think you're gonna have to park miles away
3:55
Speaker 1: and be exhausted by the time you get to the gate.
3:58
Speaker 1: That does not apply. Okay. So that is the Francophony
4:01
Speaker 1: Festival happening this weekend, And if you've been to one
4:03
Speaker 1: of the previous iterations and want to share some feedback
4:05
Speaker 1: with us on what you enjoyed and experienced for the
4:07
Speaker 1: first time, or perhaps something new that you came to
4:10
Speaker 1: learn about Francophone culture. Please do you send a what's
4:13
Speaker 1: up to seven two five six seven one five six seven,
4:17
Speaker 1: And that is a way for you to have a
4:19
Speaker 1: little taste of France and its cousins, shall we call
4:22
Speaker 1: them right here in Cape Tard. But of course this
4:24
Speaker 1: is our travel segment and we do want to talk
4:26
Speaker 1: about visiting France itself in today's segment. And Sophie, let's
4:30
Speaker 1: start with some of the basic logistics for somebody traveling
4:33
Speaker 1: on a South African passport, as I do, a Shanngen
4:36
Speaker 1: visa is required. How far in advance is it advised
4:40
Speaker 1: to apply for a visa if you are wanting to
4:42
Speaker 1: come from South Africa to visit France.
4:44
Speaker 3: Well, you know, I mean, if you know your travel
4:47
Speaker 3: dates wear ahead. You can apply up to six months
4:51
Speaker 3: and a minimum of fifteen days before travel. So my
4:54
Speaker 3: recommendation if you already know your dates, don't wait for
4:56
Speaker 3: the last minute to apply for a Shanghan visa.
5:00
Speaker 2: That's the first thing.
5:02
Speaker 3: Ensure your passport has two blank pages and three months
5:05
Speaker 3: validity post return. That's important as well. And also bear
5:09
Speaker 3: in mind that the Shanngen visa can never exceed the
5:12
Speaker 3: remaining validity of your passport and the maximum visa duration
5:16
Speaker 3: is five years. So I don't want you to be
5:19
Speaker 3: too technical, but I just want to share those details
5:21
Speaker 3: with your listeners so their experience is smooth and easy
5:26
Speaker 3: with us. But the good thing, if I may add,
5:29
Speaker 3: our visa procedure.
5:31
Speaker 2: Has been revamped.
5:33
Speaker 3: We have reorganized our visa services, so now the whole
5:37
Speaker 3: procedure is faster and smoother. Actually, when you need a
5:43
Speaker 3: shangaan visa, what do you do? In kept Toown? You
5:45
Speaker 3: go to Capago kept Town. This is where you you
5:50
Speaker 3: submit your application. Then our Johannesburg hub takes over and
5:54
Speaker 3: streamlines processing so you can get an appointment with Capago
5:58
Speaker 3: in less than three days.
5:59
Speaker 1: Now, I what a vouch for this because I've literally
6:02
Speaker 1: just been through the process myself. I'm going to Paris
6:05
Speaker 1: and Normaldy next.
6:05
Speaker 2: Month and talk back.
6:07
Speaker 1: Let me tell you I was blown away. I applied
6:09
Speaker 1: in January, I got an appointment. I think within a
6:14
Speaker 1: week of applying. I could have been sooner, it was
6:17
Speaker 1: just I got one A week away. I went in
6:19
Speaker 1: for my visa appointment on a Wednesday morning, and my
6:21
Speaker 1: passport with visa inside it was with me on Monday. Okay,
6:24
Speaker 1: it was a three working day turnaround. I could not
6:27
Speaker 1: believe it.
6:27
Speaker 3: Amazing to hear and thank you for sharing this feedback
6:30
Speaker 3: because we sometimes get a lot of a criticism for
6:33
Speaker 3: being too slow, which is not the case. If your
6:35
Speaker 3: file is complete again, you have to you know, you
6:38
Speaker 3: have to submit all the documents that are required, and
6:41
Speaker 3: when your file is complete, visas are usually issued in
6:44
Speaker 3: less than three weeks, depending on the season. You know,
6:47
Speaker 3: if you want to go to Paris in July August,
6:51
Speaker 3: it's a big season, so you have to plan a
6:53
Speaker 3: d again. But we have a ninety six percent approval rate,
6:58
Speaker 3: so we issue visas. I mean it's really improval rate
7:02
Speaker 3: is huge, it's massive, it's almost a hundred.
7:04
Speaker 1: Okay, that's really good to hear, because I think I've
7:07
Speaker 1: said this before. A lot of people go into a
7:09
Speaker 1: visa point feeling like they're going into the dentist's share
7:13
Speaker 1: with that level of worry and common nice. But they
7:16
Speaker 1: are much nice. I've got to say. It was a
7:18
Speaker 1: really really impressive experience for me from the really lovely
7:22
Speaker 1: young lady who helped me at the desk to how
7:24
Speaker 1: quickly it was turned around. I will vouch for that.
7:26
Speaker 1: So but due to your homework, there's lots of information
7:29
Speaker 1: online about the document mass.
7:31
Speaker 3: And everything will go smoothly, I promise. And we have
7:34
Speaker 3: increased the number of visas that we issue so by
7:37
Speaker 3: eight percent compared to last year, so we are issuing
7:41
Speaker 3: more visas every year, so it's another important trend to highlight.
7:45
Speaker 3: And there was also a growth of twenty five percent
7:48
Speaker 3: in multi years circulation visas meaning up to five years.
7:52
Speaker 3: You know, you can get a longer visa up to
7:57
Speaker 3: five years, so there was a huge growth in that
8:00
Speaker 3: category as well.
8:01
Speaker 1: Okay, that's great to hear. Also lovely to receive a
8:04
Speaker 1: message from Vanya saying we were at the Francophony Food
8:06
Speaker 1: and Culture Festival last time and it was amazing. We
8:09
Speaker 1: are definitely coming again this Saturday. Really looking forward to
8:12
Speaker 1: a Swiss rauclette with a Belgian duvelle. Is that a Belgian? Okay?
8:17
Speaker 1: Coming from Belgian later in the year as well, so
8:19
Speaker 1: I'll have to look that one up as to the date.
8:21
Speaker 1: So teble picking up in the fact that the Francophone
8:24
Speaker 1: Festival this weekend is Saturday, the fourteenth of March. Usually
8:27
Speaker 1: French celebrations are the fourteenth of July and tables saying
8:30
Speaker 1: why not celebrated, Then well, I can give you two reasons.
8:33
Speaker 1: One is that the fourteenth of July is my birthday table,
8:35
Speaker 1: so all the important people are celebrating something else. But
8:38
Speaker 1: more importantly, I mean, this is not only about France itself,
8:41
Speaker 1: as Sophie said, it is a celebration of the wider
8:44
Speaker 1: Francophone community. So it's yeah, you'll have your overting.
8:49
Speaker 3: The French national date. It's important to stress that it's
8:53
Speaker 3: not only the French who are organizing this event. Actually,
8:56
Speaker 3: we have a close partnership with Belgian. It's very import
9:00
Speaker 3: and we're not the only ones to organize it. And
9:02
Speaker 3: it's it's going to be held at the Belgian residence.
9:05
Speaker 3: So again, it's not only about France, but about Francophone
9:08
Speaker 3: countries sharing a common language, but with different cultures, traditions,
9:15
Speaker 3: food and so on and so forth. So it's something different.
9:17
Speaker 3: I will invade you people on our day. It will
9:20
Speaker 3: be on the fourteenth of July.
9:23
Speaker 1: The last time I was in France for my birthday,
9:25
Speaker 1: you put on fireworks and it was fantastic. We are
9:28
Speaker 1: in conversation with Sophie Bell, who is the Consul General
9:31
Speaker 1: of France in Cape Town, talking both about this weekend's
9:34
Speaker 1: Francophony Festival, which is happening in Cape Town at the
9:37
Speaker 1: Belgian Residence in Newlands, but also about visiting France itself
9:41
Speaker 1: and right we've spoken about the visas, now let's talk
9:44
Speaker 1: about getting there physically, Sophie. Everyone's avoiding flying through the
9:48
Speaker 1: Middle East right now, with very good reason. It's a
9:50
Speaker 1: relief to be able to say you can fly direct
9:52
Speaker 1: from South Africa to France.
9:54
Speaker 3: Yes you can, It's safe. And the good news is
9:58
Speaker 3: for your listener, your Captonian listener, flight connectivity from capt
10:02
Speaker 3: Town and into Paris is improving. Kept Town Tourism and
10:07
Speaker 3: Air France KLM have extended seasonal direct flight to May
10:13
Speaker 3: twenty twenty six instead of March and are currently working
10:17
Speaker 3: on a year round access.
10:19
Speaker 2: That's certainly you're.
10:20
Speaker 3: Going to be able to go to straight to Paris,
10:22
Speaker 3: I mean throughout the year. So it's a it's a huge,
10:25
Speaker 3: huge improvement for business for tourism. For if you want
10:29
Speaker 3: to go skiing or attending a sport event, it's going
10:32
Speaker 3: to be much much easier, and I really want to
10:35
Speaker 3: thank the flight companies for making a greater yet.
10:40
Speaker 1: And it's it's literally just not a twelve hours direct
10:42
Speaker 1: so it really is an easy flight, not crossing time
10:45
Speaker 1: zones exactly. It couldn't be easier now once you've arrived
10:49
Speaker 1: there and you'll fly into Charldogold Airport, getting around Paris
10:52
Speaker 1: itself could not be easier. I mean, the public transport
10:55
Speaker 1: networks are absolutely fantastic. What about getting around into the
10:58
Speaker 1: rest of France, because I really want to Pasides today, Sophie.
11:01
Speaker 1: I know everybody obviously wants to go and have the
11:02
Speaker 1: experience of Paris. It is the study of lights, the
11:05
Speaker 1: city of love. You could easily spend a week or
11:07
Speaker 1: more there and still not have seen everything. But there
11:10
Speaker 1: is so much more to see in France.
11:11
Speaker 3: Absolutely, I think you've seen Emily in Paris, but there
11:16
Speaker 3: is much more than Paris. I absolutely agree, and it's
11:19
Speaker 3: even it's easy easy for me to say that because
11:22
Speaker 3: I'm not a Parisian. I come from Toulouse, which is
11:26
Speaker 3: the city of space, of the headquarters of Erbus industry,
11:31
Speaker 3: a leading city for universities, and I came to Paris
11:35
Speaker 3: for my studies and then I lived there. But I'm
11:38
Speaker 3: not from Paris, and actually I really would like to
11:42
Speaker 3: highlight lesser known places that are worth discovering, and I
11:47
Speaker 3: would highly recommend to start with the Pyrenees, the mountains.
11:52
Speaker 3: The mountains, Yes, you know, everybody goes to the Alps
11:55
Speaker 3: because I don't know, it's more prestigious, maybe, but the
11:58
Speaker 3: peer Inees, which are bordering the Spanish border, are actually
12:03
Speaker 3: less crowded, less expensive, more authentic, wilder, and it's a
12:09
Speaker 3: family destination. So you can of course ski there, you
12:13
Speaker 3: can hike, you can cycle, you can meet more easily
12:17
Speaker 3: the locals and their traditions away from the crowds of
12:20
Speaker 3: tourists and any season works. So I would really recommend
12:24
Speaker 3: to go to the Pyrenees and especially to visit the
12:27
Speaker 3: Circus of Gavarney. Governe is a natural amphitheater located in
12:32
Speaker 3: the heart of the Pyrenees, and it welcomes every summer festival,
12:36
Speaker 3: so you can visit any time.
12:38
Speaker 2: There is no season.
12:41
Speaker 3: For the to go to the Pyrenees or even the Alps.
12:45
Speaker 3: You know, you have also the g R Ten, which
12:48
Speaker 3: is a super long distance trail that runs across the
12:52
Speaker 3: entirety of the French side of the Pyrenees, from the
12:55
Speaker 3: Atlantic to the Mediterranean. You know, for the people who
12:58
Speaker 3: love hiking, it's amazing. For sicklist lovers. There is a
13:03
Speaker 3: rail trail from Saint Gerent to for it's in the
13:06
Speaker 3: Ariege department, which offers a traffic free route.
13:10
Speaker 2: Through the Pyrenees.
13:11
Speaker 3: I mean, it's really the cyclist's paradise. So you have Pyrenees,
13:16
Speaker 3: really put that on your map. Try to forget a
13:20
Speaker 3: little bit about the Alps. Everybody goes to the Alp.
13:22
Speaker 3: Try to be a bit more original. But the pan
13:24
Speaker 3: Is and also I would highly recommend to visit the Basque,
13:27
Speaker 3: the French Basque Country.
13:29
Speaker 2: Do you know Biaritz Peper have you been to? Yeah?
13:32
Speaker 3: Well really, if you have a chance, just go there.
13:35
Speaker 3: So the Basque Country is located in the southwest part
13:38
Speaker 3: of France, where I grew up, not very far from Toulouse.
13:41
Speaker 3: It's near the Spanish border, and this region has a
13:45
Speaker 3: very strong identity culture, its own language, strong culinary traditions
13:51
Speaker 3: and a very specific architecture. Basque houses are painted in
13:55
Speaker 3: red and they have a.
13:57
Speaker 2: Lot of character.
13:59
Speaker 3: I speech like cities like Bayon Yarita. I mentioned Yaris
14:03
Speaker 3: Guettari Saint Jean Dulous where I got married along the
14:07
Speaker 3: Atlantic coast, but the Basque interland also is beautiful. You
14:11
Speaker 3: have many many incredible, charming little villages, so it's really
14:16
Speaker 3: a very special place, and I would also recommend your
14:20
Speaker 3: listeners to discover it, give it a try.
14:22
Speaker 1: I've been close to it because I've been through to Lose,
14:24
Speaker 1: but then onto the Canal Dumdi to do a barging trip,
14:27
Speaker 1: which was also just the most beautiful, relaxing, slow paced holiday.
14:33
Speaker 1: Hire a bicycle cycle into the local market, buy some
14:36
Speaker 1: bugguette and wine and just pot it down the canal.
14:39
Speaker 1: It was the most gorgeous holiday. And I mean, as
14:41
Speaker 1: you said, the cuisine was different, the architecture was different
14:46
Speaker 1: from the northern part of France. The I mean we
14:49
Speaker 1: got to see carcasson, the historic fought so much to
14:53
Speaker 1: see in that part of France and so easy to
14:56
Speaker 1: get to, Sophie. I mean it was a trade. I
14:58
Speaker 1: think we in the end flew from Paris to Lose
15:01
Speaker 1: and by the time we collected our luggage we worked
15:03
Speaker 1: out it would have been quicker to take the trail.
15:05
Speaker 3: Yes, I mean the French TGV is amazing. You know,
15:09
Speaker 3: it's our high speed train. You can get anywhere by
15:12
Speaker 3: hopping on one of those trains, so it's really easy
15:16
Speaker 3: and it's also eco friendly. And France has also become
15:21
Speaker 3: a leading destination for sustainable tourism. We really promote a
15:25
Speaker 3: for friendly accommodation, green transport, reil over flight. Because of
15:29
Speaker 3: this amazing network that we have small cities and charming villages,
15:34
Speaker 3: cycle tourism, we are really exploring new niche you know,
15:39
Speaker 3: wine tourism, agritourism, heritage trails, and we have launched a campaign,
15:46
Speaker 3: a campaign called Explore France with a motto saying a dream, big,
15:51
Speaker 3: leave slow, which really highlights this campaign. It highlights the
15:58
Speaker 3: authentic experiences you can have as as certain French regions.
16:02
Speaker 3: So it's not just about getting more tourists. You know
16:05
Speaker 3: that we broke tourism records last year. We welcomed more
16:10
Speaker 3: than one hundred million visitors, so France is the world's
16:16
Speaker 3: most visited country today. But it's not just about more tourists.
16:21
Speaker 3: It's about better tourism, personalized experiences and a deeper connection
16:26
Speaker 3: to nature. This is where the potential for economic growth
16:30
Speaker 3: lies in this sector, it's.
16:32
Speaker 1: Finding that balance. If all you're doing is getting more
16:36
Speaker 1: tourists in, you're going to kill the goose that laid
16:39
Speaker 1: the golden egg. As they say, it's going to become
16:41
Speaker 1: overcrowded and unplayable and unpleasant. But if you find a
16:44
Speaker 1: way of redirecting those tourists other parts of the country,
16:48
Speaker 1: making sure they have that personalized experience, then it's something different. Indeed, Yeah,
16:53
Speaker 1: Table interesting comments picking up in my comment about people
16:56
Speaker 1: getting stressed by the visa applications and the supplies not
16:59
Speaker 1: just to France but to virtually every visa application, Tables saying,
17:02
Speaker 1: I think people get so stressed because one needs to
17:05
Speaker 1: produce a flight ticket and proof of accommodation even when
17:08
Speaker 1: you haven't had a visa granted yet. And the concern
17:10
Speaker 1: is what if you are turned down and aren't sure
17:13
Speaker 1: of a full refund if that visa application is unsuccessful. Well, Table,
17:17
Speaker 1: you'd be one of if.
17:19
Speaker 3: To reassure your listener, if you provide everything that is required,
17:26
Speaker 3: you will get your visa. You know, again ninety six
17:30
Speaker 3: percent approval rate, So it's very rare when we turn
17:33
Speaker 3: down an application, you know, usually it's because we get
17:37
Speaker 3: false documents. But when you when you provide everything that
17:41
Speaker 3: we need, don't worry. You'll get your visa and you're
17:45
Speaker 3: going to have a great time in France. So yeah,
17:50
Speaker 3: I don't want your listener to worry too much. So
17:52
Speaker 3: it's usually it's fine. I mean, it's a yeah, it's
17:55
Speaker 3: a smooth experience table.
17:57
Speaker 1: But I understand, I think everyone understands. We've all found
18:00
Speaker 1: that anxiety going into those those those.
18:03
Speaker 3: Application we we have to apply. Those Shingen rules are
18:09
Speaker 3: European rules. You know, it's not US, it's not one
18:13
Speaker 3: single country, it's not France who decided them. So you
18:17
Speaker 3: know you you're gonna enter the Shangan area, which is
18:21
Speaker 3: a European area, and WI share common borders, and we
18:25
Speaker 3: have to apply the same rules between France, Spain, Italy,
18:30
Speaker 3: so it's the same everywhere. It's not as French specificity.
18:33
Speaker 3: But again I can guarantee you if you submit everything
18:36
Speaker 3: that has been asked, you'll be fine.
18:38
Speaker 1: Okay, thank you for that quick, very practical question from Philip.
18:42
Speaker 1: On the email, he says, is it true that you
18:44
Speaker 1: have to carry your passport with you in France all
18:46
Speaker 1: the time? He says, I usually prefer to leave mine
18:48
Speaker 1: locked in the hotel safe. But I've been told you
18:50
Speaker 1: should always have it on you.
18:53
Speaker 3: I would just recommend to keep a copy on you,
18:55
Speaker 3: okay usually. I mean I'm a foreigner in South Africa.
18:58
Speaker 3: Usually I keep my passport in a safe, but I
19:00
Speaker 3: have a copy on me, and I have also I
19:04
Speaker 3: took a picture of my passport in case there is
19:06
Speaker 3: an I control. So I think with a copy it
19:10
Speaker 3: should be it should be enough.
19:12
Speaker 1: Okay, So Philip, leave the passport in the in the
19:14
Speaker 1: hotel safe, absolutely, but keep a copy with you, Okay.
19:18
Speaker 1: You have mentioned July August or the real peak peak season,
19:21
Speaker 1: so you so if you don't, I mean you are
19:22
Speaker 1: going to get crowds, that's to be expected. But the
19:25
Speaker 1: sort of shoulder seasons are just as beautifully. I mean,
19:29
Speaker 1: different times of year are going to be perfect depending
19:32
Speaker 1: on what you want to do. If you're going to
19:33
Speaker 1: go on a ski holiday or you're going for Christmas markets,
19:35
Speaker 1: obviously that's different to somebody wanting a summer holiday on
19:38
Speaker 1: the French riviera. Do you have a particular sort of
19:41
Speaker 1: favorite time of year that you want to tell people.
19:44
Speaker 2: Is about to start in France?
19:45
Speaker 3: So go now, I mean it's really beautiful March April,
19:48
Speaker 3: May or the most beautiful month I think in Europe
19:52
Speaker 3: in the northern hemisphere.
19:54
Speaker 2: Same with the.
19:55
Speaker 3: Month of September October. Usually it's a we call that.
19:59
Speaker 3: It's a because that called that the Indian summer. You
20:03
Speaker 3: still get warm temperatures, but you don't have the crowd,
20:07
Speaker 3: the kids.
20:08
Speaker 2: Are back to school. It's all yours.
20:10
Speaker 3: So really, I would recommend to try spring and the fall,
20:15
Speaker 3: which on my two favorite seasons. Actually I'm not a
20:18
Speaker 3: big fan of summer.
20:19
Speaker 2: It's too hard to cloud it.
20:21
Speaker 1: Well, I'll give you feedback on that recommendation when I
20:24
Speaker 1: get back in May, because it is a spring visit
20:26
Speaker 1: to France that I am looking forward to. Sophie. It's
20:28
Speaker 1: been wonderful having you with us to share such personal
20:31
Speaker 1: insight on the country that you obviously love and represent.
20:34
Speaker 1: I want to just circle back to remind listeners that
20:37
Speaker 1: you obviously can dream of and plan and start saving
20:41
Speaker 1: towards a trip to France, and don't just make it Paris,
20:44
Speaker 1: go and explore some of the other places Sophie's mentioned,
20:47
Speaker 1: But if you want just a little snippet of a
20:49
Speaker 1: taste of French culture and Francophone culture right here in
20:53
Speaker 1: Cape Town without having to spend ascent, not even on
20:55
Speaker 1: an entrance fee, let alone a plane ticket. You want
20:58
Speaker 1: to get yourself to Newlan's the weekend on Saturday at
21:01
Speaker 1: the Belgian residence in Bossop Street for the annual Francophony Festival.
21:05
Speaker 1: Sophie Belf, Consul General of France in Capton Mercibuku, thank
21:09
Speaker 1: you so much for your advice.
21:10
Speaker 3: This afternoon was really a pleasure and an honor to
21:12
Speaker 3: be with you.
21:13
Speaker 2: PIPA thank you so mn opportunity.
21:15
Speaker 1: It's our great pleasure