It took 11.5 months for Ginger and Nutmeg to make it to Paris, only a 2.5 hour train ride from their Provencal home base. The capital city is one that both Ginger and Nutmeg love and have visited several times. It is entirely possible; that the relaxing rhythm of life in the sunny south had kept them from Paris for that length of time.
However, they finally had a compelling reason to venture to l’ile de France, to meet some friends in the city. After, Nutmeg managed to master, the not so intuitive, SNCF website and purchase their train tickets, the rest was easy. The trains run frequently and sometimes even on time. Departing from Avignon TGV, their goal was to feel like real Parisians for three days.
Audacious!

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Recipes & Travel:
Coffee, Markets, Paris, Paris Food, Travel in France

As part of All American Breakfast Month, National Waffle Week September 2nd – 8th is devoted just to waffles. To celebrate, Unique Belgique wants to share some interesting waffle history and ways to enjoy these delectable treats!

Waffle History: Wondering where waffles came from?
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Recipes & Travel:
Breakfast Recipes, National Waffle Week

Really, who would believe that?

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Airline Travel Tips, Provence Travel, Travel in France

American girl meets boy from Brittany, France – add four ingredients and a company is born!

The Breton Gourmet
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Recipes & Travel:
Easy baking recipes, Food from Brittany, French Food, The Breton Gourmet, Travel to France

The relief palatable, the calm almost surreal, something is missing – the wind has stopped!
In France, the mistral is a strong wind that typically blows from the north or northwest.  Mistral the name for this wind means “masterly”, and in Nutmeg’s opinion, it certainly lives up that reputation.  The mistral typically blows hard, with gusts at times up to 100 km/hour as it accelerates down the Rhone and Durance rivers towards the Mediterranean.  Much like a Chinook in Calgary, the mistral brings a change in weather, in this case it is typically dry and cooler.  This can be a relief in the hot days of spring and early summer, or a curse in the later days of the fall as it creates glacial temperatures.
There are two French expressions when it comes to the mistral “le vent qui rend fou” (the wind which makes you crazy) and “le vent des voleurs” (the wind of robbers).  Nutmeg thinks both sayings are…

Recipes & Travel:
Mistral, Provence, Travel in France, Wind

Jefferson’s voyage continued south.
He paid a visit to St Remy de Provence and Les Baux, his interest in agriculture and antiquity were the main drivers. The rural area around St Remy continues to be heavily focused on agriculture today. Although, the combination of agricultural crops has changed over the years, the enduring olive tree continues to be a strong contributor to the local economy.

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Canal du Midi, Provence, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson in France, Travel, Travel Book Reviews

One of Nutmeg’s all-time favourite quotes is by the third United States President, Thomas Jefferson:
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.“

Needless to say, she was thrilled to read a book by Roy and Alma Moore entitled “Thomas Jefferson’s Journey To The South of France”. The book is available through Amazon, it is a well-researched chronicle of Jefferson’s visit to the southern part of France in 1787. The book includes copies of his letters, recent pictures and some snippets of history. Jefferson was at the time the American minister to France; his journey however, was a personal one with few official obligations. He set out from Paris on February 28, 1787 and returned on June 10th, the same year.
This post is not a book review, but rather Ginger and Nutmeg’s view of some of the places that the illustrious man visited 224 years before. A note to readers, this blog post,…

Recipes & Travel:
Books, Provence Travel, Thomas Jefferson in France, Travel Book Reviews, Travel in France

Are you a history buff?
Nutmeg would like to introduce you to a real find: Beware Madame la Guillotine, A Revolutionary Tour of Paris by Time Traveler Tours, an educational tourism start-up that is capturing worldwide attention.
Sarah Towle is Founder and Creative Director of Time Traveler Tours, mobile iTineraries that reveal history through the stories of characters who helped shape their time, enhanced with dash of interactive games. Her first StoryApp, Beware Madame la Guillotine, A Revolutionary Tour of Paris, received accolades as a School Library Journal Top 10 2011 App and Teachers With Apps Top 10 Tried & True Classroom App. It was also recently named a Top 10 2012 Travel App by the World Youth and Student Travel Conference. Sarah’s second title, also on a death theme, Day of the Dead, a journey to the Napoleonic era, is due for release later this year. 
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Recipes & Travel:
Best Apps for Travel, Paris, Travel in France, Travel to Paris

Is it possible more flavour and less fat? Yes!
Italian cuisine is known for its’ simplicity and high-quality ingredients. Gelato is one such example. The Italians have been perfecting this frozen desert since the days of the Medici family of Florence. In 1565, a Florentine chef, Bernardo Buontalenti, served his frozen concoction to Catherine de’Medici. Since that time, the popularity of the dessert and the wide variety of flavours has exploded. Today, gelato can be found all over Italy and many places around the globe.
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Recipes & Travel:
Easy healthy desserts, Easy Italian Recipes, food info, Gelato, Travel in Italy

Ginger and Nutmeg have had lots of visitors in Provence this year. Nutmeg likes to think that her blog posts planted the “seed” that enticed them all to book their plane tickets. In reality, her friends are well travelled and do not need her help to convince them that Provence is exceptional in the summer.

G&N love all the foreign visitors, it is a marvellous chance to show off the region, discover some new towns and introduce new friends to old ones. One such occasion happened last week at a cooking class with Nutmeg’s talented friends Ghyslaine and Jacques. You can read last year’s post here.
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Recipes & Travel:
Cooking Classes in Provence, Crespeou, Provencal Food, Provencal Traditions, Travel in France