From France… News and blog

Benefits Arising from having a Mother Living in France

September 1st, 2010

My wonderful friend Ginnie has often talked about her mother’s life in France. Having just returned from a visit there, this is what she had to say:

My mother took early retirement from her teaching career in London, and moved to a beautiful, old farmhouse in South-West France’s Anglars Nozac commune (in the Lot region) about seven years ago. My first thoughts on learning of her intended relocation were:

a) Oh no … one grandparent less to fulfil regular babysitting duties for my then toddler son, Oscar!
b) Fantastic! Oscar and I will benefit from cheap and glorious holidays with a granny/mother who having always been somewhat of a Francophile, would soon be in her element; happy, relaxed, surrounded by gorgeous countryside and enjoying a language and culture she has always loved.
c) I must learn French!

The following is a list of some of the activities Oscar and I will most
miss until our next visit to see her:

Picking, cooking and eating local produce

This region of France is heaven for foodies like us. There appear to be as many ducks and geese as local inhabitants!

These form the basis for the luxuriously rich confits and magrets I adore eating, and also provide beautifully rich foie gras. The trees drip with jewel-like plums (and many other fruits) which are used in delicious tarts and aperitifs. Oscar’s granny assisted him in making plum crumbles using those that grow in abundance on her land. These were made even more scrumptious by a generous sprinkling of cracked walnuts – also grown locally, and featuring in local aperitifs, cheeses, salads, oils, cakes, breads, pates and mousses.

There are many pretty settings in the region in which an hour or two may be happily idled away by adults and children alike catching trout which may be taken away for cooking at a reasonable price. Alternatively, Au Milinnou at Masclat (Tel. 05 65 37 66 45, open evenings Mon. to Fri. and lunchtime and evenings at the weekend) offers the most idyllic of lilly-covered, trout-filled lake setting where locals and visitors enjoy a simple and cheap, but delicious set menu comprising hearty tomato soup, tomato, salad, cheese, trout and wine with coffee and ices costing extra.

For a more sophisticated experience, the Henri Giron Musee at Le Vigan (Tel. 05 65 41 33 78) offers weekend diners the chance to peruse its namesake’s appealing artwork before being seated for an exquisite multiple course lunch served by the most charming staff, and enjoying some unobtrusive entertainment (we enjoyed a delightful husband and wife duet – he seated with acoustic guitar, she standing to sing).

Canoeing and other sporting activities

The Dordogne provides a divine setting for working off some of the weight gained enjoying the local fayre! Oscar and I joined friends to canoe from Grolejac to Vitrac, which took just under two hours allowing for a half hour swimming break during which the children squealed with delight as they were carried along in the clear water’s surprisingly strong currents. The effort of paddling is pleasingly diminished by the stunning and entertaining scenery; chateaux precariously perched atop cliff edges, cafes and restaurants set amid cool glades and other paddlers capsizing!

Oscar and I also adore cycling past the region’s verdant crops of maize and tobacco, lapping up the cool showers from their sprinklers.

Exploring the local caves and pretty villages and towns

The Gouffre de Padirac are underground, part-traversed by gondola and have lifts for those who are unable or unwilling to ascend or descend the steep stairways in order to admire stunning stalactites, eerily and beautifully lit green/blue pools, and an amazing dome.

Nearby is the breathtakingly beautiful Rocamadour, a village set in a gorge above a tributary of the Dordogne, whose churches, hotels and restaurants rise magisterially from the gorge’s sides. Most famous as a pilgrimage site, it is also acclaimed for its award-winning cabecou (goat’s cheese) and also offers an array of boutiques and shops. The Lot is packed with picturesque villages and towns offering visitors glorious buildings, vibrant markets and galleries and boutiques to browse.

Spectacles and shows

Oscar particularly enjoyed ‘Le Rocher des Aigles’ spectacle where various birds of prey have been trained to swoop over and in front of spectators (some of whom are invited to interact with these spectacular creatures) performing deftly executed tricks and showing off their preying skills.

We also enjoyed viewing some of the many local free shows to be found in the area during the summer months. This year we admired some Spanish show men and women in traditional attire performing on magnificently groomed and conditioned horses in Gourdon’s centre whilst slurping sumptuous ice creams.

Unfortunately, career-related studies have taken precedence over my learning French. However, I have been thrilled to note that any efforts I have made to communicate with my mother’s French friends and neighbours in French or even ‘Franglais’ have been enthusiastically responded to and encouraged -especially when they involve proclamations of delight and gratitude as I gorge myself on scrumptious local fayre, as has been the case in many of their homes and at the Salle de Fetes where the locals are happy to receive guests who purchase tickets and drinks in order to be a part of their summer village festivities.

By Ginnie and Megan Oliver

Posted in Destinations

The final leg

August 19th, 2010

Vézénobres

After breakfast, we continued on our way. One of the great pleasures of driving in France is the motorway aires. Service stations in England are often unattractive and rather seedy; in France, possibly due to the cost of travelling on the motorways, there is a huge range of aires. French government regulations stipulate that aires must be placed at a maximum of 20 kms apart so there is never one far from you. Some aires are simply picnic areas with an emergency telephone and toilet facility (some containing only the dreaded “Turkish toilet”!) Others are stunning with unique features and beautiful views. One of my favourite aires, the Aires des Volcans, is on the A71 on the way to the Auvergne, about 30km north of Clermont Ferrand. As soon as we stop there I know that we have almost arrived and I can start to breathe the clean air and let the sense of peace overtake me.

Our first stop was the Catalan Village Aire on the A9 autoroute leading to the Spanish border. It was a burning hot day (the hottest we were to experience during the whole of our trip) and the theme of Catalonian architecture gave us a taste of what we were to find in Spain. It was an unusual aire: vast and rather soulless, in our opinion,but there was plenty of parking and the facilities were clean.

On arriving in the outskirts of Barcelona, we took one exit too early from the motorway so got slightly lost. Luckily, the sat nav was able to help out. To help ease our transition from France to Spain, we ordered a jug of sangria to drink by the pool after a refreshing swim. We then took the short train journey to the centre of Barcleona. We ate paella and after a short wander around we returned to our hotel as it was getting late. We noted that the people did not have the same welcoming, hospitable manner which we had encountered throughout France.

We spent the next day in Barcelona. It was raining but still warm. Obviously Barcelona is a destination worthy of far more than a day but we felt that we got a taste of what it had to offer and, yet again made a note to return! The cathedral was spectacular and the views from the roof were stunning. After spending sometime in the cathedral, apart from anything else sheltering from the rain, we wandered down to the beach then on to the port area from where we took a cable car up to Montjuic from where we were able to admire Barcelona spread out below us. The funicular metro took us back down and we decided to head off the beaten track a little towards the market area where we were able to share tapas with the locals as opposed to the many tourists to be found in Barcelona. There is no doubt that Barcelona is a fascinating city with much to offer, but I had left my heart in France and was glad to be returning the following day.

Carcassonne

The traffic was busy that morning and we eventually arrived in Carcassonne in the early afternoon. We headed up to the fortified Cité de Carcassonne which consists of a double ring of ramparts and 53 towers. The history of Carcassonne is re-told in the Kate Mosse’s novel, “ Labyrinth” which I had just finished reading, so this visit brought it to life somewhat. The medieval city is still home to approximately 120 people and contains a large number of shops and craftsmen. On entering the city it was rather alarming to find a car trying to squeeze through the narrow streets thronging with people! There was much to see in the city and as usual on this trip we did not have much time. We had a late lunch whilst watching, ironically enough, Spanish musicians who were so full of energy that they were really drawing in the crowds. It was great fun. We then walked past the 17th century castle which was the residence of the Trencavel (the viscounts of Carcassonne) and up to the cathedral: the

Basilica of Saint-Nazaire

Basilica of Saint-Nazaire with its beautiful stained glass windows. A windy walk around the ramparts allowed us to see all the sights around. I was left with a memory of a fascinating city which, despite the number of tourists crowding through the narrow streets, still carries a certain atmosphere of days gone by.

Next stop was Toulouse. We were nearing the end of our trip and felt a certain sadness as it had been all too short and we had seen so much that we would have liked to explore further. We were staying in a comfortable but soulless hotel on the outskirts of Toulouse. The rather grubby pool and the miserable weather only added to our sense of gloom. However, we wanted to make the most of the remnants of our trip so we headed for Toulouse centre. On entering Toulouse we discovered why it is called La ville rose. We drove into a lovely square edged with pink buildings. We parked and wandered down some of the side streets and found a cosy restaurant at which we drank our final apero of a coupe de champagne. We had a fantastic last supper before heading back to our hotel for the night. Toulouse is a beautiful city which is lively and contemporary yet rich in history. There are many sights to visit and, yet again, we noted it as a place to return to.

Toulouse

The following morning we set off for La Rochelle, the end point of our road trip. The capital of the Charente-Maritime department is reputed to be the most attractive and unspoilt seaside town in France. We spent very little time here on this occasion so that exploration will be for another time.

We had a fantastic and fascinating time and felt that, although we had covered a vast distance in a very short space of time, our trip had served its purpose: an introduction to some of the best which France has to offer and a taste of wonderful trips yet to come.

By Megan Oliver

Posted in Destinations, Travel & vacations

The Road Trip Continues

August 17th, 2010

Palais de l'Isle jail

We awoke early and had a very civilised buffet breakfast. After loading up the car again, we made our way back to the lake. Annecy is situated at the northern end of the lake. It really is stunning with the mountains rising up behind it. Many people were swimming in the clear blue water. Sadly we could not spare the time to swim so had to make do with a paddle this time and yet another note to come back with more time in the future. Before we left Annecy, we wanted to find the Palais de l’Isle jail (the old prison) which is apparently one of the most photographed monuments in France and the Pont des Amours (Lovers’ Bridge). Having made our token visits, we noted that there was plenty to return to including the The Château d’Annecy (Annecy Castle) which houses the Art and History Conservatory of Annecy and the Regional Office of the Alpine Lakes, and the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre which was built in the 16th century and is home to a number of artworks and baroque pieces from the 19th century. For now, we had to get back on the road to find La Grande Chartreuse.

Musée de la Grande Chartreuse

We made our way to St Pierre de Chartreuse for lunch. This was a pretty town with stunning alpine scenery. We feasted on sumptuous salads whilst gazing at the mountains surrounding us. It was like a fairy tale. We had to ask for directions to the monastery and then discovered that not only is it not open to the public but that vehicles are prohibited on the surrounding roads. Grande Chartreuse is the head monastery of the Carthusian order and is supported by the sales of Chartreuse liqueur, a liqueur which can be either green or yellow and is aged with around 130 herbal extracts. Luckily we discovered that it was not a wasted trip as the Musée de la Grande Chartreuse (museum) which was formerly La Correrie monastery was open to visitors and offered a fascinating insight into the life of the Carthusian order. This former monastery is in a beautiful setting, standing in the mountains with forests all about. I am not usually too interested in museums (I blame a very boring history teacher at school!) but this one really did give us a feel for what life in a closed order might be like and we left with a real sense of peace.

We were now far behind our self imposed schedule but we felt that it was well worth it, considering all that we had discovered. We hit traffic which meant a late arrival at our guest house in Vézénobres. Vézénobres is a medieval town sitting on top of a hill and is known for the religious wars which lasted for hundreds of years. Its proximity to Nîmes airport and town with its important remains of the Roman Empire meant that, yet again, we noted a place to return to. Our guest house was an absolute delight. The rooms were set around a courtyard with a beautiful swimming pool at the end of it. The room itself was furnished beautifully with great attention to small detail, including a CD player and a selection of relaxing CDs. After settling into our room followed by a quick swim, even though the sun had gone down, we wandered up to the town. Unfortunately, we could only find one restaurant in the town and it was fully booked, a pity as it had a very pretty courtyard where one could eat under the stars. We had to make do with crêpes which were nice but not quite what we had in mind after a long day.

Breakfast the next morning was fresh melon, bread, hams, cheeses, jams and vanilla yoghurt. Bliss! This was a definite find and well worth coming back to. No children allowed but perfect for a weekend break. Next destination: Soutwards.

To be continued…

By Megan Oliver

Posted in Destinations, Travel & vacations

An Introduction to France – A Road Trip to Remember.

August 13th, 2010

My partner, although well traveled elsewhere, had never been to France other than a few towns in the Nord Pas de Calais on daytrips. I love France. Time to introduce him then to some of the delights it has to offer! We only had a week and, as ever, we were over ambitious. However, it worked as any taster does: it whet the appetite and we are keen to return.

Not only did we want to cover as much of France as possible, by car, in just 8 days, but we also wanted to fit in a visit to a friend and dip into Spain for a quick look at Barcelona. It was a fantastic experience which could only have been improved with the addition of more time. We visited Montreuil sur Mer in the Nord Pas de Calais; Brécey, Dinard and Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy; Annecy in the Rhône-Alpes region; La Grande Chartreuse in the French Alps; Vézénobres in the Languedoc-Roussillon region; a brief hop into Spain to Barcelona; then to Toulouse in the Midi-Pyréneés region via Carcassonne back in Languedoc-Roussillon; finally arriving at our end point of La Rochelle in Poitou-Charentes.

It was August. We set off from Folkestone through the Tunnel sous la Manche; the crossing only delayed by an hour which we found perfectly acceptable for one of the busiest times of the year. On arrival in Calais, we headed for Montreuil-Sur-Mer, a charming walled town immortalised by Victor Hugo when he used it as the setting for Les Miserables. As our place mats on our lunch table described, Les Miserables is performed each year in the summer in an outdoor son et lumière. We had just missed it; I made the first note of something to return to. We knew this was a whistlestop tour so did not have much time to explore, but we could see that Montreuil was a place worth returning to, maybe for a weekend or even a daytrip at just under an hour’s drive from Calais.

Our next destination was Brécey, where our friend has a house in Normandy. We were the proud new owners of a Sat Nav, fondly named Kate. Sadly we hadn’t read the instructions thoroughly. The journey was supposed to take around four hours; it took us nine! On closer inspection, on arrival, we discovered that it had been set to avoid tolls and never ask again. I suppose it was a prettier route than the toll roads. We had opted to stay in the only auberge in the village as opposed to camping in the garden and using a hole dug in the ground, should we need to, in the night. Our friend was just starting to renovate her property and, charming though it was, it did not yet have many amenities. We had been warned that the auberge was basic and it was, but it was clean and, after a short time to thaw, the owners were friendly.

Base Camp 1

We arrived at our friend’s during late evening. There were about nine other people camping there and they were all sat around a fire pit near the entrance to the property. They had named this base camp 1. It was l’heure de l’apéro, so we chatted as we enjoyed our drinks before dinner and It soon became clear that they had been in France for some weeks already and were beginning to tire of each other’s company under conditions which weren’t easy due to the slow progress of renovation. I have never watched Big Brother, but they assured me that they were just as excited as the contestants were whenever there were new arrivals. We were treated like royalty and felt like a breath of fresh air wafting in from overseas!

After a while, we moved to base camp 2 which was an even larger fire pit, edged with stones, and a huge dining table, dressed with linen cloth, foliage and candelabra. It was beautiful! After sharing a delicious meal, the preparation of which everyone took part in, except us as honoured new arrivals, we moved to base camp 3: a huge fireplace in the lounge of the stone house. The wine flowed until we left at about 3am.

Base Camp 2

We returned the following morning for coffee at base camp 1. We then drove in convoy to Dinard. Had our friend not missed the turning off the motorway and thereby misled all the following cars, the two and a half hour journey would only have taken forty minutes! After some difficulty in parking, we shared a lovely lunch of moules and goat’s cheese pastry salad. After lunch we wandered around. I enjoyed walking through the tunnel to get to the beach and the distinctive blue and white striped changing tents.

Later, we decided to drive to Mont Saint-Michel. However, it was late in the day and the queue of traffic was horrendous. We decided to buy a guide book, take some photos from the distance, make a u turn and make a note to return on another visit. The abbey is supposed to be well worth closer inspection. We returned to Brécey for a simple yet delicious dinner and wine and music around the fire.

Base Camp 3

The following morning we set the sat nav to avoid Paris and headed in the direction of Annecy. We set the radio to France Bleu which moved seamlessly between the different regions throughout the rest of our trip and thus set the mood for France. We drove past the outskirts of both Saint-Étienne and Lyon, clearly not the best advertisement for either town, both outskirts being industrial and graffiti ridden and, as we had no time to go inwards and explore further, we made another note to return when we had more time.

We arrived in Annecy 11 hours after leaving Brécey. We found our hotel, drove to the lake (Lac d’Annecy) and enjoyed good food with a nice local wine from the menu. After dinner we strolled along the shore of the lake. It was truly beautiful with the mountains in the background. We would explore more the following morning.

To be continued…

By Megan Oliver

Posted in Destinations, French Language, Travel & vacations