Join us on a photo journey of France, Europe and beyond on our photoblog. Click on the photo or go to: www.france-and-beyond-photoblog.com
Chambery App
If you have an IPhone or IPod and are planning a visit to Chambery, buy my ITunes App. It will walk you through the city of Chambery to each historic landmark with walking directions, history, a map, and narrative. It's just $2.99. Click on the above photo of the elephant fountain for the link to the app.
Travel Resources
Planning a trip to France ? Stay in a Paris apartment during your trip to the city of lights.
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 $7.99. 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.
Join us on a small group tour of the French Alps June 9 - 16, 2012. 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 hazelnut oils. 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 while enjoying an outdoor aperitif 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 $7.99 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
Videos, photos and posts can be used or posted noncommerically (this means you can't sell my films, photos or put them in or on anything you sell!), but everything must be linked back to this blog and must list me as the creator.
Chateau Montrottier is near Annecy and right next to the Fier Gorges. You can see both on our June French Alps Tour if you join us. We still have a few places left.
The oldest buildings of the Chateau date back to the 1200′s and the most recent buildings to the 1400′s. The Chateau is a fortress and was used for defensive purposes. It got its name from Jean de Montrottier who owned the castle during the 1600′s. The most famous former owner was the first Duke of Savoy (Savoie), Pierre de Menthon, in the 1400′s.
It opened to the public in 1919. You can take a 2 hour guided tour of the inside which contains beautiful pottery, plates, furniture and architecture. However, they only offer tours in French and it can be a bit too detailed and long-winded. Still, I’m glad we took the time to see it …. once. No video cameras were allowed however so here’s a video of the outside of the castle.
One of the things we do on our French Alps Tours is to make a quick stop to look at the unique architecture of the mountain homes called chalets. They all may look alike from the exterior but there is a reason why they are built the way they are. Take a look at a typical chalet. Admittedly, the chalet in the photo is not that typical. Usually they are very simple and unadorned. This was was renovated to modern times but the structure remains the same. The more typical chalets are in the video.
The top loft is used for storage during the long winters. Typically, it contains food for the residents as well as food such as grains and hay for the animals (cows, goats, sheep, dogs, horses). Tools, equipment, etc is also stored here. The second floor (below the top loft) is the living space. This typically contains a kitchen with a large stove/fireplace for cooking and smoking of the foods; then a living area that serves as a dining room and gathering room, which is next to the kitchen to take advantage of the fireplace heat. There are usually two bedrooms – one next to the kitchen for the heat advantages and that one is for the parents. The children’s room is on the other side of the house (where there is no heat). Outside is a balcony which has a corner with a hole in the floor and that’s the toilet!
The bottom floor is where the animals stay during the winters. The floors are slightly tilted to let the urine and poo roll down to the middle gutter which is swept outside through a hole. In the corner of the room is usually a bench or two where the women may spend the days knitting, talking, preparing food. The location, which will be rather smelly, is to take advantage of the body heat generated by the animals.
The roofs have log rolls on them to keep the snow on top. This serves as insulation through the winters. Additionally, it helps keep the snow from falling off and crushing whatever or whoever is below or blocking the doors.
Last month, my husband and I began working for Airbnb as professional photographers. Well, to be fair, Bernard is the real photographer in terms of technical skills. I frame the photos, straigten up and add a few decorative splashes in the rooms, and choose the photos we need to take and in which rooms. We make a good team. I actually have used Airbnb.com to rent properties when we travel. They are primarily rooms, houses or apartments that private individuals rent out to people through the services. We are using them quite a bit on a trip we’re planning for Ireland in May.
We have been impressed with Airbnb.com’s professionalism, organization, marketing, and reasonable fees. Given how poorly the industry tends to pay for photo shoots of this kind, they pay quite well too. We’ve enjoyed the people we’ve met as we go to their homes to do the shoots. They don’t charge the home owners anything to have the photos done. We’ve done homes in Grenoble and will be heading up to the Alps near Chamonix and Geneva in March for more shoots. Here are a few sample rooms we did. If you’re a budget traveler and like to meet the locals, then try out the service.
If you like the photos and you need someone to take photos of your home or rental, contact us. We’re on the border of Italy and Switzerland in France and during the winters we’re in Southwest Florida. So we can be available in both worlds. Send us an email cynthiacaughey(at)yahoo.com. Or if you are thinking of renting your apartment, home or room, try the Airbnb service.
Every year Annecy holds its Venetian Carnival. There are several events but for us walking around town and videotaping and photographing the costumed beauties is what we try to do every year. It’s free! It was also such a lovely day that it was wonderful to be outside. Of course, everyone else had the same idea so it was very crowded and I lost some good shots thanks to elbows in my ribs or face, people jiggling my camera, and standing in front of me just at the wrong moment. Still, I got some great video so do enjoy this amazing festive event.
This is Part One of two videos. Part two in a few days.
In my humble, yet educated opinion, Savoie and Haute-Savoie have the best cheeses of France. Some of the most produced and beloved cheeses of the region include a large variety of Tommes, and the Abondance, Beaufort (my favorite), Comte, and Reblochon fromages. While I find the taste of Reblochon not as pleasant as the others, I do appreciate a good Tartiflette made with this unique cheese. The making of Reblochon is also special.
The name Reblochon derives from the verb reblocher, which means ‘to pinch a cow’s udder again.’ This is because Reblochon is made with the thicker, richer milk from the second milking of Abondance, Montbeliard and Tarine cows (the cows of the region). The reason for the second milking came about during the 14th century when the landowners would tax the mountain farmers based on the amount of milk their cows produced. To reduce their taxes, the farmers would not fully milk the cows until after the landowner had measured the milk.
The Reblochon cheese is highly regulated. The AOC regulations dictate that the milk must be brought to the place of production as quickly as possible after each milking. Renneting must be done within 24 hours of the last milking. Rennet, an enzyme, helps in the coagulation of the raw material — milk — into solid curds and milky whey.
The Fermier Reblochon must bear a green casein label. A green medallion denotes it is farm-made daily, using the milk from a single herd. A red tag indicates that the cheese was made in factories or cooperatives with milk brought in by several producers. Reblochon is made exclusively with raw milk from mountain cows, which are fed grass in the summer and hay in the winter. The cheeses are cellar-ripened for two to six weeks.
On our French Alps Tours we visit a Savoie Reblochon Fromagerie and go behind the scenes to watch them process the cheese and produce the small circular cheese wheels. It is quite interesting to watch and requires some skill to create the wheels without molds. Watch for yourself or come along on our Tours and experience it for yourself.
Chambery had its Carnival celebration on February 26th. It’s not Rio or New Orleans or even Nice, but it was fun, just the same. This Carnival is intended for the children. In fact, many of the children make the floats in their schools. The kids were SO cute all dressed up in their costumes. I hope this makes you smile.
In my humble, yet educated opinion, Savoie and Haute-Savoie have the best cheeses of France. Some of the most produced and beloved cheeses of the region include a large variety of Tommes, and the Abondance, Beaufort (my favorite), Comte, and Reblochon fromages. While I find the taste of Reblochon not as pleasant as the others, I do appreciate a good 
