It is not often that Nutmeg revisits a post, but who can resist rumbling engines and polished cars?

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Recipes & Travel:
California, Cars, Cruise Nights, Cruising, El Paseo, El Paseo Shops, vintage cars

Blinded by the hues of lavender shutters.
Gently numbed by a glass or two of chilled local rosé.
It would be easy to overlook the hamlet of Mérindol during a visit to Provence.
The Luberon region is brimming with villages laying claim to le plus beau village de France (most beautiful village in France) and many of those proudly display Villages Fleuris (flowering villages) emblems on street signs.
Mérindol is not one.

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Recipes & Travel:
Merindol in Provence, Merindol Massacre, Provence Travel, Travel in France

What is your favourite fish soup?
Residents of Marseille are adamant that French fishermen eked basic sustenance from their unsightly leftover fish bits concocted this fish broth/soup/stew on the shores of the now sprawling metropolis. The name for this dish is derived from two actions bouillir (to boil) and abaisser (to reduce or simmer). However, in the intense world of “Iron-chef” gastronomy the origins of bouillabaisse are up for debate.
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Recipes & Travel:
Bouillabaisse, Marseille, Provencal Food, Provence Travel, Seafood

Celebrity chefs flaunt their talents with teetering food towers, seared this and that, and sous vide experimentation, but they still rely heavily on spices to perfect the flavours.
Ubiquitous today, as the world’s most traded spice, the black peppercorn was once highly sought after for both its flavour and medicinal qualities. As Romans increased use of pepper in their cooking, savvy Spice Route merchants commanded gold and silver coins in exchange for the seasoning. This was not unreasonable as peppercorns had to travel long distances from Southeast Asia – parts of India and Java.

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Recipes & Travel:
History of the spice trade, Pepper, Pepper corns, Spices

It is not often that Ginger gets to write about G&N adventures, but this experience warrants a post. As many of you know, Ginger is an airplane geek, and any experience related to flying gets serious precedence over most things. Man since the beginning of time, has wanted to escape the bonds of earth and fly like a bird. Fixed wing gliding provides man the opportunity to catch air currents and soar hour upon hour.

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Recipes & Travel:
Aeroclub Alpilles, aerodrome, Alpilles, Gliding, Mazet de Romanin, St Remy

Nutmeg fully admits she is a Francophile, in her mind everything in France is superior to anywhere else – just ask Ginger. In fact, Nutmeg used a recent trip to the UK, for a family matter, as an excuse to head to France for 12 days. This year she has had the opportunity to expand her horizons with a couple recent trips to England and now has a growing appreciation for towpath walks and gastro-pubs. While Nutmeg definitely cannot understand driving on the “wrong side” of the road, she does appreciate an interesting travel tip, in this case, three…

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Recipes & Travel:
Archway Theatre, London, Saint Dunstan Church, Soane’s mausoleum, Travel Tips

It is not easy to change careers or geography at any age.
Why is Patricia Sands a possibilitarian?
Why did Lisa and Johann Pepin move from Chicago to hunt for truffles in rural Provence?
Moving can fall into that “not easy” bucket, where it is seems easier to stick to the familiar than to pack your bags.

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Recipes & Travel:
France, French Visas, Moving, Paris, Visas

It was President Franklin D. Roosevelt who with the stroke of his pen made Joshua Tree a National Monument on August 10, 1936 (it became a National Park in 1994). However, those 825,000 acres (now: 792,510 acres) would never have been recognized as worth protecting had it not been for Minerva Hamilton Hoyt, a southern belle and unlikely activist from Mississippi, who lived in Pasadena with her surgeon husband.

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Recipes & Travel:
Coachella Valley, Joshua Tree National Park, National Monument

Antonia (Toni) Dosik’s memories of her first foreign trip include sandy beaches and seashells. In reality, Mexico was hardly a protracted voyage for a six-year-old kid from Los Angeles, but it was the kickoff for Toni’s travel-centric life.

At 13, Toni began plotting her return to Europe while on a vacation that included visits to England, France, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. During college, she took advantage of a study abroad program to improve her French language skills, and to visit Switzerland and southern France. Toni spent a university year in England before racking up extensive travel miles to Provence, Paris, Italy, Serbia, Slovenia and Portugal.

Best in Britain was born in 1987, a small business that sprouted from friends and family asking Toni for help with their travel planning. Toni’s travel bug married her planning talent. She tells me that Best in Britain planned more than 40 trips to England and Wales for people who wanted unique and personalized vacations. Starting…

Recipes & Travel:
Bespoke Holiday, England, Herdade Do Esporao, Holiday planning, Paris, Perfectly Planned Travel, Portugal, Provence, Travel Agent, Travel Planning, Wines from Provence

Fault lines, droughts and dust storms are the realities of the California desert where nothing can be too permanent or too real.
Pioneertown may look like a Wild West frontier town from gold rush days, but it in reality it was created in 1946 for western-themed Hollywood movies. Complete with facades of banks, jails, saloons and stables this veneer of a town was the stage set for over 50 movies through the end of the 1950s.

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Recipes & Travel:
Bar, California, Pappy and Harriet's, Pioneertown