Posts tagged: Travel in France

Nutmeg had read about a small vineyard in Paris, located in the shadows of the Sacré-Coeur spires. The last time either Ginger or Nutmeg had been to Montmartre was in the 1980s. After a crazy taxi ride complete with construction bottlenecks, pre-Christmas traffic, impossibly narrow streets and hills only fit for funiculars they arrived in the middle of a mob scene. A clear Saturday afternoon right before sunset, it was immediately obvious why there had been a 30-year gap since their last visit.

(more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Clos de Montmartre, French Wines, Travel in France, Travel to Paris

Whether fiction or not, Nutmeg thinks it is appropriate that Casanova the infamous Venetian writer, gambler and reputed womanizer is weaved into the history of les Jardins d’Albertas.
This garden, owned by the Albertas family, is located just a few minutes outside of Aix-en-Provence in the town of Bouc-Bel-Air, where the ancient village was built on a bouc (small hill).
The roots of the Albertas family stretch from Alba, Italy to Aix-en-Provence, where their influence on the Provençal city is notable. Henri and his son Jean-Baptiste d’Albertas, both held the high-ranking title of Président de la Cour des Comptes (Court of Auditors).
One of the most recognizable and photogenic squares in Aix is Place d’Albertas.  This sunny plaza carved out of the narrow winding streets of the old town resembles a small Italian piazza. Henri felt that the exterior of his home and his “view” were not distinguished enough. He commissioned a local architect to renew the façade of his house and…

Recipes & Travel:
Aix en Provence, Bouc bel Air, Gardens, Jardins d'Albertas, Provence, Travel in France

Nutmeg is here to tell you that Big-Box shopping is the same nightmare in France, as it is in Palm Springs, Chicago, Airdrie and Scarborough.
Big-box retail (think Target and Walmart) has evolved as a cost effective development strategy, under the guise of offering consumer convenience.  Without boring you all with the details, this concept works well for the landlord and tenant as no party is too “invested” in the location.  The big-box retail model has evolved from “destination” single stores, into power-centres where the customer can spend an entire day cruising hundreds of outlet stores. 

(more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Provence, Shopping, Travel in France

It is highly probable, that Nutmeg’s nutritionist friends will not consider this practice remarkably healthy. So only do so sparingly, or when they are not watching.
There is something decadent, childish and delightful about eating cookies with your morning coffee. Ginger and Nutmeg have discovered along their travel routes to Italy and Corsica that this “sweet” tradition is decidedly a part of the routine in some areas.

(more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Canistrelli, Cookies, Corsica, Corsica Food, French Recipes, Travel in France

Most people (read tourists) go to l’Isle sur la Sorgue for one of two reasons:

The Sunday market – one of the largest in the region
The 300+ antique stores and dealers

Very few would go because they were expecting Venice in Provence.

(more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Isle sur la Sorgue, Markets in Provence, Provence Travel, Travel in France

This post will most likely make Nutmeg’s Corsican friends angry.
Why bother with the hassle of an overnight ferry, crowded beaches and small twisty roads? If you want to feel like you, have experienced a bit of Corsica without leaving the French mainland, plan a trip to the Ardèche region.
The similarities between, the beautiful island of Corsica and the Ardèche are significant, see below:

Corsica

Ardeche

Surface Area
8,680 sq km
5,550 sq km

Widest Point
82 km
75 km

Highest Peak
2,706 metres Mont Cinto
1,754 metres Mont Mézenc

Population
302,000
309,000

Annual Visitors
Roughly 2 million
Roughly 3 million

Agriculture
Chestnuts
Chestnuts

Olives
Olives

Grapes
Grapes

Goats, Sheep
Goat, Sheep, Cows

Figs
Figs

Beaches
1000 km of coastline
Countless River banks

Geographic Formation
Volcanic
Volcanic

(more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Ardeche, Provence, Rhone Alps, Travel in France

Nutmeg is writing this post on a rainy Sunday afternoon while Ginger is napping off the effects of a long Sunday lunch.
It is a long tradition in France that stores are closed Sunday afternoon, allowing everyone the opportunity to have a leisurely lunch en famille.

(more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Food in France, Markets, Provence, Provence Travel, Sunday Lunch, Travel in France

800km from its glacial source in Valais, Switzerland the Rhône River gasps as it reaches the Mediterranean Sea. Like a wide yawn the Rhône’s two branches; the Grande Rhône and the Petit Rhône empty their cargo at the mouth of the river. This area of Provence known as the Camargue, part of the Bouches du Rhône (mouths of the Rhône) is Europe’s largest river delta (930 sq km) and a wetland of significant size.

(more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Camargue, Provence Travel, Salt Production in Provence, Travel in France

A mixture of seawater, alkaline solution and fat
Documented use as far back as 2800 BC in Ancient Babylon
A carved “recipe” found on a stone slab from 2200 BC
The Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all used it
Cooked for 8 days in a cauldron, dried for 2 days in a mould
Latin word Sapo

(more…)

Recipes & Travel:
History of Marseille, Provence Travel, savon de Marseille, Traditional soap making in Provence, Travel in France

Boutiques filled with shiny objects, and a congested ring road of honking diesel trucks and cars. These are the modern-day realities in a large Dordogne town of 9,300 residents. The town bustles with over 1.5 million visitors a year yet the ancient core of historical Sarlat provides some instant reprieve, begging you to step back in time.

(more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Dordogne, Dordogne Travel, GPSmyCity, Sarlat, Travel in France