My adventures as an American woman starting life over in the French Alps with videos, photos, recipes, travel tips and observations about life in France
Get my Chambery, France Guide Book free with the purchase of my Cookbook: 'French Comfort Food: Recipes of Savoie and the French Alps.' Get both for only $12.99. Click the photo to get more information or to purchase your books now.
French Tutorial
A basic grammar and vocabulary review of the French language, as well as some informal & slang vocabulary and a special section on vocabulary for English-speaking expatriates living in France. Also included is an appendix on French pronunciation for English speakers as well as IPA transcriptions for most of the vocabulary lists and all of the verb conjugations.
Visit the Store to buy the e-book for $9.95 or paperback book for $24.95.
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French Alps Tours
Join us on a small group tour of the French Alps June 4-11 or September 3-10, 2011. I designed this tour to include the best of the region. Wander the Medieval town of Annecy, nicknamed the Venice of the French Alps, and take a boat ride on its crystal blue lake. Do you like pampering yourself on your vacations, then why not spend an afternoon at the Aix les Bains thermal baths inside your lakeside hotel? Are you the adventurous type? Then take a horseback ride in the Alps or fly through the trees at the High Ropes Adventure. Are you a foodie? Taste local chocolates, cheeses, wines and walnut oils. But don't just taste it - cook it too at a cooking class taught by one of Grand Bornand's best chefs and restaurateurs. Are you a history buff? Then satisfy your curiosity at Lyon's Old Town or Vienne's Roman Temple and Forum. Or just enjoy watching the hang gliders and sunset at a catered outdoor dinner on the top of a mountain overlooking Annecy's lake. See you in the French Alps! www.french-alps-tours.com
Alps Cookbook
Get my ECookbook: 'French Comfort Food: Recipes of Savoie and the French Alps.'
51 recipes of the region, collected from friends and local cookbooks. This is the only English language Savoie and French Alps cookbook in print. Only $12.99 and includes a bonus book: The Chambery Guide Book.
Click the photo to buy yours now or go to the Cookbook Page on the Navigation Bar!
French Comfort Food
Visit my French Comfort Food website for articles, recipes, videos, tips and products about French Food and Wine. Click on the photo or go to www.frenchcomfortfood.com
This is the final video about this year’s Lyon Festival of Lights or Fete des Lumieres, which occurs every year on the weekend of December 8th in Lyon, France. The Festival, with the use of projected light shows, transforms ordinary buildings into dramatic art. Tens of thousands of people from all over the world attend the event. If you plan to go, make your plans early and expect to walk a lot.
Wishing you a very Happy New Year and a prosperous, healthy, joyous 2010!
The French Alps obviously have gorgeous mountains and ski resorts. I wanted to share that beauty with you during this holiday season. This video was taken at a beautiful ski resort near Chambery.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from Cynthia, an American in France.
Every year Lyon has a Christmas Market. It usually takes place from the last few days of November until Christmas, which worked nicely for me since I was in Lyon for the Fete des Lumieres on December 6th. I spent the night and then took the metro to the Christmas market which was in the square in front of the Perrache Train station. It’s one of the bigger Christmas Market’s in France but still a very manageable size. They had everything from glassware, breads, toys, Christmas decorations, specialty foods, and even a pancake stand that had cafe with maple syrup in it. Yum. If you have the opportunity to be near or in Lyon in December, make a two hour stop to this fun and festive market. You might pick up a few deals (unless you’re paying with the dollar).
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Cynthia, the American in France.
This is the second video of the Festival of Lights in Lyon on December 6, 2009. The Fete des Lumieres occurs every year on the weekend of December 8th. This year, 2009, reflected the heaviness of the events of the past 12 months but was still amazing to watch and technically outstanding. This video is the second of a series and shows the building of Saint Jean Cathedral, where the light show is played. It represents the history of the Cathedral from when it was first started in the 12th century through the 300 years it took to complete. This is an amazing festival where ordinary buildings are transformed into extraordinary works of arts with the help of light designs projected onto the buildings. It’s truly like watching a movie but better (given the nature of movies these days). If you plan to attend, which I highly recommend, get your hotel reservations early and wear very good walking shoes. Expect to wait in line for the metro as well.
Here’s a video and a recipe for a Lemon Tart, or in French, Tarte au Citron. This is incredibly easy and fast but tastes amazing. I took it to a wine tasting event and everyone went crazy over it, including emailing me for the recipe the next day. This recipe among 50 others can be found in my French Alps Cookbook.
Ingredients:
1 pate sablee or pate brisee (ready-made pie crust rolled up and found in the refrigeration section)
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
zest of 3 lemons – very finely grated
Pat the pastry into a 9″ to 11″ inch tart pan. If your crust comes with paper wrapped around it, I leave the paper under the crust in the baking dish which keeps the pastry from sticking to the dish. I just cut it down under the crust so you can’t see the paper. Then bake it for 10 minutes at 375 degrees first.
Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar together.
Add the cream and whisk together. Then add the zest and lemon juice and whisk again.
Reduce the oven to 325 degrees.
Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Slowly pour the filling in the shell.
Bake for 25-35 minutes, testing by inserting a knife and when the center is curd-like it will be done. You don’t want the top to be brown, just slightly golden.
Allow it to cool completely before serving. I like whipped cream with mine.
After months of designing, redesigning, reuploading videos and photos, troubleshooting and whole lot of work, here is the new blog which I transferred to WordPress, a new blogging platform. Welcome! I hope you like it. We worked hard to make it visually appealing with a focus on the videos and photos and not too much else to cause distractions. I would still like to make it a bit faster for downloading so that’s another project. Additionally, I need to find a better editing program and iron out some WordPress issues before you will be able to see the improved video quality on the blog from my new high definition camera.
In the meantime, please browse the posts, check out the new pages I added via the Navigation Bar, and the new services I am offering as well.
If you enjoy visiting the blog then please support it by spreading the news – invite your family and friends to visit. And please also tell them about my French Alps Tours and Travel Planning Services.
I will be trying a few new things along the way, including some Trip Films videos, some more indepth travel tips, and will be attending several festivals in France throughout the year.
Please give me your feedback on how the new blog works for you and if you find any problems with it technically. Or just tell me what you think of the new design.
Thanks for being a supporter and I hope you’ll keep coming back every week.
If you’ve been following my blog for a year, you will recognize this video. I took it at the Fete des Lumieres in Lyon last December. Since the festival is happening now and I will be attending tomorrow, I decided to republish last year’s festival video. It is my all-time most popular video with over 1,500 views on two video websites. It will give you a preview of what this year’s festival will look like. This is an amazing event and I highly recommend going to it if you ever have the opportunity.
Lyons Fete des Lumieres, or the Festival of Lights, began in 1862 when people first placed candles in their windows in honor of the Virgin Mary on December 8th, the Feast of Lights religious holiday. It has been transformed into a major 4-day festival attracting more than 50,000 people each year. Lyon illuminates their finest architecture with fantastic lights, shows and music; the light architects are chosen through an annual competition. It is worth a trip to Lyon for the event which is held during the weekend of December 8th, the Immaculate Conception holiday. You will need good walking shoes and expect to stand in line for the metros. And get your hotel reservations months in advance.
