It's so Much More than American Hot Dogs!
Sausage...mmmmm...
Special Mustard - Maille!
Melted Cheese on Top
Baked in the Oven til Crispy on a
Golden
Delicious Baguette!
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
My France travel thoughts for the day......................
"Where others see a glimpse of heaven in the soaring arches of a great French cathedral or hear the angelic in a soprano's coloratura at the Paris Opera, I smell paradise in the passing of a bistro or brasserie."
Monday, October 27, 2014
My remedy for overwhelming museum visits - just slow down! That's It, its simple..
the typical traveler (to Paris museums) grabs a map and spends the next two hours darting from one masterpiece to the next, battling crowds, exhaustion and hunger (yet never failing to take selfies with boldface names like Mona Lisa).
What if we slowed down?
What if we spent time with the painting that draws us in instead of the painting we think we’re supposed to see?
What if we slowed down?
What if we spent time with the painting that draws us in instead of the painting we think we’re supposed to see?
Monday, October 20, 2014
A beautiful and less stressful sense of arrival in Paris and other European cities
Exclusive to Protravel, we have agents who will meet you at the exit door of your arrival aircraft, whisk your through customs/immigration ( special line) into baggage and whisk you via their limo to your Paris hotel or if you are just connecting in Paris onto to other cities throughout Europe and the world, our greeter will meet you exit door side of your aircraft and get you over to your connecting gate.
They can do this in France, Germany/England/Italy and many other countries.
Although I have been to Paris many,many,many times, I use this service always...its a beautiful way to enter a city, seamless and no stress. A great sense of arrival.................
Call or email me for rates.
They can do this in France, Germany/England/Italy and many other countries.
Although I have been to Paris many,many,many times, I use this service always...its a beautiful way to enter a city, seamless and no stress. A great sense of arrival.................
Call or email me for rates.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Believe it or not, there is no such thing as ‘food for kids’ in France. Les enfants simply eat normal food.
There is NO mac and cheese in France, unless you call Tartiflette ( a combo of potato, cheese and bacon) one.
So if you are taking children to France this year, don't expect children's menus with Mac and Cheese and spaghetti and such. It ain't gonna happen.
So, order for them like an adult and have them try everything, maybe,just maybe, they will like it.
So if you are taking children to France this year, don't expect children's menus with Mac and Cheese and spaghetti and such. It ain't gonna happen.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
A formula for avoiding sitting next to those pesky fellow Yankees who whoop it up and disturb your meal in Paris and finding good food in “secret places.
Written by Blogger John Talbott (whom I respect and agree with most of his restaurant reviews)
He writes: “I have hit upon a strategy for those Americans who long to find places their fellow New York Times’ readers have not, where English is not spoken (especially loudly and nasally), has good food and where they will walk out texting their 1,000 best “friends” that they found a place no one else knows about. What is it?:
1. Don’t just go back to the places you liked/loved last time, 10 or the Gods forbid, 50 years ago. I know, I know, “a bird in the hand is worth two you've never tried,” and I respect folks who use this method;, but......................
2. Eat at lunch when the French not the Anglos eat.
3. Go outside the inner snail circle of Arrondissements 1-8. So, “how John, how do you find these places?” I’m asked. You read the blogs – in French (come on, you took it 40 years ago, some words are obvious) and English, written by people who aren't New York Times/Travel ∧ Leisure/Food ∧ Wine reporters or stringers.
4) You become a flaneur and listen to others who are flaneurs – “Hey, I saw this new place over near the VVV, check it out.” You enter places with fresh paint, look at the menu (posted by law) and setup, ask for a card and check it out with other nosy food-types. And, going against the grain of many folks, you eat with a diverse group of food-nuts, who let slip “secret information” known only to them ( I guarantee this formula works, but only if you’re willing to take risks, encounter some odd lemons and be there when the wait-folks are having bad days or their first days.
http://johntalbottsparis.typepad.com/
An American in Paris for years and years and years!
He writes: “I have hit upon a strategy for those Americans who long to find places their fellow New York Times’ readers have not, where English is not spoken (especially loudly and nasally), has good food and where they will walk out texting their 1,000 best “friends” that they found a place no one else knows about. What is it?:
1. Don’t just go back to the places you liked/loved last time, 10 or the Gods forbid, 50 years ago. I know, I know, “a bird in the hand is worth two you've never tried,” and I respect folks who use this method;, but......................
2. Eat at lunch when the French not the Anglos eat.
3. Go outside the inner snail circle of Arrondissements 1-8. So, “how John, how do you find these places?” I’m asked. You read the blogs – in French (come on, you took it 40 years ago, some words are obvious) and English, written by people who aren't New York Times/Travel ∧ Leisure/Food ∧ Wine reporters or stringers.
4) You become a flaneur and listen to others who are flaneurs – “Hey, I saw this new place over near the VVV, check it out.” You enter places with fresh paint, look at the menu (posted by law) and setup, ask for a card and check it out with other nosy food-types. And, going against the grain of many folks, you eat with a diverse group of food-nuts, who let slip “secret information” known only to them ( I guarantee this formula works, but only if you’re willing to take risks, encounter some odd lemons and be there when the wait-folks are having bad days or their first days.
http://johntalbottsparis.typepad.com/
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Stay at the Four Season's in Paris and experience one of their many exclusive activities free to Protravel Guests
Jeff Leatham Experience
Four Seasons Hotel George V is launching an exclusive Parisian experience by offering guests the opportunity to participate in a floral arrangement class hosted by Jeff Leatham, the hotel’s acclaimed Artistic Director. Renowned throughout the world for his spectacular floral creations, Jeff has truly revolutionized floral art. His talent extends beyond our borders and he is regularly called up to choreograph the most prestigious events. He has contributed notably to the reopening party of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as well as collaborating with Kylie Minogue and more recently, he created the flower arrangements for Tina Turner’s wedding. Even Oprah Winfrey herself has become a huge fan and invited him in 2012 to participate as a guest on her famous televised about « dream jobs »
. Jeff Leatham will organize a floral art workshop quarterly within the hotel. It is a rare occasion to meet the famous artist encompassed by his favorite flowers and to discover his truly unique way of creating a flower bouquet… The 2 hour lesson takes place in one of the hotel’s salons and begins with a floral art demonstration followed by the opportunity to put into practice and create a bouquet. Jeff is delighted to share his passion for flowers in the place he has called home and where he has spent the last 14 years living in perfect harmony. Each month, he concocts a new theme and creates his designs on the spot thanks to the 9000 flowers that are delivered each week from Holland. « More than a class that teaches how to arrange flowers, it is a magical and unforgettable moment where our guests have the privilege to be able to assist. It is a unique moment in the company of one of the most Rock & Roll florists in the world» declares Christian Clerc, Regional Vice-president and General Manager of the Four Seasons Hotel George V. Jeff’s workshop is from 5 to 7 p.m. and is free of charge to all Protravel Guests
Four Seasons Hotel George V is launching an exclusive Parisian experience by offering guests the opportunity to participate in a floral arrangement class hosted by Jeff Leatham, the hotel’s acclaimed Artistic Director. Renowned throughout the world for his spectacular floral creations, Jeff has truly revolutionized floral art. His talent extends beyond our borders and he is regularly called up to choreograph the most prestigious events. He has contributed notably to the reopening party of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as well as collaborating with Kylie Minogue and more recently, he created the flower arrangements for Tina Turner’s wedding. Even Oprah Winfrey herself has become a huge fan and invited him in 2012 to participate as a guest on her famous televised about « dream jobs »
. Jeff Leatham will organize a floral art workshop quarterly within the hotel. It is a rare occasion to meet the famous artist encompassed by his favorite flowers and to discover his truly unique way of creating a flower bouquet… The 2 hour lesson takes place in one of the hotel’s salons and begins with a floral art demonstration followed by the opportunity to put into practice and create a bouquet. Jeff is delighted to share his passion for flowers in the place he has called home and where he has spent the last 14 years living in perfect harmony. Each month, he concocts a new theme and creates his designs on the spot thanks to the 9000 flowers that are delivered each week from Holland. « More than a class that teaches how to arrange flowers, it is a magical and unforgettable moment where our guests have the privilege to be able to assist. It is a unique moment in the company of one of the most Rock & Roll florists in the world» declares Christian Clerc, Regional Vice-president and General Manager of the Four Seasons Hotel George V. Jeff’s workshop is from 5 to 7 p.m. and is free of charge to all Protravel Guests
Paris - Having breakfast in a Luxury hotel is the end all... be all for me!
Breakfast at le Meurice Hotel - one of the best in the world.
No jeans, baseball caps worn backwards (or worn at all) , sweat suits allowed here,
thank god!
Why France is better than Britain - quotes from the London Telegraph..I could have told you that!
The CEO of one of Britain’s largest retail corporations reckons France is "downbeat and hopeless"but At least it's not packed with Poundlands (99 cent stores) , kebab shops and staggering drunks.
Villages:
It’s been said before, but can stand repetition: French villages retain vigor. They remain complete unto themselves as many rural English settlements no longer do. They will have a grocer’s, a butcher’s, a baker’s and, all being well, a bar-tabac with lottery tickets, old fellows playing cards and pictures of the village football team when they all had moustaches, c. 1978. They will have a boules pitch, associations, a weekly market, a carnival and an annual church trip to Lourdes. There are reasons for this vibrancy. One is that all 36,532 French communes run their own affairs, with a mayor and council. They are not offshoots of some bigger municipal entity. Village stuff is largely run in and by the village. Another is that, to a remarkable degree, French farming has remained small scale, thus ensuring proper country life which villages serve. (“Euro-agri-subsidies,” I hear you snort. So British farmers never received subsidies?) And a third is that the average French person retains ties to the countryside. Though they've lived in the city for generations, they reckon they remain of peasant stock. And they’ll likely return to the village in autumn for the annual pig-killing.
Restaurants:
It is now usual to say that French catering is terrible, British far better. It is also nonsense. Naturally one may eat satisfactorily in Britain – if one pays the price, or is prepared for corporate fare and a well-trained welcome. But British quality cooking is all top-downwards, spreading to the populace from expensive restaurants and mouthy chefs. The food chain starts in Waitrose. In France, the food chain starts on land, on sea and with animals, in all their gory detail. There’s the pig-killing and mushroom-hunting, and everyone’s an expert and may discuss the nuances of a coq-au-vin until you pass out. But it is this culture which informs chefs and which they must satisfy. Nowhere else do you eat so well up and down the scale because nowhere else has such unbroken links with a culinary heritage. And where in Britain are the family restaurants that jostle on every city, town and village street in France?
Service:
France has career waiters – serious chaps in serious aprons and ties who can correctly deliver 12 different drinks on one tray to one table, even though they were ordered in English. Britain has youngsters filling in time between television reality shows, who can’t spell cappuccino.
Villages:
It’s been said before, but can stand repetition: French villages retain vigor. They remain complete unto themselves as many rural English settlements no longer do. They will have a grocer’s, a butcher’s, a baker’s and, all being well, a bar-tabac with lottery tickets, old fellows playing cards and pictures of the village football team when they all had moustaches, c. 1978. They will have a boules pitch, associations, a weekly market, a carnival and an annual church trip to Lourdes. There are reasons for this vibrancy. One is that all 36,532 French communes run their own affairs, with a mayor and council. They are not offshoots of some bigger municipal entity. Village stuff is largely run in and by the village. Another is that, to a remarkable degree, French farming has remained small scale, thus ensuring proper country life which villages serve. (“Euro-agri-subsidies,” I hear you snort. So British farmers never received subsidies?) And a third is that the average French person retains ties to the countryside. Though they've lived in the city for generations, they reckon they remain of peasant stock. And they’ll likely return to the village in autumn for the annual pig-killing.
Restaurants:
It is now usual to say that French catering is terrible, British far better. It is also nonsense. Naturally one may eat satisfactorily in Britain – if one pays the price, or is prepared for corporate fare and a well-trained welcome. But British quality cooking is all top-downwards, spreading to the populace from expensive restaurants and mouthy chefs. The food chain starts in Waitrose. In France, the food chain starts on land, on sea and with animals, in all their gory detail. There’s the pig-killing and mushroom-hunting, and everyone’s an expert and may discuss the nuances of a coq-au-vin until you pass out. But it is this culture which informs chefs and which they must satisfy. Nowhere else do you eat so well up and down the scale because nowhere else has such unbroken links with a culinary heritage. And where in Britain are the family restaurants that jostle on every city, town and village street in France?
Service:
France has career waiters – serious chaps in serious aprons and ties who can correctly deliver 12 different drinks on one tray to one table, even though they were ordered in English. Britain has youngsters filling in time between television reality shows, who can’t spell cappuccino.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
When I fell in love with Paris - Nov the 4th to be exact - Autumn - the most wonderful time in the city
"Sitting there, alone in a foreign country, far from my job and everyone I know, a feeling came over me. It was like remembering something I'd never known before or had always been waiting for, but I didn't know what. Maybe it was something I'd forgotten or something I've been missing all my life. All I can say is that I felt, at the same time, joy and sadness. But not too much sadness, because I felt alive. Yes, alive. That was the moment I fell in love with Paris. And I felt Paris fall in love with me.'
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
The Netherlands - A WOW beyond Amsterdam - Chateau St. Gerlach
Tucked away in the unspoiled natural environment of the Geul Valley, near the Belgium and German borders ( and just 15 minutes from the oldest city in the Netherlands, Maastricht) is the fabulous and ultra romantic Relais & Chateaux, Chateau St. Gerlach Hotel & Restaurant. This area and hotel are so special and yet is even unknown to many Dutch people. If you travel to the Netherlands ( and you must!) , this area and this hotel is a must to stay in. It has hosted the worlds leaders and common folk like myself.
It's a WOW!!! What more can I say except, go there!
It's a WOW!!! What more can I say except, go there!
