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.
The video gives an overview of some of the main landmarks and things to do in Lisbon. The music is traditional music sung in Portuguese. The singer in the video was selling CDs which I bought and used for this video. His name is Kal Robson. Very nice voice.
Lisbon, the ‘civilized’ city, dates back to Roman times (and even earlier with the Phoenicians and Celts). Lisbon was taken over by the Moors in 711AD thus the beginning of the building of the mosques and Moorish palaces and castles you see all over Portugal. For centuries the Christians and Muslims lived in peace together until in 1147 when, as part of the Reconquista, crusader knights led by Afonso I of Portugal, besieged and reconquered Lisbon. It became a Christian city (with religious intolerance) at that time.
Wikipedia can describe more recent history better: “Most of the Portuguese expeditions of the Age of Discovery left from Lisbon during the 15th to 17th centuries, including Vasco da Gama’s departure to India in 1497. In 1506, thousands of “New Christians” (converted Jews) were massacred in Lisbon. The 16th century marks the golden age for Lisbon. The city became the European hub of commerce with Africa, India, the Far East and, later, Brazil, exploring riches like spices, slaves, sugar, textiles, and other goods. This was the time of the exuberant Manueline style, which has left its mark in two 16th century Lisbon monuments, the Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery, both of which were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Portugal lost its independence to Spain in 1580 after a succession crisis, and the 1640 revolt that restored the Portuguese independence took place in Lisbon. In the early 18th century, gold from Brazil allowed King John V to sponsor the building of several Baroque churches and theatres in the city.”
In 1755, Lisbon suffered a major earthquake which leveled the buildings and killed 40,000 residents (the population was only 250,000). The Prime Minister, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, demolished the old town and rebuilt it as a modern urban city.
The history is fascinating but we also had a very interesting experience with the language. When we heard people speak (in Portuguese, of course) it sounded like Russian! I am not joking. And I wasn’t alone. Everywhere we went we heard people commenting on how the language sounded like Russian. I was astonished. I’ve heard people from Brazil speaking in Portuguese but they didn’t sound like they were speaking Russian, so perhaps there is a difference in dialect between the ‘Old World’ and ‘Newer World’ Portuguese language.
This video is the first in a month long series of videos about our trip to Portugal – Lisbon, Belem and Sintra. I was pleasantly surprised by Portugal. The people were warm and helpful, there was wonderful energy, amazing history, fabulous architecture and tile artistry, and the town of Sintra was stunning. Lisbon is a faded glory but still offers so much to do and great food. It’s also quite affordable. I enjoyed it since it was not a sterile and tourist-ready facade but a real city with real people and real problems.
One thing I will warn you about if you plan a trip to Lisbon. Watch your purse and wallets! Keep your purse zipped up and in the front of your body and hold on tight to it when on the buses and trams, especially the tourist trams – numbers 15 and 28. I was pickpocketed on Tram 15 along with two other people during the crush to get on. He got my wallet which unfortunately also had my official documents in it like my Carte de Sejour (which I need to legally stay in France), my French drivers license, along with several other documents. I only had about 25 euros in it so he didn’t get much money from me. I was crushed about the documents though – you have no idea how hard it is to deal with the French bureaucracy and how difficult it would be to replace those documents! But alas, for once, luck was on my side. Two days later the police emailed me to tell me they found my wallet in the port area with most of my documents still there, minus the money, of course. I picked it up the night before leaving for France. The police were quite nice but we did spend 2 hours in the police station with many other victims of pickpockets from all over the world, waiting to do the report. We all had stories to share of the clever pickpockets in Lisbon.
The pastries you see in the video are pasteis de nata. They are crisp layers of pastries filled with cream and dusted with cinnamon. They have other varieties that included chocolate and coconut and additional creations which I didn’t get around to tasting. The ones I did try were wonderful.
I apologize that this series of videos are not as visually clear as my others. My computer is having problems and I can’t run my usual editing program on it so I have had to resort to an old version that is not able to handle high definition footage. It also won’t let me do voice overs. I’m still trying to find a way to fix my computer – not an easy task in a small city in the French Alps!
More information to come about Lisbon (and Belem and Sintra) in future posts. This will just give you an overview of some of the main landmarks.
Here’s a video of my first impressions of the first afternoon in Lisbon.
Don’t delay. Only one more place left on our June Tour! Several places are available in September so bring a friend or spouse. See: www.french-alps-tours.com for more info.
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 Archeology Museum. Or just enjoy watching the hang gliders and sunset at an outdoor aperitif on the top of a mountain overlooking Annecy’s lake. And don’t worry, you’ll have a few hours most days to explore on your own, shop, or just take a French stroll in the mountains or on the lake promenade. And for the ultimate in relaxation, spend a couple of evenings in your hotel’s thermal pool and saunas in Aix les Bains.
Tour Dates for the 2011 Year: June 4-11 & September 3-10
Price of the Tour: 1,860 euros or approximately $2,650 ($ amount dependent on the exchange rate at the time of booking).
You’ll receive a 60 Euros discount (or $85 discount depending on the exchange rate at the time of booking), if you book before June 3rd for the September tour.So don’t delay!
See the fun we had on our last tour in this 16 second video. See more (and longer videos) of each tour day on our website: http://www.french-alps-tours.com
Bernard and I were in the market for a Macro camera lens and had been pricing them for months. When we heard there would be a Photography Fair in Paris in November, we took a train to attend it to see if we could get a good deal. Since we travel on trains in France virtually free (Bernard drives the TGV trains here), it was worth just going for the day to check out the fair. And yes, it was worth it since we bought the very lens we wanted for a nice discount. The fair itself was interesting since they offered lots of photography opportunities. Learning about some of the new technology was also useful. Visit the Fair yourself:
One thing everyone expects in France is good food. There is a reason this country is one of the top holders of Michelin stars but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to head straight for the high-end restaurants. Instead, visit the wonderful food and wine festivals where you can see first hand the produce that inspires this country’s world-famous gastronomy.
The best time to visit is early autumn, when festivals coincide with the harvest. But there are a few worthy celebrations in spring too. If you arrive in the capital, don’t just dash off to the countryside. You can easily afford to spend a few days exploring the city first because there are plenty of cheap Paris hostels unless you would prefer cheap Paris hotels.
Marathon du Médoc, September
Some people just can’t face running in the gym. Instead they prefer the great outdoors and a view to spur them on. Well, the Marathon du Médoc not only offers scenic panoramas looking out across the 50 vineyards and pretty chateaux, runners can also indulge in a number of culinary stop-offs en route. Food stalls line the road side offering both participants and spectators oysters, ice-cream and of course, wine. Runners are dressed in equally impractical costumes. In the evening, a Repas des Mille Pâtes, complete with cocktail hour, is held at one of the large houses. The next day the Ballade de Récupération, a 10km walk, gives participants the chance to savour more of the regions wine produce. You might need to book cheap hotels after this one!
Jurade de St Emilion, Bordeaux, September
Bordeaux is a large wine producing region in France and St Emilion, one of the prettiest medieval towns is much coveted for its autumn festival, Jurade de St Emilion. It celebrates a political victory as far back as 1199 when rights to control and modify the quality of wine were awarded to the locals and not King John. The red-robed and appointed members of the Jurade would wander the cobbled streets and announce the official start of the year’s harvest. Wine was uncorked and drunk at a splendid banquet. This year the Jurade headed up a torch-lit procession which culminated in a spectacular firework display. The wineries then fling open the doors to their cellars and estates for two days and bunches of black balloons are released to symbolise the coming grape harvest.
Fête des Legumes Oubliés, Haye-de-Routot, October
Some of our beloved vegetables have fallen by the wayside over time. The Fête des Legumes Oubliés brings new life to such forgotten vegetables with talks about how to grow your own and cooking demonstrations. Stalls are set up throughout the town of Haye-de-Routot close to Rouen and display chervil, squash and parsnips in all shapes and varieties.
This makes an ideal day trip from Rouen where you can find plenty of cheap hostels.
Coutances Jazz Festival, Orne, May
You’ll notice that many food festivals are celebrated around harvest time. Orne in Normandy is one such destination that celebrates the annual Foire de la Pomme in the autumn. The area is well known for its tasty cider. But why not return in spring to the village of Coutances. During the month of May they hold a Jazz festival nicely fuelled by bottles of cider and gooey camembert enjoyed under the apple blossom.
About the Author: This is a guest post was written by Madeleine Wilson and contributed by HostelBookers.com which offers amazing cheap hotels with great availability.
If you read my blog, you know I just led my first French Alps Tour in September and we already have five sign-ups for our June 2011 tour too. So if you’re interested, don’t delay. We’ll lead a tour in September 2011 too. I took video of each day of our tour and am posting them to my blog since they give you a good idea of what there is to see in the region.
Day Four, Tuesday - Annecy and its Spectacular Lake
Annecy, named the Venice of the French Alps, is a lovely Medieval and Renaissance town and sits on one of the most beautiful and cleanest lakes in France. The town is surrounded by gorgeous mountains that are shared with Switzerland, just 20 minutes away.
In the morning, we’ll make a stop at Chateau Montrottier to walk the grounds and enjoy the views from this Medieval Castle. A few minutes away are the Gorges de Fier. The Gorges have a cliff hanging, spectacular walkway that clings to the sides of the narrow, deep gorge. You’ll have the opportunity to take the walkway and enjoy the views and the thrill of the experience.
Then on to Annecy for lunch. After dining, we’ll provide an orientation walking tour of the town and then you’ll have a few hours to explore the city and shop. Canals run through Annecy and offer a serene and lovely walk. If you are more ambitious, you can stroll up to the Medieval castle to see its museum, or just explore the many Medieval buildings and churches dotted throughout the town.
Then you’ll take a scenic boat ride to the opposite side of the lake to explore Talloires, a quaint, ancient town with a 11th century Abby which has been turned into an exclusive hotel.
In late August, just before leading my French Alps Tour, I took two days to visit a former colleague, now friend, who has a home in the town of Nuits Saint Georges in Burgundy. They were visiting for two weeks and I wanted to see Dora and her husband since I have so few opportunities to see my American friends.
Nuits-Saint-Georges is the main town of the Côte de Nuits wine-producing area of Burgundy. Burgundy is arguably the finest wine produced in France – at least by some people’s standards. Unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of the Pinot Noir grape which is the primary varietal of the region. Even so, I tasted some nice wines during my visit. My friends, Dora and Grey, gave me a walking tour of the town and took me to a couple of wine caves to visit the cellars and taste the wines. Here is a video of one of the cellar visits.
One thing everyone expects in France is good food. There is a reason this country is one of the top holders of Michelin stars but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to head straight for the high-end restaurants. Instead, visit the wonderful food and wine festivals where you can see first hand the produce that inspires this country’s world-famous gastronomy.
