Jean-Louis Sibuet quickly appreciated the realities of the hospitality trade, once his parents purchased le Fer à Cheval Hotel in Megève. His early grounding in the accommodation business has evolved into a French boutique hospitality chain. Mr. Sibuet and his wife Jocelyne have created a luxurious, contemporary brand while maintaining a resilient respect for the local environment unique to each of their hotel properties.
Ginger and Nutmeg spent a long Sunday afternoon covering over 600 km on some of France’s super-highways. Their goal was the looming treasure at the end of the journey, a week of biking with good friends through the Dordogne.
Nutmeg admits that an ABC list covering essential sights and local tastes in the Dordogne region might have been a bit more help before their trip. She hopes instead that this post benefits at least one of the G&N readers who plan to visit this beautiful area in the future.
Old meets new, and France meets the world in this Parisian market. The trendy Marais district, the third arrondissement, spills northward with new housing and retail stores invading previously unattractive utilitarian spaces. In the midst of this budding urbanization is one of Paris’s oldest covered markets. The entrance off rue de Bretagne is unassuming; inside this compact culinary corner of the capital city is an artist’s palate of international cuisines. Market stalls flaunt glorious blooms in soft pastels and vibrant Crayola shades, seasonal fruit and vegetables from farms of Europe are piled high and fresh catch from the seas rest on icy cradles.
The French ski resort of Val d’Isère is buried at the end of a snowy alpine valley with the Italian border just beyond its steep ridges. For serious skiers, the allure of Val d’Isère is magnetic, as the childhood home of Jean Claude-Killy, the three-time gold medal winner at the Grenoble 1968 Olympics.
Nutmeg is uncertain if sculptors Ursula Hanes and Donni Buffalo Dog were visionary or slightly crazy when they purchased a five-acre property on the outskirts of the hamlet of Aureille, in Provence, the year was 1993. Their interest was not in the house. It was the 600 square-meter mothballed chicken and rabbit coop that had grabbed their attention.
A visit to Provence can be a sensory overload:
Purple-blue lavender rows combing the landscape
Market stalls brimming with wild mushrooms in a palette of earthy browns
Pincushions of creamy goat cheese
Butcher shop chickens roasted on portable spits on Sunday mornings
Rosé chilling tableside
What should I take home from Provence?
Nutmeg often gets asked this question by friends who are visiting Provence, these are five gifts that she would suggest, each one uniquely representative of the region.
All I want for Christmas is a photo workshop in Provence.
If that is number ONE on your Christmas list this year, then Nutmeg would like to help you out.
Andrew Squires is a professional photographer based in the village of Ansouis, in Provence. He runs photo workshops for both groups and individuals; photography on-location, with social breaks, fun festivals and time to explore Provence behind your camera (any type will do).
Colour, gesture, all help tell the story.
It was a lazy afternoon in Provence, under a scalding sun, seated on a suspended terrace in the village of Ansouis. As she sat drinking in the pastoral vineyard views, Nutmeg understood why this might be Andrew Squires’ favourite French expression.
Ça depend … it depends.
Andrew was born in the United Kingdom. His artistic leanings emerged early on as he experimented with both drawing and painting. He discovered photography as an artistic medium, and a magnetic force pulled him to Arles for les Rencontres d’Arles an annual photography festival that was founded in 1970.
What does forgiveness mean to you?
He has lived in Provence permanently for a couple decades, and he considers it home. He took a few minutes over lunch, and a pitcher of local rosé to tell Nutmeg a little more about his passion for the region and photography.
Enjoy his photos as you read this blog post.
Barely 9:30am 15 glasses sampled and suddenly flaky, cheese pastries looked quite appealing. Blood-red stains were visible in every direction and the lighting under the curved ceiling was at best dim. Ginger and Nutmeg were at the Cuverie des Hospices de Beaune, the wine cellars, for the first degustation of the weekend, with 44 wines available for tasting from the 2012 harvest.
Ginger and Nutmeg are children born in the early 1960’s, sheltered from the difficulties of the two World Wars; they did not recognize the name Jean Moulin, when they arrived in France.
Sure, their school history classes covered the wars in some detail. They have grandparents and parents who were certainly impacted by the hardships of those dark, uncertain days. On Nutmeg’s paternal side, the whole family was uprooted, and they relocated to a foreign land. The scarcity of food and other products from that time has instilled a steady habit of reuse, recycle and do not waste.
