Aquitaine, which is the region on the Atlantic coast just North of the Pyrenees mountains, boasts some of the most splendid scenery to be found in France.
I combined my September visit with a stay in the relaxing surroundings of Villa Souvenir, a private property set in its own wooded park in a small village surrounded by enormous pine forests. They offer guided cycling tours which cover areas you would just not get to see on your own. That combined with excellent food, makes this my top recommendation.
A recent vote in the House of Lords in London proves that there are fortunately still some intelligent people who are thinking about privacy and personal freedom.
The United Kingdom is about to embark on the most ambitious and complex ID system ever contemplated anywhere in the World, yet it is found flawed by industry experts and third parties.
Naturally most European citizens do not even realize that this is going on... The EU Commission has now caved in to the US request to transfer PNR passenger data, despite contravening current EU privacy law. I discussed this recently Personal Privacy at risk as EU ponders new laws.
Due to more airline alliances, cuts in travel and the synergy effect
of sharing resources, Central America is in some ways becoming cut-off
from Europe. This results from the fact that many flights to Central
America are now optimising aircraft capacity and flying via the USA.
Many people are just longing to get out of the rat race and are enchanted by the opportunity to simplify their life and live abroad in a different culture. Simplifying your life does not have to infer frugality, but just means ridding yourself of superfluous commitments.
Force them to learn the English language. Track them down, put them into solitary confinement for a few years and force them to learn their mother tongue!
In one of the updates to his book, I remember Dr. Otto Weizman's sage advice not to meddle with other cultures. By all means visit other peoples - if it is acceptable - but do not attempt to convert them to anything else.
Living abroad and/or living a simpler life doesn't necessarily mean being on a discovery mission, although it can. It has often been falsely interpreted that everybody who decides to go and live abroad, maybe on a desert island, is still trying to find himself or herself. Some people however, have very consciously determined that they wish to escape the rat race. Other travellers have decided that they are just happier when perpetually travelling. On the other hand, maybe you belong to one of the "Brilliant Masses"?
This is in blatant disregard of current laws and not even in line with future agreements to be drawn up between the USA and the EU (European Union.) No current or planned data-sharing agreements permit the transfer of data based on a future reservation.
Whoever associated a simple life with a frugal life was missing part of the message. I try to live a simple / simpler life, but that does not mean that it has to be frugal. I have NO desire to live high in the mountains in a log cabin without hot water. A swimming pool or a hot tub /Jacuzzi is just fine, as long as there is somebody to clean it!
Although many people are looking forward to moving abroad, one thing that holds some back is the fear of having to say goodbye to friends and loved ones at home. That is understandable, but it's really not necessary to say goodbye.
What does living abroad really mean? Obviously, it depends where you are located. The definition of where you are currently living or where you are currently not living is necessary in order to be able to define where living abroad might be.
US Travel Surveillance authorised by EU. Can US data protection measures be trusted? Passing European airline passenger data to US authorities contravenes European privacy law and puts passengers at risk that their personal data could be misused.
Many travelers value good food regardless of how much they have paid for their airline ticket. Of late, more business travelers have had to endure the often poor quality of food onboard aircraft due to corporate cutbacks and general economy measures.
Some people are fed-up with the rat race and have decided to live abroad; perhaps even having now made this their New Year's Resolution. Despite many guides and expert advice on hand, often a type of writers-cramp sets in. They don't know where to start their planning and don't know exactly where they want to go.
Some people living abroad ask me what to do at festive times. They feel left out of things if they don't have their family around them. I always recommend that they try to join in the festivities.
You are not going to find this just by sitting at your computer. You have got to be prepared to travel - out of the way too. But then travelling is great fun ...
Just imagine you pick up your phone and hear, "Hi, I just found your private phone number in Google, so I thought I would call to sell you a vacuum cleaner." What may be common knowledge to geeks is by far known to everybody.
Frequent travellers and other people living abroad depend on their freedom to communicate with the rest of the world. But do we take it for granted and are we aware of what is going on behind closed doors? This affects the less mobile of the population too.
A risk when travelling abroad is that you might not be free to read what you wish without Government control. So how can we have the freedom to form opinions if we are not free to read what we wish? When travelling abroad, it is wise to be aware that other countries have different interpretations of freedom.
A complex and sometimes emotional subject for people moving overseas
is what to take with them. Some people are almost tempted to take the
proverbial kitchen sink.
If the loss of one's personal privacy is not enough, then the
biggest concern regarding CAPPS II is the threat of Identity Theft. ID
theft is the fastest growing crime on the Internet and is not under
control.
The similarities between the CAPPS (Computer Assisted Passenger
Pre-screening System) and Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tale "The
Emperor's New Clothes" would be laughable if it were not so sinister.
The above descriptors are quite lucid in foreign countries, so why
should the Western World have to convolute them? Why should I be
offended at being called a white man? When visiting the multi-racial
country of Mexico, I am regularly called "white man."
Germany passed an insane law that make a web site owner responsible for the content of any sites to which they link. A reference to the authorship of the other site is insufficient as a disclaimer.
A recent EU meeting discussed personal biometric data on passports, however disagreement still exists as to which technology will be integrated. Time is running out before the freedom to travel to the US will be curtailed for many European travelers.
Living abroad in a different culture and lifestyle - a fascinating first hand experience which has motivated many people to go and live abroad. Unless you plan on living abroad...
Good Medical Service or Government Control Gone Mad? The Mosquito Police are checking householders to see if they have any mosquitos on their property.
The practice of the US Government in collecting and using airline passenger data is becoming known and meeting with resistance in several quarters. Any person flying within or to and from the USA is risking exploitation of their personal privacy. Dozens of...
How can you know whom to trust when traveling or living abroad, when it's bad enough at home? In this case, Seth Godin questions whom we can trust, when we are constantly confronted with fraudulent scams in the comfort of our own homes? Fraudsters, who are just waiting to steal your credit card number and personal details on the Internet or via email. Such scams can put your personal privacy and financial privacy at risk.
What motivates people to want to live abroad? Better weather, a lower cost of living and less stress are three points in a longer list of factors that affect people's decision to live abroad.
Various studies have shown that stress can lead to compensatory consumption that manifests itself in various forms, including overspending and overeating.
Does less stress therefore lead to saving money and losing weight? We wish to look at whether by simplifying your life you can help to achieve all three.
A sell-by date implies a justifiable starting date. In fact, parts of the Patriot Act, especially those concerning personal privacy, could never be truly justified from the start.
It was common knowledge that syringes used for injections in some countries were unreliable. However, a new report reveals that the risk is much higher than imagined and taking one with you is no longer an option. Dr. Otto Weizman used to suggest taking a syringe on overseas trips, but due to heightened...
Frequent travelers and people living and working abroad use credit cards more often than most people do. By restricting the use of a credit card within user-definable parameters could help to reduce their fraud potential. Although articles in the press have not yet mentioned this feature, it is quite feasible if the credit card associations take up on the idea. The original idea was that the new credit cards containing a chip would have enough storage space to contain user instructions.
Some business visitors and big bucks purchasers of US products are
now turning their backs on the US. All business relations have a
personal factor and the intimidation at the US border is something that
people simply do not enjoy.
