Carnival actually dates back to the ancient Greek spring festival in honour of Dionysus, the god of wine. It was a massive binge – a celebration of excess, and later the church, unable to suppress it, wisely adapted it instead to its own traditions.

Historically, French culture has tended to be more tolerant of infidelity than Anglo-Saxon countries, and French men are traditionally very confident in their own sex appeal- but the-times-they-are-a-changing!

God’s largest prison: Albi and its “monstrous mountain of brick” From Rivesaltes station to Albi via Toulouse The first leg of the journey was uneventful, apart from the distant view en route of Carcassonne, bastioned…

A marriage performed under French law is recognised in the UK so this gives you the choice of having the whole wedding, both legal ceremony and reception, in France. The civil ceremony is the only legally binding part of a marriage, although many follow it with a religious wedding.