Posts tagged: Travel in France

For Nutmeg this is a terrifying blog post, so it is fitting that it arrives just in time for Halloween.
Ginger and Nutmeg left Calgary on September 30, 2010. Nutmeg has quite happily not set foot on Canadian soil for 13 months. What is so scary?  They are headed back to Calgary in the darkest, coldest month of the year!
Here are some fun statistics from their time abroad:

35,000
Kilometers driven in the trusty car by Ginger

15,000
Roundabouts

8,000
Photos documenting the year

5,000
Toll booths

395 
Number of days since Nutmeg has been in Canada

395
Wine bottles consumed more or less

150
Number of times Nutmeg went to a market

150+
Bike rides

50+
Churches visited

35+
Hikes

18
Ski days at new resorts

15
Gap T-shirts

13
Provencal deserts at Christmas time

8+
Concerts

4
Ferry rides: to Corsica and Sardinia

4
Pairs of runners

3
Masks from the Venice Carnival

5
Cooking lessons

5
Countries Visited:France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, UK

2
Jars Cherry Jam by Ginger

4
New pieces of art

2
Gym memberships

1
Mountain bikes

2
Pairs of Hiking boots

1
Wedding

1
Opera – Aida

1
Kayak trip

1
Trip to the Grand Prix in Monaco

1
Trip to Paris

1
Market bag

0
Number of sessions with a personal trainer

TOTAL
PRICELESS

It has been a…

Recipes & Travel:
Provence Travel, Pumpkin Soup, Quick and Easy Soup, Travel in France, Vegeterian Recipes

Ginger and Nutmeg have discovered that within France, Provence is the land of abundance.  There is lots of sunshine, almost never ending wind, at times constant rain, olive groves, vineyards, orchards and endless markets.  One could be overwhelmed by the array of choices and local flavours. Nutmeg’s very practical side has decided that given the array of local choices it is best to narrow the selection and the following are her thoughts on the essentials in a Provençal kitchen:
Fleur de Sel

Literally translated as “Flower of salt”.  Fleur de Sel is the top layer of sea salt, it is hand-harvested before it sinks to the bottom of the salt pans. Traditional Fleur de sel in France is collected off the coast of Brittany, Ginger and Nutmeg are many hours from there, but the good news is there is lots also produced in Camargue (part of Provence). The salt appears to be slightly pinkish grey as some sand is collected in…

Recipes & Travel:
French Food, Provencal Food, Provencal Traditions, Travel in France

Nutmeg can hardly believe that she is actually going to put this in writing; she is almost ready for the summer silly season to be over. Totally out of character, right? For anyone who knows Nutmeg, there is no doubt that summer is her favourite season.
Summer, in a Provencal village, translates into plenty of socializing. The town fills with owners who have their holiday homes in the area, and throngs of tourists enjoying the scenery. The cafés are filled at all hours of the day with clients enjoying a morning coffee, a light lunch, or a tempting beverage and bar snack in the early evening. That is exactly the problem. Apero Hour!

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Recipes & Travel:
Provencal Food, Recipes for Olive Tapanade, Recipes with Olives, Travel in France

Summer!
Summer is festival time, and France is no exception. The only problem is making a decision, with the overwhelming variety of events. Famous events like Jazz a Juan in Antibes (started in 1960) or Le Festival d’Avignon (started in 1947), which attract large crowds and well-known performers. All the principal cities and many small towns host at least one noteworthy event during the warmer months. Ginger and Nutmeg both love music, although, neither of them can sing nor play an instrument with any level of competency. With the balmy Provencal evenings, they decided to take advantage of some of the local events and listen to the experts. The following is a musical summary for your listening pleasure:
The Festival de Musique d’Eygalières, this event is only four years old, in 2011 they hosted four nights of mostly classical music – alfresco. This is an extremely well organized event, held at the beautiful private residence Mas de la Brune. The evening…

Recipes & Travel:
Artists, Music, Music Festivals, Provence, Summer Festivals, Travel in France

Nutmeg is a bit embarrassed to admit that after many months in France, they have barely explored all of Provence.  The departments within Provence are all beautiful and vastly different. The departments include Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhone, Var and Vaucluse. So much to visit! Clearly a break from their holiday was in order!!  Nutmeg booked two nights in a lovely chambre d’hotes (B&B) called Les Quatre Saisons near the village of le Castellet, in the Var.  Le Castellet is a medieval village dating from 1153. It is a fairly well preserved town on a hill, so there are magnificent views from the top.  The town buildings are highly picturesque. Les Quatre Saisons is easily accessible from the major regional centres, and it is a true oasis.

The weather was smoking-hot, reaching 32C under cloudless skies. Patrice cool, calm and well practised in the kitchen. He and his partner Didier ran a small Parisian bistro for nine years and then a restaurant…

Recipes & Travel:
Cooking Classes in Provence, Easy healthy desserts, Exploring the Var, French Food, Provence Travel, Recipes with Peaches, Tiramisu with Peaches, Travel in France

Ginger LOVES the Calgary Stampede.  He is a faithful rodeo attendee and never misses a single chuckwagon race. Every year, Ginger dons his cowboy duds for the full 10 days of the Stampede, and a few more events on either end.  He is a dedicated volunteer, who donates his time selflessly every year.  OK, not exactly selflessly, there is an official access badge and lots of beer involved.  This year he will seriously miss his favourite event of the year.
The good news for Ginger, is there is no shortage of cowboy culture, horses and bulls in Provence.

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Recipes & Travel:
Provence Travel, Rodeo in Europe, The Bulls of Provence, Travel Entertainment, Travel in France

Spring 2011 came early to the French mountain resorts, mostly due to a lack of snow during the ski season.  Ginger and Nutmeg needed to change the tires on the car to the “summer wheels”, as we had been rolling along on dry roads for several months in the South.  The “stars aligned” and Ginger found a few consecutive days with no commitments, a good weather forecast and a chance to visit Saffron and Truffle while they were on holidays in Chamonix.  The three of us piled in the car with almost no luggage and headed NE.  The drive was easy and Nutmeg’s only disappointment was that the walnut trees near Grenoble were not in bloom.
We arrived in Chamonix and I headed straight for the river, Ginger went directly to the car garage and Nutmeg settled in for a massage – anybody wondering who is the smartest in the crew?  The next morning dawned and it promised to be…

Recipes & Travel:
Chamonix, Golf in Chamonix, Travel in France, Travel Tips with Pets, Travel with Dogs

According to Nutmeg, the Mimosa in cocktail form, does not do justice to either of it’s ingredients; champagne or orange juice.  It is often served for brunch and that is a whole other story (see previous blog post).
This post is about the first flower of the season in Provence.

The mimosa is a beautiful flowering bush that is often found in gardens, green-spaces, and forests all over the south of France. There are over 1200 varieties world-wide, the shrub is native to Australia, Central and South America and parts of Asia, not France. It is believed that the mimosa plant travelled to Europe on one of Captain Cook’s voyages. This flowering beauty was introduced to southern France around 1850, by wealthy English, who planted them to in order to brighten-up their gardens during the winter months on the Cote D’Azur.
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Recipes & Travel:
Cote d'Azur Travel Ideas, Flowers in France, Following the Mimosa Trail in Provence, Provence Travel, Travel in France

Don’t tell Ginger. Several years ago Nutmeg had a boyfriend who was fanatical about 2CVs; that is the Citroën 2CV or “deux chevaux”.  On a six-week backpacking trip through Europe he took 90 Kodachrome photos of 2CVs (2 of Nutmeg and 8 of buxom blondes).  On top of that he insisted on eating at MacDonald’s throughout Europe. For those of you who know Nutmeg, it was a good thing the relationship “fizzled”.
History (above) aside Nutmeg thought that Ginger would have lots of fun driving a 2CV around Provence for a day.  The answer was simple, there is a Dutch/French company called 2CV Experience that rents lovingly restored 2CVs or “two horsepower” cars for the day.  It could not have been easier, as they are based minutes outside of Aix-en Provence.  They currently have 12 cars and are building their inventory to 15 shortly.  These pristine cars have been fully restored by hand, painted meticulously and are ready to go…

Recipes & Travel:
2CV Experience in Provence, citroen 2cv, Provence Travel, Travel in France

This will be a short one on Alberta’s spring.  Nutmeg moved to Calgary 17 years ago, Ginger had arranged with Mother Nature for a fantastic spring and even better summer that year.  Since that time, Calgary and Mother Nature have ignored Ginger and completely tormented Nutmeg.  Practically every year there is a deficit of snow for skiing in January and February, or it is too darn cold.

 
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Recipes & Travel:
Travel Alberta, Travel in France