La Guinguette - The scene could be right out of a Renoir painting

Guinguettes - riverside pavilions: live music and dancing - have been a part of the French culture for centuries. Their heyday came during the Bel Century, when hundreds lined the rivers outside Paris.

But a few remain, like Martin-Pecheur) and here you'll find a magical, carefree place; almost out of a dreamy sun-splashed impressionist painting and if you are like me, this type of entertainment draws the nostalgic city dwellers seeking an escape into the past. 

The most beautiful drives in France

The only way to really see France, is by driving and there are many wonderful driving trips from the Mediterranean coast to dramatic winding Alpine roads to the picturesque wine routes in Alsace, driving in France ( it's easy) offers some of the most breathtaking and incredibly varied landscapes to be found anywhere in Europe.

One of my favorites ( if truth be told, my favorite area in all of France - Brittany) is the coastal stretch called Cote d'Emeraude ( the Emerald coast) here the sea turns a bright colored green along the many craggy shores are a feast for the eyes.

Brittany’s beautiful secret Islands

Brittany (my favorite French region, if you must really know) has a score of amazing islands sadly under-explored by tourists to visit for a day.

Ile de Brehat, Ile d’Ouessant, Ile de Groix, the Golfe of Morbihan to name a few.

With some drifting far out to sea and others set just minutes from mainland resorts. Local ferries let you explore and savor the magnificent seascape in all its splendor. Each island has its own ultra-mild microclimate making them idea destinations to soak up the sunshine from Spring to Autumn.

Just outside Paris - Live like Tarzan

A night (s) in the heart of nature with the tree houses of the big oaks.

1 hour outside of Paris is an area of great oaks with a sublime castle nearby. Its here in a beautiful forest that you'll find various tree houses you can stay in. The tree houses are far enough  apart to make you really feel alone in the world.
You'll love it!!

Look at www.cabanesdesgrandschenes.com

Short Hikes around France - even just outside Paris

There is a wonderful app in France ( in English) www.hikideas.com that gives you great day walking itineraries right from your Iphone.

 

Café Pouchkine – Moscow of old Comes to Paris

In Paris, a city full of spectacular pastry shops, it really takes something major to grab me and shake me to attention.

Café Pouchkine has jaw-dropping pastries that you don’t find elsewhere in the city and On of that, they also know have a full time tea parlor  And on top of that, the store and tea salon unlike the clear, monochrome boring cafes ( found in the city) with open spaces, this shop and café has decorative décor that if you are not wowed, then you are ‘dead’.

  

Nimes – The French Rome

Provence has always had a rich legacy when it came to Roman influence and sites. Scattered throughout Provence are countless Roman monuments ,but none better than the Roman city of Nimes( that over Avignon and Arles, in my opinion).

Just the Amphitheater ( one of the best preserved in Europe) is a stunner, plus a dozen or so other well-preserved temples that line the city byways.

The brand new Musee de la Romanite ( Roman Museum) is fantastic, and a must when you visit this magical city.

Avignon is only 44 minutes away, a perfect day trip.

Bastille Day - 14 July - where to watch the fireworks

The fireworks on this day start at about 11:00pm ( it gets dark later in July)
Rather than to be in the throng of thousands of people crowed into 
the Champs Elysees, One of the best spots is south of the Champs in the Tuileries Gardens.

The Route Napoleon – some of the most staggeringly beautiful scenery in the south of France

In 1815, Napoleon left his exile in Elba and with a small band of loyal troops made their way from Golfe-Juan (near Cannes) to Grenoble and then Paris, and yet only a year later was to lose it all at the battle of Waterloo.

Today you can drive the route (all the way is 8 hours) but do part of it and retrace his secret march.

The drive is one of the most spectacular in all of Europe.

If you wish not to drive, there is a lovely tourist train from Nice to Digne-les-Bains , it's a 3  hour trip, but you can get off along the way and picnic and hike and then get back on the train going north or returning to Nice.

The Most Luxurious Speakeasy in the World, is of course in Paris! at the Shangri-la Hotel

The Le Bar a Ciel Ouvert is a summer, secret bar that only serves Krug Champagne and a few nibbles like center-cut smoked Salmon.

Open only in the summer from 6pm to 11pm, the bar ( housed in a private room with a terrace)   over looks the Eiffel Tower. 
The best time to come in around 8pm to see the Tower light up ( every hour on the hour) for 10 minutes.

Room holds  only 16 people on the terrace.

Reservations are a must in advance and you'll be given a password ( a la the 1920's) 

Stop at the hotel check in desk, give them the secret code and you'll be escorted to the private room.

A glass of Krug champagne starts at Euro 55 a glass and up..Expect to spend about Euro 300 for your stay. 

In the shadow of the French Pyrenees, a confection unlikely in any other part of France or maybe the world!

In the city of Pau (  in Southwestern France), you'll find a sweet treat known as Les Coucougnettes.

A coucougnette is a confection made with almonds, marzipan and chocolate. The sweet consists of a whole roasted almond coated in dark chocolate, rolled in a mix of crushed almonds, cane sugar, ginger brandy and Armagnac! WOW!!!!!

Be Backstage, experience the best of gastronomy, five senses in the Kitchen of a Michelin star chef in the hills behind the French Rivera.

In the hills behind the French Riviera, is the perfume capitol of France the village of Grasse. We can offer you to join Chef Jacques CHIBOIS who is keen to share this part of Provence with you to discover its gardens, its scents and olive trees and to taste Provencal homemade items before entering his kitchen.  

Here you will join him and his staff to observe lunch prep before service. Then you’ll be invited to dine at the chef table while you experience the rush of a Michelin kitchen first hand.  You’ll see the daily demands and determination that it takes to run a Michelin starred restaurant.

From Euro 1300 plus.

As with so many of France's most beautiful villages - the best views are from afar

La Roque-Gageac in the heart of the Dordogne can be best seen from across the other side of the water or by traditional sailing boat - La Gabarre.

Picture a spellbinding huddle of Medieval stone, lacing the Dordogne river and lorded over by Almighty golden cliffs - remarkable.

This village is only 15 minutes away from Sarlat. 

1 Hour west of Bordeaux city is a wonderful seaside area called Arcachon

Paris cafe on the Seine

La Balle au Bond is a barge moored on the Left Bank (opposite the Musee du Louvre) . It provides a lovely setting for a meal - Tuesday to Saturday Lunch , Sunday brunch or just a cocktail or glass of wine.

What better than a glass of wine while you watch the passing parade of tourist boats and the breathtaking views of the Seine.

Frances 20 most beautiful villages…and then some

Every year in France there is a published list of the most beautiful villages, in the next coming weeks I’ll spotlight some of their choices and (my favorites), Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux are certainly wonderful cites, but the true France is the French deep countryside – la  France Profonde

Juliette Binoche and Julius Caesar can’t both be wrong about Flavigny (northern Burgundy). The village in the soft undulations of lush Burgundy was the filming site of ‘Chocolat,  and 2000 years earlier, Caesar chose the hilltop site as the base camp for his army. They say he brought the anis plant with him, and if he didn’t well, someone did, as the village has been producing anis-based sweets in the villages medieval monastery for centuries and still do. On the right day with some breezes, the appealing anis aromas drift over this ancient village.

Can I have a bit more tartar sauce on my Salvelinus fontinalis? – The European government run a muck…

French fishmongers have been left furious after they were fined for not labeling their catch using Latin names (fine up to Euro 1500, to be exact)

The official EU rules state that precise Latin names for each fish must be placed on the label along with the price. The rule was out in place to prevent fish sellers purposefully misleading customers by selling them the wrong fish.

Those hit hardest are the fish seller in Marseilles. The local major and now the French president says it’s too ridiculous and for the fish sellers NOT to pay the fines.

One local fish seller said ‘no client of mine has ever asked me for a fish using the Latin name’

You say you’re a foodie, I say you are not, NOT unless this article excites you to eat in Lyon

Lyon, France’s second city is known to rival Paris in its choices of restaurants and bistros, but its, it’s Bouchons, it’s atmospheric answers to Parisian bistro that draws true lovers of French food here.

These historic eating places (made famous from the mid-18^th century) are many things; a truly relaxed ambiance, more locals than tourists, regional ingredients ( heavy heavy on meat and offal) and down to earth décor and staff. 

There are 70 Bouchons within the city, BUT only 24 of them are accredited as the real McCoy and last year I spent 2 weeks eating in everyone of them.

Yes there are items like poached eggs in rich wine sauce, lentil salad and lots of various types of sausage and pate, but the stars here are fried, breaded tripe, calf’s liver, kidneys, veal head , black pudding and of course the famous quenelles de brochet ( a mousse cake made with pike). Ah! Don’t forget the local cheeses –  st Marcellin and cervelle de canut ( silk workers cheese a combo of fromage blanc, herbs, olive oil and vinegar)

Daniel et Denise, Comptoir Abel and my all time favorite is Le Garet.

So, my friends, you self expressed Foodies, if you will eat here and partake in all its fantastic goodness, then and only then can you call yourself a foodie!

                          (breaded tripe...yum))

The Morvan – Burgundy’s best kept secret

Near the famous vineyards of Burgundy (yet out of most tourists itineraries), lies a fantastic vast forest wilderness called the Morvan ; an area made up of 1000 square miles dotted with signposted paths, great lakes, historic sites and alluring chateaux; not to speak of the many cafes and restaurants found in small, stunning villages.  . It’s France’s national park and to me the best kept secret in these parts. 

A return to the Paris Belle Epoch era with an historic perfume shop...

Some stories are lost to time, only to be rediscovered later. Some passions defy the ages and are rekindled and reborn...

Oriza Historic Perfume and Soap Shop, 

Historic Perfume and Soap Shop

Walking down a narrow side street near the Opera one discovers a perfume shop dating from 1720. Oriza L. Legrand made perfumes, face creams, and rice powder for Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The perfumes, formulated in the late 1800s, have Art Nouveau labels with romantic names like Reve d’Ossian, Horizon, Deja le Printemps, Jardins d’Armide, and Relique d’Amour.

Scented candles had some captivating combinations including La Treve des Confiseurs, which had notes of orange jam, cinnamon, honey, and cedar and Fin comme l’Ambre had notes of amber, patchouli, musk, and vanilla.

The shop also features a selection of delicate silk patterned bow ties for men.

Paris puts finishing touches on Eiffel Tower anti-terror walls..I guess it had to come, but...

Paris is about to unveil thick bulletproof glass walls and metal fences around the Eiffel Tower, designed to protect France's most famous monument from terrorist attacks.
I guess it had to come, living in today's world, but oh! what a shame.

The passing of a great French Chef and my thoughts on what he and his fellow chefs did to degrade French Cuisine

The French world of cuisine today is a bit sadden by the passing of Alain Senderens; one of the early proponent and founders of Nouvelle Cuisine.
Chef Senderens like his fellow chefs, Paul Bocuse and others, shunt butter and cream -laden dishes, heavy sauces and longer cooking times, they said they would with Nouvelle Cuisine, breathe life into a cuisine that hadn't changed in decades.  

BUT For me, as a classicist, today, its a cry from my heart as to the disappearance of the great French sauces.  They were banished during the late 20th century when they were found to be guilty of dietary hearsay.  

Today if a sauce is present in a dish at all,it is reduced to a few artistic-looking splashes or spots. To my mind, these 'spots'  do not allow the sauce to fulfill its function of linking the different elements that make up a dish, where its main mission is to confer unity and heighten flavor. 
In the wonderful movie ' Who's killing the great chefs of Europe', One of the chefs whose is confronted by someone who is against sauces say "my sauces don't conceal, but reveal'. 
The superiority of French cooking was ( and is no more) its quest for perfection of flavor, which takes ( in my mind) the priority over a dishes appearance. Its because of the disappearance of the great French sauces that the cuisine today has become banal, save for good French country/regional cooking. 

I can go into length at what a sorry state of classical French cooking has been for the last few decades, but I'll stop, because I need to keep my blood pressure........... low.

The sauce boat as well as the ladle has become a museum piece. 

Puy du Fou - A French theme park with better shows than Disney, with no rides

This spectacular theme park is near The city of Nantes.

Hidden Passages of Paris - Galerie Vero-Dodat

In London, in the St James area ( where I do most of my shopping for clothes) there are a few famous Hidden arcades that house all sorts of men's products. Arcades like The Burlington and Piccadilly.
But Paris has its fair share, that most tourists are unaware of. One of my favorites is just behind the Louvre.

The Galerie Vero-Dodat is one of the smaller of the covered passages that remain in Paris, and I think probably the most charming of them all. 

It was built in 1826 by Monsieurs Vero et Dodat, two pork butchers from neighboring streets who hoped to profit from the popularity of the nearby Palais Royal. 

It’s decorated in the neoclassical style, and is only 80 metres long – the impression of depth is given by the diagonal black and white floor tiles and the fact that all the shops have the same facades. It was also one of the first to be lit by gas lamps as soon as it opened, something of a novelty at the time. 

High end shops and local one of kind shops are found here

Brittany's Mont Saint-Michael - a new way to view this most visited site in France

Most visitor just drive to the site of Mont Saint-Michael and visit the Abbaye, but why not experience it in a new way; in fact the way the ancient Pilgrims did, by walking across the low tides and sands to the Abbaye. 
We can offer with a local guide the many ways you can do this.
Call us for more information or see    www.cheminsdelabaie.com

A stroll through Paris: from the Louvre to La Defense

Let's go back to the late 19th and early 20th Century - Let The Good Times Roll

Back in those days - The Parisian working class put on their Sunday best to swarm out of the capital east to the banks of the Marne for weekend days of eating, drinking, boating and undoubted hanky-panky ( hey, after all.............. this is France!) 

The epicenter of the shenanigans were the riverside guinguettes ( pronounced - Gen-Get)  - restaurants-cum-bars-cum-music ' and dance-halls. The good news is that a few are still around. One of the best is the Ile-du-Martin-Pecheur

Les Etangs de Corot - 10 minutes from Paris and yet 100 years also in time........

Need to get away from it all, even when in Paris, its easy, stay at Les Etangs de Corot...

What region of France do I love the most?

That's like asking me which of my cats do I love the best, but when pressed, I will admit..the region of Brittany is my all time favorite and the city of Roscoff, is where I rent a  house every year.

The Secret Museums of Paris - Musee des Arts Forains

Hidden away in Paris near the Gare de Lyon rail station is a haven from the modern world, a place to daydream, to marvel at how enchantment was brought to those who lived in Paris some 200 years ago.
 The Musee des Arts Forains is a place to be enchanted.
Long closed to the general public but what with the success of Woody Allen's, 'Midnight in Paris' which feature this Museum, it is now open ( by appointment only) to use lesser mortals.