Language School in Sancerre
 

For anyone interested in studying French, this sounds like a good place to do it or at least another one to add to the list. The Pgh. Post-Gazette ran this article today on the Coeur de France language school in Sancerre.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05177/527540.stm

Thanks, grandmere, their website is wonderful - I have it bookmarked!

Sue4, another good language school, that I attended for 2 weeks several years ago, is Centre Linguistique for Etrangers (CLE) in Tours. I first read about it in an article in NYT, a few years before I actually went.
www.cle.fr

Crepes a go go, another poster, spent a month or more (?) there more recently. Perhaps you can search for her posts.

I stayed with a family, and she did, too; most students at CLE choose this option. This is probably why CLE is less expensive than Coeur de France.

Grandmere,

I had stumbled onto that site. The school does look interesting. On top of that, Sancerre is a charming hilltop town. Great views over the vineyards of the Cher and far west Burgundy. And the wine is very good!

Dave, I'm not sure I'll do a language school again (CLE, in Tours, was a wonderful experience, but so many things I want to do travel-wise and how much time to do them? :-)) but I would certainly consider this one. Do you think Sancerre would be a good place to spend 2 weeks? Tours was not a town that I would necessarily want to return to.

Just looked at my comment about Tours and feel that it comes across as my not liking it, which was not the case. It was a very nice town, just not enough to bring me back, given all the places in France yet to see.

Sancerre as a base: You could visit the great catherdral at Bourges, the Sancerre vineyards and those of Pouilly (Pouilly Fume and Pouilly sur-Loire white wines just across the Loire in the Nivernais), the goats' cheese producers (crotins de
Chevignol in the Cher), La Charite-sur-Loire -- a charming, time-worn town also on the Nievre side of the Loire, Vezelay, the pilgrimmage and crusade site in Western Burgundy, with a Michelin three-star nearby, the currently under construction chateau-fort on the Burgundy side (a fascinating project in period techniques whose name momentarily escapes me), and Briare, with the Eiffel-designed canal-bridge for a lovely three-hour luncheon canal cruise, the nature preserve that extends from Pouilly to Cosne sur-Loire, from have dinner on the farm near Herry. All best for a very laid-back stay, and for a nature lover.

Dave

The chateau construction project is at Guedelon, near St-Fargeau. Dave, are you referring to the duck farm at Herry? Do you recommend it?

Yes, the Ferme des Barreaux: duck with your duck. Foie gras for the appetizer and duck seven different ways for the main course. Very nice cheese plate, too. In good weather you can dine outside and watch the animals strut in the farmyard. In cold weather we like the smaller of the two dining rooms, more rustic than the large one, with a fire going. As for the food, I steer aways from the main courses with sauces, which are overdone. But all in all, it's a nice place, something different, and worthwhile.

I am strongly considering this school. Would love to know if anyone has had an experience with them.

Sancerre is charming but it gets quite warm and muggy in summer and AC is thin on the ground there (and the streets are STEEP, easy to work up a sweat). The aptly named Panorama Hotel has a pool, which would be much appreciated on those hot summer days.
The Sancerre area is best enjoyed with a car. The Berry region is full of interesting things to see, especially south and west of Bourges; the Michelin Green Guide covering that region gives lots of good suggestions (but skip Aubigny sur Nere, the "sorcery town"...very touristy with lots of tacky shops, ice cream vendors and not much else).