#Grocery shopping in #France

Picnic anyone?


The trip to the grocery store in France, is an amazing exploration in discovering new foods. But it can be very time consuming and, at times, a bit frustrating, especially if you happen to be in a big LeClerc or Carrefour store (avoid the Super U and Hyper U, they have poor quality) on a Saturday afternoon while the entire town is in there getting their groceries for the week. Remember- stores are all closed on Sundays.


I have often told people that it is like going to Superstore or any of those large pack your own grocery stores x100. Where else can you buy books, clothes, jewellery, washing machines, furniture, alcohol, and of course food all in one store?


Before entering make sure you have your bags, and get a cart from outside. Now the carts in France roll differently- forward and backwards like here at home but also sideways so the trip from your car to the store can be interesting.


I always start at the book section. Mini-Lili grabs 5-6 books to read for the shopping "trip" and off we go.


If you are staying at a gîte you will need to buy toilet paper. You know you are in France when you buy the pink toilet. Next- off to the bakery section. I normally buy my baguettes and croissants from a boulangerie, but if you are off to a picnic and need a baguette there are usually 10 different ones to pick from. From there you can head to the yogurt isles. Normally 3- yes 3 entire isles of yogurt, cheese sections (again at least 3), meat (beef, duck, goose, pig, goat, horse- yikes Mini-Lili don't look) and seafood counter, produce section. You have to weigh your own produce here on a scale and attach the ticket to the bag before you head to the checkout. (I found this out the hard way during my first grocery shopping trip.)


The centre isles contain a chocolate bar isle (yes, a whole isle!), cookies, crackers, pizza and tarte doughs, dessert pudding isle (rice puddings, tapicoa, tiramisu, etc), everything we have at home and way, way more. This is your time to try new foods.


Off to the wine section. In every grocery store you will find numerous bottles from the local area. You will never see a selection like this back at home. You can buy excellent bottles of wine for 3.00 Euros.


Off to the milk section where it is all UHT (long-life) milk. Each kind of milk (homogenized, 2%, skim, etc) has a different lid colour. Mini-Lili prefers the red lid (homogenized) and we buy "bio" (organic because some habits are ingrained). 


Next to the milk, is another "you know you are in France when" section- the bottled water section. French people buy litres of water. Again there are varies brands and for 6 long 1.5 litres you pay 1.20 Euros. Everyone tells you tap water is fine to drink and yet they buy litres of bottled water. 


Off to the check out, where you should be prepared to stand in line for a long time. But it is a good time for people watching! Pack up your groceries and guide the sideways rolling cart back to the car. Now off for that picnic!


Bon Appétit

#Renting a #gîte in #France

When our family heads to France we have done all the preparation work before hand- rented our car (previous blog), packed all the essentials for Mini-Lili (another previous blog) and have booked our accommodation. We often will rent a gîte for 1, 2 or even 3 weeks.

A gîte is a specific type of holiday accommodation. A gîte is a holiday home which is available for rent. Gîtes are usually fully furnished and equipped for self-catering. Many owners choose to handle their own rentals, and one can find these by searching online on the multitude of listing sites or by checking with the local tourist information office.

We have found gîtes on http://www.gite.com/holiday-homes/index.php or http://www.gites.fr/ or just googling an area we want to explore and finding private gîtes to rent.

One of the best things about renting a gîte is the experience it provides. You can meet the neighbours, get into the "pulse" of village life if the gîte is in a small village, attend the local fête in that village or a village close by. But the main reason we love renting a gîte is it allows us to cook like the French! We love going to the markets (another previous blog) and coming back to the gîte with the purchases and trying our hand at cooking like the French. We have many great memories of homemade pizza cooked on the outdoor pizza oven, barbecued duck, roasted chicken, fresh salads and of course serving everything with fresh baguettes.

We have rented gîtes in rural France, in small villages, on farms, with pools, on a vineyard, in a hamlet of 11 people and in every occasion we have come back with amazing memories.

Happy travelling!

#Treasures found in the #markets in #southern #France

In a previous blog, I wrote about the amazing produce, cheese, meats, pastries and breads that can be found in the le marché, market, in France. There are other markets in France called marchés aux puces, the Flea Markets. They are held on a regular basis, either weekly or monthly. Enthusiasts may also wish to check out the many periodic fairs and vide-greniers (basically, "emptying the attics") that take place on a less frequent basis in communities across France.

There are hidden treasures, bric-à-brac or knick-knacks to be found at these markets. You must be in the mood to shift through piles of clothes, boxes of books or racks and racks of items, to find that one hidden gem that you can not live without.

At the marchés aux puces in Mirepoix, we stumbled across a vender selling box after box of books. Mini-Lili loves her books, especially Les Schtroumpfs, (the Smurfs), Asterix and Obelix, Boule & Bill, and Tintin. So we started our search... book after book, box after box until we struck gold! 3 Les Schtroumpfs!! Which one to buy? We had given Mini-Lili 10 Euros to spend at this market. Each book was 7 Euros each. She looked at each one, read a few pages from each one and then decided.

That evening at dinner Mini-Lili read her purchase. As you can see from the picture above (wearing sunglasses that were also purchased at the market by her papa), she was very pleased with her purchase and very involved with the story all throughout dinner.

I recommend visiting at least one marchés aux puces while travelling in France. Marché aux Puces de Paris-Saint-Ouen de Clignacourt is the world’s largest flea market, located on the outskirts of Paris. It features almost 3,000 stalls that sell everything from antiques to cheap clothing. My favourite is in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Often called the antiques capital of France and sometimes the Venice of France, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue has the largest marchés aux puces outside of Paris, and many antique and bric-a-brac dealers set up shop all year round.
Happy treasure hunting!

Enjoying the #street performers in #Avignon

One of the greatest experiences you can have while traveling is to throw out your itinerary and stop to enjoy the little moments.

While we were in Avignon and on our way to visit the The Palais des Papes, we heard some jazz coming from around the street corner. Mini-Lili loves music and she loves to dance so we went off to see where the music was coming from. A group of musicians was playing The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Mini-Lili was enthralled with both the musicians and the music.

We stayed for several songs resulting in getting to The Palais de Papes after closing. Although I was disappointed not to be visiting one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe, I was happy to have shared the experience of street performers with my young daughter.

We have often thrown out our map (not really but have closed it for the day) and followed the small meandering D and N roads (an earlier blog) ending up in cute and charming villages.

It is important to be flexible when traveling- you never know what you will hear coming from around the corner.

Bon voyage!

#Renting a #car in #France

Traveling around France in a rental car can be many experiences- crazy on the autoroutes, frustrating when looking for parking in a city, expensive when it comes to filling up with gas. But the best thing about a rental car is the freedom it gives you to explore France.

We have always rented our cars through Auto Europe. We have never had any problems, even when there was that incident with the picnic table... but that's another blog!

When renting a car, I would suggest getting over jet leg before driving any great distance. Once we picked up our car at the Paris airport then drove for 10 hours to get to southern France. This makes for a long and dangerous drive!

The price of gas or petrol is very expensive in France so if possible rent a car with diesel. Filling up at the supermarket gas stations is cheaper then the big gas stations such as BP, as much as 15 cents a litre cheaper.  And if you can avoid the gas stations at the "aire" along the autoroutes do so because they are really expensive and can have long line ups. But remember most gas stations are closed on Sundays.


Traveling the N and D roads are lovely ways to see the countryside of France but it can be a slow drive when stuck behind a tractor, going through villages where the speed limit drops to 30km and there are several roundabouts to slow you down. The A or autoroutes are fast but expensive. Entrances to them are marked as such with the word "Péage".  The normal procedure is to pick up a ticket from a booth as you enter the autoroute (just press the button); tolls are paid either when you leave the autoroute, or else when the toll section comes to an end. In a few places, there are fixed toll points on the autoroute, notably in urban areas or toll bridges. One has to weight the cost of the toll highway vs time when driving around France.

Parking in the cities and in villages on market days can be a bit of a challenge (and expensive for the pay parking lots). If you are willing to walk a few blocks look for parking on side streets outside of the centre-ville. Parking is well-signed: as soon as you hit the downtown you start to notice “P” signs, and often these are electronic signs that include the number of open spaces. Like any city, do not leave valuables in the car.

One great thing about having a rental car is it can be like your really big suitcase! As you can see from the photo above, our car carries our our luggage plus bottles of wine, hats and of course the stuffie who made this trip with us. We have returned rental cars that look like a croissant and baguette explosion occured! Crumbs everywhere. On one trip, we purchased a cooler to keep out picnic food cool (and of course the bottle of Rosé chilled). We bring old bed sheets to use for picnic blankets and can pull over at a quiet park or beside a river for a picnic and a refreshing swim. If you are on a train or bus this experienced would be missed.

The freedom that you have in a rental car can make for a memorable holiday. We have discovered cute villages, not listed in guide books by just driving on the N roads. We stumbled onto a fête in a small village outside of Arles and spent a few hours there meeting the locals and participating in the activities. A car allows you to explore other options for accommodations as well. We often rent a gîte in rural areas. Which is a future blog entry!

Have fun exploring! Safe travels on your next trip to France!

#Canoeing along the #Dordogne river #France

The Périgord, one of the main battlegrounds of Hundred Years' War between the French and English in the 14th and 15th centuries, is referred to as the ‘Land of 1001 Castles’- medieval and Renaissance castles like Puymartin, Losse, Hautefort and Beynac. Perhaps not as famous as the Loire valley but definitely worth a visit.

The strategic position of the village of Beynac (seen in the picture above) is a point of interest in the Dordogne Valley. From the very start, the village will charm you with its cobbled, steep little lanes and stairways which climb up to the formidable castle, where the view is simply breathtaking. It is not surprising that Beynac gained the prestigious title of “one of the most beautiful villages of France” with its houses clinging majestically to the cliff-face.

After the hike up to the Castle in the mid-day heat, our little family needed to cool off. What better way then to canoe on the Dordogne River. There are a couple of canoe rental companies under the train bridge just down the road from the village. Once we had equipped Mini-Lili with her life jacket, we launched our canoe into the river. It was a relaxing and scenic trip back down to Beynac to view the Castle and village form down below.

After returning the canoe, we joined the many families for an ice-cream and a dip in the river. I stood with my feet in the water looking up to the castle imagining what life was like back when Richard the Lionheart, Duke of Aquitaine, claimed the stronghold of the Castle and entrusted it to his lieutenant Mercadier. Mini-Lili floated in the river enjoying her afternoon on the Dordogne.

The Dordogne Valley is easily accessible by car from Paris, Bordeaux and Toulouse, via the A20 and A89 autoroutes. It is certainly worth the trip!

Happy travels.

#Babies and #baguettes in #France

The perfect baguette... just what constitutes the perfect baguette is a personal choice.

The French baguette is synonymous with French culture all over the world. The "baguette de tradition française" is made from wheat flour, water, yeast, and common salt. French bread is required by law to avoid preservatives, and as a result bread goes stale in under 24 hours, thus baking baguettes is a daily occurrence.

The hunt for the perfect baguette is a pleasant adventure for our family. We love the experience of exploring new boulangeries and tasting a new baguette everyday. Mini-Lili knows within one bite whether the baguette is too dry, too moist or has been sitting in the boulangerie for too long.

We will buy a couple of baguettes from the local boulangerie, in whatever village we are visiting and head out with our purchases from the morning market for a picnic. We make sandwiches with the cheese, fresh tomatoes, roasted chicken and that oh-so-fresh baguette.

When you buy any bread in France you know it wasn't made yesterday and shipped 100kms to sit on a shelf before you buy it. No, here in France the bread, baguettes and pastries were all made within hours of you purchasing them... sometimes even minutes. Mini-Lili has bitten into many baguettes that were still steaming.

Make sure you leave time after all the visits to museums, chateaux, and churches to explore the boulangeries of France.

Bon appétit!

#Uzès one of the loveliest #villages in #Southern #France

Uzès is one of my favourite villages in Southern France.

Uzès has everything you imagine when you think "village in Provence". Amazing Wednesday and Saturday markets, medieval houses, good restaurants, amazing ice-cream (the best lavender ice-cream in France... see earlier blog), cute centre ville, churches, excellent live music at the markets... the list goes on.

Uzès lies at the source of the Eure, from where a Roman aqueduct was built in the first century BC, to supply water to the local city of Nimes, 25KM away. The most famous stretch of the aqueduct is the Pont du Gard, which carried fresh water over splendid arches across the river Gardon.

Uzès has a cathedral boasting a beautiful organ on the inside and an Italianate fenestrelle tower on the outside. There are many small and narrow medieval streets lined with private masions from the XVII and XVIII century, there are Renaissance facades, a medieval garden and the trace of the medieval walls as a circuit of boulevards.

The Place aux Herbes, the main square, has a large fountain (although mainly overgrown), and shaded by plane trees. The square is surrounded by medieval houses with arcades. This is an excellent place to people watch, enjoy an ice-cream in the afternoon or a glass of rosé in the early evening with a delicious meal.

Our family has spent many days and evenings exploring the city. We have enjoyed buying the local produce at the market, as well as soap, linen and delicious baked goods from the stalls. The truffle oil is "heavenly" purchased at the local truffle store Maison de la Truffle. Mini-Lili has danced to jazz bands, saxophonists and classical violinists that are found playing in the corners of streets. We try to eat dinners at one of the restaurants situated at Place aux Herbes. Mini-Lili can run out into the square and play with other children after she eats her dinner. We can continue our leisurely meal and enjoy our wine.

We have discovered horses in the forest below Boulevard Victor Hugo. It was a beautiful nature hike peppered with blackberries to snack on.

I am looking forward to visitingUzès again this summer.This villages is well worth a visit. 

#Traveling with children in #Spain and #France

Hola mi amiga,

Traveling with children is a wonderful thing.  It's a great way to be together while experiencing geography, history, art, architecture, literature, nature and developing a real appreciation for other cultures.

Mini-Lili flew to Europe (from Canada) her first time when she was 5 months old. She will be 7.5 years old this summer when she makes her 5th trip back to France.

Each age provides its own challenges and rewards. With careful planning everyone can have a stress free holiday.
I put together a "fun bag" for the long airplane trips and in the car. The bag changes and evolves as Mini-Lili gets older. For the first trip, when she was 5 months old, the bag contained diapers, blankets, soothers, diaper wipes, rattles, extra clothes. This year the bag will have books (several related to the area we are visiting), favourite stuffies, coloring supplies, diaper wipes (always handy no matter what age your child is), snacks that Mini-Lili is use to, and the ipad with earphones. During longer car rides, she will watch a movie on the ipad or nap, arriving at the destination ready to explore.

At this age, Mini-Lili loves the castles and palaces of Spain and France. They allow her imagination to come to life. Cinderella Castle is modelled after the Alcázar of Segovia and we had hours of fun pretending to be Princesses exploring the castle. We bought her foamy swords and she fought knights throughout many villages. She loves to sneak around the ramparts and pretend she is protecting the ancient city.

Markets are a wonderful place for kids to explore. I give Mini-Lili some money and she will wander from stall to stall sampling honey, cheese, strawberries or smelling the soaps. She often spends her money on a postcard of the area.
After the visit to the market, we will have our picnics at a park with a play structure for Mini-Lili to "blow off some steam" and play with the local children. It's a great time for everyone to relax and enjoy some quiet time before heading off to the next church or museum.

Every town, village and city in France has a merry-go-round, "le  manège . This is a in-expensive form of entertainment. We found a beautiful old one in Fontainebleau dating back to 1900s. Mini-Lili choose the white horse, of course. In Paris, the carousel in the Jardin des Plantes has jungle animals and even includes dinosaurs un dinosaure".

The restaurants in France and Spain are child friendly. I will take some colouring books and crayons with us which will keep Mini-Lili busy until food arrives. On warm summer nights, she will play with other children out in the plaza. One night in Uzès, it was Mini-Lili who didn't want to leave at midnight... her parents were ready for bed but she was playing with all the local kids around the fountain.

When traveling with children it is important to remember to pace yourself- go at their pace, take turns doing the things you want with the things the children want. A visit to a museum can be followed by a visit to the park beside the museum. In France, the national highways have rest areas, Aires, which are located roughly every 20 km and have everything from gas stations to restaurants, picnic grounds and restrooms. Long drives can be broken up with a stop at the aires for some time on the play structure.

Visiting other countries as a family is an amazing opportunity for discovery and growth. I couldn't imagine not traveling with my daughter!
Happy travels!

#Fromage found in #France #markets

The typical market found in small villages in France is an amazing experience! Where else can you find live chickens, local produce, delicious baked goods, flowers, clothing and of course cheese. Ah.... the cheese...


To classify cheese French cheese can be a challenge. You could use the region of origin, the type of milk, or perhaps the fat content. But, course, France has its own system. Known as les huit familles de fromage, or eight families of cheese, this system of classification is based roughly on some key characteristics of the cheese. They need all eight families, because there are a lot of different cheeses in France.

The eight families are:
Fresh Cheeses or fromages frais,
Soft Cheeses with Natural Rind,
Soft Cheeses with Washed Rind
Pressed Cheeses
Pressed and Cooked Cheeses
Goat Cheese
Blue Cheeses
Processed cheeses

To pick a favourite is a very personal choice. And for me it depends on the time of day, what I am drinking and the weather.

At my summer lunch time picnic, I will often pick a chèvre (Goat's milk cheese is fun - it comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and sometimes special little boxes), brie or camembert served on a fresh baguette (also found at the market) accompanied by a glass of the local rosé.

On a cool spring evening, I will serve a blue cheese (the characteristic flavor of blue cheeses tends to be sharp and salty) or a pressed cheese like Cantal or Ossau-Iraty with a local Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet is a richer wine than Merlot and goes wonderfully with stronger cheeses.

With all of these varieties, there is a lot you could learn about French cheese. The most important thing is to pull up a chair or a picnic blanket and start tasting.

Bon Appétit

#Macarons in #France

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kuboki/6435589453/ 

Happy Macaron Day! Jour du Macaron!

Cities world wide are celebrating the macaron.

The history of the macaron is often debated. France lays territorial claims to the macaron that was originally created by monks. Others think the macaron came to France with the arrival of Catherine de'Medici's Italian pastry chefs whom she brought with her in 1533, upon marrying Henry II of France.

In the 1930s, Laduree, a pastry shop, offered the macaron to the fine society madams in their Tea Salon. It was Laduree's grandson Pierre Desfontaine who had the original idea of the double-decker, sticking two macaron shells together with a creamy ganache as filling.

The macaron is notoriously famous for being very complicated to make and is considered an art form. It is made of two round airy meringue-like shells and held together with a sweet filling. It's usually a little bigger than a Toonie in size. Definitely not something you inhale but meant to be savoured and enjoyed.  

This holiday, Jour du Macaron, was created by the Yoda of the modern macaron, Pierre Hermé.

A portion of all the day’s macaron sales generated in association with the promotion will be donated to various charities: Red Door Family Shelter in Toronto, Autism without Borders in Vancouver, City Harvest in NYC, Virlanie Foundation in Manila.

Bon Appétit!

#Lavender #ice-cream in #southern #France

Every summer when I return to France, I start my adventure- to find the perfect scoop of lavender ice-cream.
I enjoy exploring new villages and their offerings and revisiting my favourite villages with their ice-cream selection.
In my search for the perfect scoop, I am looking for ice-cream that has a creamy consistency, not too much lavender but enough to remind you that you are in Provence. My "hunt" for the perfect scoop has taken me all over southern France.
I have found a good gelato in Lourmarin. It was light and delicate with just a suggestion of lavender. So refreshing.
After a really hot day in July, the lavender ice-cream in Cucuron was very satisfying. It was thick and creamy with a subtle hint of lavender.
I have had amazing scoops in Nimes and Arles while walking around the centre ville.
But my favourite lavender ice-cream is found in Uzes at the Fondons Ensemble. I visit this village every summer. My family poses for the "family eating lavender ice-cream" picture everytime!
I am looking forward to revisiting my favourite ice-cream shops and discovering new ones this summer.
Bon appétit!

Charlotte Poire Belle Hélène found in #Paris

 

 

 

Charlotte Poire Belle Hélène

 

This amazing dessert is made from pears poached in sugar syrup and served with vanilla ice-cream. It was created in 1864. The name comes from a operetta La belle Hélène.

France has so many amazing desserts and pastries it is hard to choose just one when you walk into a pâtisserie. This is a dessert not to be missed. The combination of pears and syrup on top of the moist sponge cake make each bite melt in your mouth.
Mini-Lili's first babysitters were sisters- Hélène et Charlotte. Did their mom name them after this amazing dessert!
Bon appétit!

#Sunflowers and #stuffies in #Southern #France

Bonjour mes amis.

My 7 year old daughter, Mini-Lili, has a stuffie called Nez Nez (pronounced neigh neigh, as in the sound a horse makes). Nez Nez has been a part of our family since the day she was born. He has had many hair cuts, several "boo-boos" which has resulted in emergency First Aid (Dora bandages) and has appeard in many, many family pictures. Mini-Lili's great aunt even makes him outfits for all occasions.

Nez Nez is a world traveller- Vancouver, Ottawa, Seattle, San Diego, Mexico, Spain and France several times. I have been told that France is his favourite holiday. He loves the sunflower fields, rubbing his nose in the lavendar fields, taste testing the many baguettes, visiting Parc Asterix, playing in the fountains, visiting markets and suntanning on the beach in the Mediterranean.
We found this field of sunflowers just north of Saussignac while we were en route to Bergerac to visit the Wednesday market. I think Nez Nez looks good with a sunflower halo. I love this photo for the compostion and colours.
Nez Nez is well loved and well taken care of. He is looking forward to his next trip to France.