Last week, while taking one of the annual two 'off' weeks from FPI, I was becoming a property owner in New York City with my daughter who lives there. I never dreamed I would be, and even now, it seems surrealistic. Read more about it in today's issue of FPI -- a comparison of sorts between the two systems.

We watch with glee the rise of the U.S. dollar against the euro -- making property in France more affordable, as we watch the stock market decline and the upcoming presidential election bounce around like a rubber ball from one candidate to the other. Our lives are filled with uncertainty, and with that comes a reluctance to proceed ahead.

Now is not the time to passively watch as the world turns around us, but to actively participate in setting it back on track. If you want a safe place to invest your hard-earned bucks, then France should be at the top of the list as our property markets remain more stable than most, particularly here in Paris.

Sunday afternoon, FPI readers joined together for a conference call -- "Owning All or a Fraction." Scroll down to learn more and listen to an audio copy of the event if you missed it, or even if you want to review it.

In today's issue we highlight two regions diametrically opposed, one east and one west: the Franche-Comté on the Swiss border and the Vendée, a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire. If you love the provinces of France, then these are regions you will want to know more about.

Daily I receive the Moneycorp Daily Currency Rates by email and have watched the dollar weaken and strengthen against the euro with personal interest.

Analysts say that the US dollar to euro exchange rate will grow in 2008 as the Federal Reserve System (FRS) has possibly already finished a cycle of decrease in the rate and can lift its level next year. On April 22nd, the dollar fell to a record low against the euro -- $1.6019. Since the beginning of 2002, the fall has been almost 44%. But analysts believe we've seen the end of the fall. Today's rate is $1.3664 to 1€.

By Adrian Leeds

Buying property in New York was more difficult than it is here in France -- I felt more like a foreigner there than here, trying to understand the strict by-laws of the "co-op" and how that differs from a "copropriété" here in France.

Eighty-five percent of the properties in New York are co-op buildings, so it's tough to avoid. Plus both the cost and closing costs are less expensive than with condominiums, which operate more like a French copropriété.

The co-op affords little freedom for the individual owners, who are in essence, co-owners of a single building, each owning a number of shares which relate to a specific part of the building, or "apartment." The rules and regulations governing the building differ with each one, but are strictly adhered to, nonetheless.

The day of the closing, I informed the management company we wanted to paint and do a bit of repair work in the apartment. In France, you can do what you want inside your apartment with the exception of affecting structural walls. In a New York co-op, such as this one, not only did we need permission from the co-op board, but we were also assessed a $2000 deposit and a $500 fee, just to have the right to paint.

Deliveries of materials must be insured by the delivering agents or they will not be admitted on the premises, either. This is just the beginning! Most buildings have strict sublet laws, while in France, the association cannot prevent subletting, by law.

The one good thing I can say from this experience is that the strict co-op rules for most of the buildings in New York may be one reason the city hasn't suffered the plunging home prices felt in the rest of the States...but neither has Paris!...and certainly not for the same reason.

By Adrian Leeds
Excerpt from Parler ParisMonday, October 6, 2008

I moved into the apartment on Barrow street the same afternoon of the closing, October 2nd. The old "Murphy" bed had been left in error by the previous owner, but afforded a temporary place to lay my head and aching body from the non-stop pace we have been keeping. Besides, it's good to get to know a place before the renovation begins, so one can prepare for the idiosyncrasies that might crop up along the way.

The first Murphy bed I had was in a studio apartment in Knoxville, Tennessee in the early 70's. William L. Murphy patented the bed in 1916 and started the first production of it in San Francisco under the name of the Murphy Wall Bed Company. Today, it will be removed and the apartment left empty, but, for the practical reasons it existed there in the first place, we have already ordered up a new Murphy bed system to replace it (from the Murphy Bed Center of New York at 20 West 23rd Street, Suite 2).

The closing was similar, yet different, from the signing of an "Acte de Vente" in France. Lawyers representing both buyer and seller were present, as was a representative of the managing agency and title company. The difference was that there was no procedure of reviewing the final deed word for word as we do in the Notaire's office. Mostly, each party worked independently going through their papers, handing over documents to sign and asking for checks to be written. It took about one hour, and during that time there was conversation among the men about their lives with their wives (I thought this particularly endearing) and off we went with a HUGE pile of documents to call our own, not to mention a studio apartment in the West Village.

That evening, in lieu of opening a bottle of champagne (a gift from our real estate agents), we settled in on a friend's couch with take-out food for dinner to watch the Vice-Presidential Debate. There is no need to make any comment about who out performed who, but there is no question from the amount of pro-Obama pins on the lapels of New Yorkers who they favor.

Early the next morning the sun poured in and I set out to test out Claude's Patisserie just across the street on West 4th Street. Every Francophile New Yorker I know claims he has the best croissants in New York. Claude gave me a sour look as I entered and ordered up a coffee and croissant. There is a sign in the bakery that outlaws cell phones and because there are only three tables, the minimum expenditure per person to take one is $3.50. No doubt, Claude runs the bakery as if it were in France.

The taste test was very tasty indeed. Claude's croissant is buttery, a little too crispy, but as delicious a croissant I can remember having Stateside. Yep, it melted in my mouth, but even better than the croissant, Claude's coffee is only second to my favorite -- Café du Monde in New Orleans. Erica visited it later that day and said that 'grumpy' Claude had warmed up to her when she spoke French to him. The eclair was equally as good.

I missed "La Nuit Blanche" this year, sadly, but to soothe the wounds, gathered a small group to hear Gay Marshall sing Edith Piaf songs -- from her new CD titled "La Vie Amour" at the Metropolitan Room on West 22nd Street (number 34). It is an intimate venue that held a couple hundred people at comfortable tables. Gay Marshall is a talented singer/actress who wrote, produced and starred in a one-woman show in Paris (in English) for quite a long run. The show became more enjoyable each time seeing it (there were a few occasions). Then, suddenly she was missing from the Paris scene. Now I know why -- she moved back to New York about two-and-a-half years ago, coincidently, one block from our new apartment -- we might easily have bumped into her on the street!

Although I never saw Piaf live, Gay is a 'sparrow' of a woman with a powerful voice and electric personality that simply makes you smile and befriend her, as if you know her personally through her warm on-stage presence and attitude. The audience looked just like you and me -- American Francophiles who eat up anything French and have heard Gay sing before or heard of her Franco-American show. There are two more performances -- next weekend and weekend after, so if you have a chance to hear her, do. (Learn more at http://wwww.GayMarshall.com, http://www.MetropolitanRoom.com)

Franceguide.com, the official website of the French Government Tourist Office

Famous for its landscapes and gastronomy, the French region of Franche-Comté also has a rich heritage and many fascinating museums making it an ideal destination for culture lovers.

Situated at a strategic point in Europe, the Franche-Comté counts a number of fortresses and military buildings now open to the public. Some of the finest examples include the Belfort and the Besançon Citadels, both designed by French military architect Vauban. Nowadays, the Besançon Citadel houses a zoo and several museums including the Museum of Resistance and Deportation, which provides a moving account of wartime Europe.

Built only a few miles away from the Swiss border, the Château de Joux was used as a fortress and as a jail for political prisoners. Famous prisoners included French Revolution supporter, the Count of Mirabeau, and General Toussaint l’Ouverture, one of the fathers of the anti-slavery movement. As such, the Château de Joux is part of the Abolition Route, which stretches across Franche-Comté and its neighbors Alsace and Lorraine. Another Franche-Comté site, the Maison de la Négritude, a museum dedicated to the history of slavery, is also part of this route.

A UNESCO designated site, the Royal Salt Works in Arc-et-Senans feature an unusual group of buildings, distinctively arranged in a semi-circle. Visionary architect Claude Nicolas Ledoux designed the site in the 18th century and intended it to become a self-sufficient community for the salt works' employees.

Other unusual buildings in the Franche-Comté include the contemporary Ronchamps Chapel designed by Le Corbusier and the Lion of Belfort, a huge statue in the shape of a lion celebrating the locals’ bravery during the 1870-1871 conflict against Prussia. Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of the Liberty, was commissioned to create this statue.

Museums are also very much part of the Franche-Comté’s cultural scene. Car lovers can make a trip to Sochaux’s Peugeot museum, which houses a large number of vintage cars and more unexpected Peugeot devices such as coffee grinders. Art lovers will particularly enjoy a visit to Besançon’s Fine Art Museum with its collection of works by Matisse, Rubens, Rembrandt and Delacroix.

For more insight into the Franche-Comté’s heritage, visitors can take their pick of the museums belonging to the Network of Museums of Comtois Techniques and Cultures. Gathering such museums as the Toy, Wood Carving and Spectacles Museums under one umbrella, the network produces a special pass allowing visitors to enter all member museums at a discounted rate.

A cultural tour of Franche-Comté would not be complete without a mention of the region’s personalities. Prestigious names associated with the region include Victor Hugo, the Frères Lumières and Louis Pasteur. Pasteur’s childhood town, Arbois, has turned his former home into a museum dedicated to his life and work.

Franche-Comté’s rich and varied heritage is the perfect excuse for a trip with a cultural flair.