Les Landes - Unknown Region To American Tourists..But OH!

One of France’s regions that I have fallen in love with over the last couple of years is Aquitaine. Bordered by Bordeaux on the north and Biarritz on the south. For most American tourists to France, it’s really a vast unknown area. In between those two cites lies an immense area known as Les Landes. Here you will find my favorite duck farm purveyor of Foie Gras (near the village of Baxente) and a fantastic stretch of beach, deserted it seems for hundreds of miles, with small villages and tourist hotels dotted here and there. There are no major hotels here, mainly French casual summer homes, cottages and B & B’s.
Travelling south from Bordeaux by road or rail, you pass for what seems like hours through an unremitting, flat, sandy pine forest known as Les Landes. Until the nineteenth century it was a vast, infertile swamp, badly drained because of the impermeable layer of grit deposited by the glaciers of the quaternary age and steadily encroached upon by the shifting sand dunes of the coast. Today it supports nearly 10,000 square kilometres of trees and since 1970 has been designated a parc naturel régional.
Here is a film overview of the area to tease you.

True Oysters in Paris That Are Not Farmed

70% of oysters served in France are farm raised along the French coast and as good as they are, its the true ocean grown, wild oysters of the old days that were the tastest. Today, a few oyster farmers are still doing it the' old way' and one of those is Laurence Mahéo – a fashion designer – took over the family oyster business a few years ago, and her Gavrinis ( Gavrinis is a small island, situated in the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany, France) have been served at some of the Paris's top tables. Now she has a table of her own, offering not only her famous bivalves, but a wide array of fruits de mer, some raw and some delicately cooked (with a light Japanese touch) in an airy blue and white room that will take you from Batignolles to the Brittany coast.The restaurant is called ATAO ( 17e) . Atao means eternity in Breton and all the fish and seafood come daily from their location at the Golfe du Morbihan, it can't be fresher than that!

The Trendiest Desset In Paris Done Right.......

Every Paris restaurant these days does Le Café Gourmand. While it seems to be a fixture on every single menu , along with the ubiquitous warm chocolate cake often it’s a rewarmed frozen macaron, a tiny chocolate cake (likely pulled from the same freezer), and if you’re lucky, maybe a financier from an actual bakery. At Les Fines Gueules Restaurant (best known for using organic beef and veal - and their steak tartar is the best in Paris!) Here they offer up a thick pot of ganache made with Valrhona chocolate, a generous crème brûlée and a moist, hefty slice of orange pound cake, along with a well-made café express.

The Green Venice of France - One of Europes best-Kept secrets

34 Miles from la Rochelle ( 3 hours by TGV from Paris) is an area known as - Marais Poitevin( Venise-Verte) - GreenVenice is a wetland wonder that spans 375 square miles. Here is a carved out network of canals where you can rent or charter boats and glide along poplar-lined canals teeming with wildlife. Here are charming villages and gardnes in in the village of Canneau, is a floating market that brings over 50 producers to seel their good from their boats.

I Miss My Morning Cafe Creme....(also known as cafe au lait)

"It was a pleasant cafe, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung up my old water-proof on the coat rack to dry and put my worn and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a cafe au lait. The waiter brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of the coat and a pencil and started to write.” - Hemingway

Paris Cocktails With A View

Looking for a hip new bar in paris? check out la vue, with exactly that- a great view of the city. the place boasts hip djs, a funky menu, and a special elevator to take you to the 34th floor so you can sip your cocktails with paris at your feet. so chic!
La Vue
3, place du Général Kœnig, 17th
Its in the HÔTEL CONCORDE LA FAYETTE

I have not done it myself, but friends in Paris have.

Avignon - Across The River, What A Find!

Just across the river in Avignon, home to the Palias des Papes, on the side called Villeneuve-les-Avignon is a find that seemes to be missed by tourists. I know, I know, you can do and see everything!
Is the Carthusian Monastery and Ft Andre. The monastery was built in the 14th century and unlike busy Avignon, it takes you back to an atmosphere of unimaginable transquillity.  This monastery is larger than the Palais des Papes, across the river and that's saying something.

Near by is also Sainte Andre Fort, Philippe le Bel, King of France, ordered the construction of the Saint André Fort as a symbol of royal power in opposition to the popes of Avignon and to the lands of the Holy Roman Empire. It includes a fortified wall and two twin towers that flank the monumental gate. The wall was built to protect the Benedictine abbey and the small town of Saint André.