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.

A SELF-GUIDED Wine Crawl inside the city of Bordeaux

 You’re a wine tourism enthusiast? You heard about the wine tours in the vineyard? This year, Bordeaux Tourist Office offers you the opportunity to discover a brand new kind of wine tourism inside the city of Bordeaux Urban Wine Trail allows you to discover the different districts of Bordeaux along its wine bars as they did flourish over the past few years. 

Nothing’s more pleasant that meandering through the narrow alleys and enjoying a break at the terrace of a wine bar. 
 Nothing’s easier; a track has been recorded on the application called Cirkwi. You simply have to download it ( on your Iphone or Ipad) before to get started in the city Streets and then follow the milestones indicated Each wine bar taking part in the Urban Wine Trail has provided a special offer including wine and some tasty treats.

Forget the English white cliffs of Dover, Etretat on the French side, out shines Dover

The town of Etretat ( just 55 minutes drive north of Honfleur) is famous for its three natural arches and white chalk cliffs that tower high over the Atlantic Ocean. Claude Monet and other impressionists famously painted the arches and cliffs in the 19th century.
Rather than eat in this very touristy town, do up a picnic lunch and eat in the countryside nearby.

Canard (Duck) and Champagne - two things that are very French and so naturally.....

Canard & Champagne, a new restaurant in Paris, Occupys the magnificent landmarked former premises of an 18th century stationery shop with black-and-white marble floors and a magnificent carved wooden shop in the moody Passage des Panoramas, this casual convivial place specializes in two of the most quintessentially French products imaginable, duck and Champagne.

                                              57 Passage des Panoramas, 75002 Paris, France

Sèvres porcelain, the grandest of ultimate luxury, artistic ceramics, was favored by European royalty, the aristocracy of the 19th century, and 20th century

Nestled in the picturesque Saint Cloud park outside Paris, the Sèvres factory is a temple to craftsmanship. Some of Europe’s most beautiful ceramics have been made here since 1740. Today, 120 potters use skills and techniques that have been handed down from generation to generation over three centuries

Open to the public in certain areas and a private visit can be arranged in the closed off areas.
The place to stay nearby is the very romantic Inn - Les Etanges de Corot in Ville d'Avray

This is my favorite place to get hidden from the hustle of Paris and enjoy long walks, great food and drink, a wine spa and just a beautiful retreat and yet only 15 minutes fromParis. 

A hidden corner of Brittany - The English Cotswolds comes to France

the Brière Regional Nature Park covers a 49,000 hectare surface area. In the heart of this reserve, the Grande Brière Mottière marsh, which extends over 7,000 hectares, offers a series of canals, reed beds, wetland meadows, peat bogs and islands, among which the Fédrun island.

 Boat trips are put on to explore the flora and fauna of Brière. From the bell tower of Saint-Lyphard church, there is a panoramic view of the marsh and surrounding area! 
The Brière area is also unusual in that it is covered with no less than 3,000 thatched cottages!
I love this area and always during my visit, I have lunch at the enchanting La Mare Aux Oiseaux restaurant, located in the heart of the park, the dining room just oozes charm and the cooking of Eric Guerin is not to be missed.

Food makes people happy....so when it comes to cheese shops in Paris...

L'Elysee Palace ( The French White House)  and I agree that Nicole BARTHELEMY'S cheese shop is one of the best places to go and buy your cheese. It's open 8:30am to 1pm and then 4pm to 7:15pm. Closed Sunday and Monday.

La Verna Cave - The Largest Cave system in the world and can hold 10 Cathedrals the size of Paris Notre Dame

..and one can fly a hot air balloon inside also.................

Located about 45 minutes outside of the city of Pau ( next to the French Pyrenees ), it can be visited almost all year.

Follow in the footsteps of the first explorers, accompanied by a qualified caving guide and ardent enthusiast of the La Pierre Saint-Martin cave system. Starting from La Verna, this visit is a good introduction to caving. The narrow passages - where crawling would be required - can be avoided, but the terrain is rough, without paths. The visit takes you 
upstream all the way to another big cave room: 

The Highest train in Europe - Southwest France

The Petit train d'Artouste is a narrow gauge tourist railway situated in the French Pyrenees close to the Spanish border, some 55 km (34.2 mi) south of the town of Pau. 

The line runs high above the headwaters of the Gave d'Ossau, and provides access to the Lac d'Artouste, a semi-artificial lake in the mountains at an altitude of over 6,562 ft 

 The train runs from late May to late September. In July and August it runs from 9:00am to 5:00pm, and until 3:00pm at other times. Advance booking is advisable. 

To reach the train you take a 10 minute cable car ride from the Lac de Fabrèges. The train ride takes about 50 minutes and it’s then a short walk to the Lac d’Artouste. 

 Please be aware that in peak season you are only able to stay at the top for about 1 ½ hours.

The Crown Jewel of French Seafood - only in Season!!! La Coquille Saint-Jacques

Considered to be one of the most elegant shellfish in the world, scallops are truly the jewel in the crown of St-Brieuc bay in France. 

In France as in other European nations, food is only served in the time that it is in season, unlike America, where you can get any food you want at anytime, even thought its not the best outside of its season. Hurrah for the French!

Harvesting this delicious seafood is a veritable race against time, as not only is the scallop-fishing season only open from October to the end of April, but even during the season, fishing is restricted to 45 minutes twice a week, to protect the species. And so the fishing ports of Erquy, Saint-Quay-Portrieux, Loguivy-de-la-Mer and Paimpol take it in turns each year to organised the Fête de la Coquille Saint-Jacques, to mark the closing of this intense fishing season.

How to eat French Cheeses - a minefield of etiquette in France

Today in France, there are over 400 cheese varieties and the French are the largest consumers of cheese in the world.  Not having cheese everyday is like the French saying " A meal without cheese is like a beautiful woman with only one eye,

a Cheese being made is only one part of the a story, from there it needs to be aged properly and that's called Affinage and there are shops that buy the cheese from the producers and then age it and these are the only people to buy from.

As far as etiquette, cheese with a meal is always eaten after the email meal and before dessert. One never eats cheese with crackers ( in France) but only with bread, normally dark bread. Also, when cutting cheese there are strict ways of doing it and not, but the most important is when you are faced with a pie-shaped cheese, you never cut the nose off ( the most favorable part) but cut it at an angle so everyone gets a slice that had part of the nose. 
With soft cheese, the French also eat the rind ( another very favorable part) and with the hard one, most do not, but you'll get points with the locals if you do. 

La Tour d'Argent, a French Institution Makes a Comeback

One of the great pleasure in my life was always dining at the formal restaurant, La Tour d'Argent overlooking the Cathedral of Notre Dame and having one of their numbered ducks.  Founded in 1582 and run in the 20th century by the Terrail family, it was the place, for once in your life to dine at. Having three stars for so many years, after the Death of Claude  Terrail, it slipped from three to two to one Michelin stars and was the place to avoid , only visited by tourists and the food was lacking.
Today, under then leadership of chef Philippe LABBE, he has brought back brilliance once again to the kitchen. The duck is still there plus a host of new dishes for the 21st century.

The service many tell me a bit to formal ( I love that!) 
The restaurant has become an excellent place to dine again and the views? WOW!!!

French King Louis XIV sure knew how to party - explore that history in Paris only for this winter time.

This exhibit—running through March 26—explores how Louis XIV used entertainment as an instrument of power. 3D images help recreate the dazzling spectacles which took place on a daily basis at the king’s lavish palace. 

A trip to the Château de Versailles is also an opportunity to try chef Alain Ducasse’s elegant new restaurant, Ore, which is located in the recently renovated Pavillon Dufour.