About

 

My name is Richard Alexander, and I’m glad you’re here!

I’m passionate about France, and especially about the parts that most tourists never see.  With my family, I lived in the Massif Central for seven years in two separate expat assignments, and I’ve worked there several weeks every year for 16 more years.

In all that time, we discovered history that stretches back to the beginning of time and stories about people who came out of these wild regions and rose to prominence on the world stage.  We discovered medieval and Renaissance architecture unlike anything we’d seen anywhere else, charming inns and world-class French cuisine.  

There are hundreds of blogs about Paris, but very few that take you out of the big city into the real heart of France.  That’s not too surprising, really – even many French people know relatively little about the center of their country. 

Castles - Central France

Even when you do find travel writing about other regions, it’s most often about the Dordogne (where so many Anglophones like to live), or about Peter Mayle’s sunny vision of Provence, or about one of the other urban centers like Lyon or Marseilles. 

This blog is for you if:

- you want to travel “off the beaten path”

- you’re looking for a place to live in a relatively “undiscovered” corner of the country

- you're looking for things to do, places to stay, and new dining experiences in France

- you’re someone who appreciates the history and culture of France and dreams of traveling there

I’d love to hear from you – what topics would you like to know more about?  What experiences have you had in the great heartland of France?  Where would you like to go next? 

You can e-mail me anytime at richard@deepheartoffrance.com.  But please take a second to subscribe to our newsletter, too.  I promise to respect your privacy and never to share your e-mail, so please sign up and get news and notes about what’s going on in central France.  You can follow me on Facebook, too, or on Twitter @DeepFrance.

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