A Different View of Mont-St-Michel - An Untourist View

Most visitors to Mont-St-Michel see it and approach it from the south, The best way to take it all in, in a spectacular view, is to view it from the East, at the Grouin du Sud. Here the views from across the flat sands and channels, is one of the most extraordinary features of this unknown peninsula.

In contrast to the frantic, 4 millions tourists who visit Mont-St-Michel a year; the Grouin du Sud is a place to absorb the rare calm of this place and the real beauty of basse-Normandie.

Dreamin' Of Brittany Butter.............

( Handmade Brittany butter by Jean-Yves Bordier)

The Brittany coastline is a virtual lunar landscape of jutting rock formations, with pristine beaches tucked in between. Consequently, Upper Brittany is somewhat remote and not a popular tourist destination and it has become one of my favorite areas in France to visit. . Most of my days begin at a almost-deserted beach with a dip in a frigid, but clear water, and finished at a lively crêperie, picking through a mound of moules frites, aromatic mussels simmered with white wine and local shallots, served with a overly-generous pile of frites . Unlike the rest of France, the Bretons don't eat much cheese...in fact, there's no cheese that I can think of is produced there , but they make up for it by consuming lots of butter, which they're justifiably famous for. When you compliment a local pastry shop or restaurant on their cuisine, they will invariably respond proudly, "C'est la buerre de Bretagne!" ..in fact, the butter; it's the best I've ever tasted. I even dream about it!
Breton butter is notable since it's almost always flecked with large, coarse grains of salt that crunch when you bite into them. THE BEST!

And unlike the rest of the country, Bretons often butter their bread, which is never done elsewhere in France except with oysters, which are customarily served with buttered rye bread, pain de seigle. (So next time you're in Paris and that waiter gives you a funny sneer when you ask for butter, tell him you're from Brittany.)

A Guilty Pleasure Found In Paris

One of my food guilty pleasures since I was a boy, is the hot dog. Not the skinless, tastless things you see in the super market or at ball games,but the real kind made with a lamb casing. In fact, I have mine especially made and shipped in to me from a local meat market in Nebraska. Hot dogs, good hot dogs are one of life's treasures.

Adrian Moore ( a Paris food maven)  recently found a hot dog stand in Paris and this is his take on it. When I return to Paris in October, I will certainly check it out.
"A recent article in L'Express on "Paris' Best Sandwiches" brought me to this cubby hole snack stand in the Marais, offering apparently, New York style hot dogs. The 3€ sandwiches are offered in three different styles: the "American", ie ketchup, mustard and caramelized onions, the "Tex Mex", otherwise known as a chillidog, and the "Alsatian" (no Asian restaurant jokes here, please..) , or a sauerkraut dog. They were doing a roaring trade , and there was always a little crowd of Rayban wearing hipsters quaffing away, wiping ketchups off their chins, bobo families, and gawking passersby.
Verdict: decent, fun for the price, but as always, the unexceptional elsewhere often seems more exotic here. Especially where "American" food comes to play."

DERRIERE - The “home away from home” restaurant

If you are looking for something special and yet crazy,you must go to Derriere.
The idea for this family apartment-style venue was to be able to entertain friends “at home” every night. The name comes from its location, right at the back of the 404 and Andy Wahloo.
Customers can choose where they want to sit, whether it’s in the lounge, dining room, bedroom or boudoir. The décor and furniture are an eclectic mix of styles. The food is French, simple and wholesome, made with the finest quality products.
www.derriere-resto.com

Shopping For A Cause In Paris

A new concept store has opened in the Marais district,it's called MERCI, .It's a three-floor extravaganza with designer and vintage clothing, home furnishings, a used-book cafe and floral shop. Even better, some of the proceeds go to childrens charities. Since mostly all of the boutiques in the Marais district are open on Sundays, where as the rest of Paris is closed, this is a great spot for Sundays in Paris.

SAVEUR Magazine Taps Howard For It's Travel Advisory Board

SAVEUR has formed an alliance with Virtuoso, an invitation-only network of the world’s finest travel specialists, to bring you dream travel packages and authentic culinary experiences in locations all over the world. We are pleased to announce that Howard E. Lewis has been elected to service in 2010/2011.
Since culinary travel is one of the fastest growing travel trends today, we hand-selected the top 50+ culinary travel specialists from the Virtuoso network to make up the SAVEUR Travel Advisory Board to build culinary travel offers, exclusively for SAVEUR readers.
The board brings destinations to life through the language of food and wine—geared towards travelers, not tourists.

Keys To The Kingdom in the Loire Valley

Chocolatine, my agent in France just emailed me about a new pass in the Loire Valley that allows you at a discount to visit ten of the most famous Chateaux.
Visitors to the Loire Valley can now purchase a Chateaux Pass (Clefs des Temps) and enjoy entrance to ten beautiful castles, ranging from the medieval Castle of Châteaudun to the opulent Renaissance masterpiece, Chambord. The pass, which includes admission to both the interiors and stunning gardens, costs $42.75, a savings of nearly 50 percent over individual admission prices.
The castles included in the pass:
Azay le Rideaux • Chambord & Chaumont • Chateau de Chambord • Castle of Châteaudun • Chateau of Azay-le-Rideau • Chateau de Chaumont sur Loire • Chateau d'Angers • Chateau de Talcy • Chateau de Fougeres sur Bievres • Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud • Chateau d’Oiron
To purchase Le Clefs des Temps online: http://www.discoverfrance.net/Boutique/Travel/Passes/

Sunday Thoughts on My First Trip To Paris on a Sunday, a Long Time Ago

Its Sunday and I am making my plans for another visit to Paris and France in November and my thoughts turn back to the fist visit to Paris, a visit that changed my life forever.
Hundreds of people I am sure have had the same experience and here is what I remember on that Fall Paris day ( written for the movie, "Paris je T'Aime" and perfectly captures my feelings on my first arrival day)  - sitting on a bench overlooking the Seine.
'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. '
What do you, my readers, remember from your first trip to Paris and France?
~ H. E. Lewis

Finding The Sweet Life in Southwestern France

Southwest France according to many surveys in France is the number one place in the country ( maybe the world!) to live if you are seeking the best lifestyle.

The Southwest is as diverse as its size, 15,400 square miles of it and the countryside changes dramatically from the majestic snow-capped Pyrenees to the verdant valleys of the Basque country, the soft rolling hills of the Gers, the luxuriant vineyards of the Dordogne and the strange rocky majesty of the Causses.

The Medieval village of Puy-L'Eveque is a favorite and for the moment, I'll leave it there, I am not sure I want to tell you exactly where it is Let it be my secret for a while. I will need to think about this.

It's villages like this that made me fall in love with France!