{"product_id":"detour-de-france","title":"Detour De France By Simkins, Michael","description":"\u003cp\u003eThough happy enough with his lot, Michael Simkins has never truly shaken the nagging doubt - helpfully upheld by his partner Julia - that he somehow lacks worldly sophistication. While she spent her teenage years as a nanny on a boat moored at Cannes, his utter lack of travel experience (Weymouth, Cleethorpes and a day trip to Dieppe) still has the power to shock people into leaving dinner parties early.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo as he hits middle-age, Michael takes up the challenge of broadening his horizons. He decides to improve himself in the same way English gentlemen lacking refined edges have for centuries: by learning from our more cultured French neighbours. Michael, an English provincial \u003ci\u003eingénue\u003c\/i\u003e, sets off to discover just what the Gallic nation can teach him and the rest of us Anglo-Saxons about living the good life. Armed only with \u003ci\u003e50 Useful Phrases in French\u003c\/i\u003e, he waits to see if his odyssey from La Manche to the Riviera will finally turn him from the scotch-egg eating spawn of Anne Widdecombe and John McCririck into the champagne-sipping love child of Serge Gainsbourg and Catherine Deneuve. Julia is saying a prayer for him at Lourdes.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57692206858622,"sku":"NW9780091927530","price":11.67,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9780091927530.jpg?v=1784184237","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/products\/detour-de-france","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}