Category Archives: Travel France

Memories That Make Me Feel Better

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IMG_1313Having spent the last week lying low and fighting off winter germs, I decided I would find some of my favorite photos from last summer to perk me up. And what better than some of the fabulous meal we had a the restaurant of Logis du Guetteur in Les Arcs, especially the foie gras which is now a forbidden delicacy in California.

IMG_1318And this is why I have returned to France so many times. Because lamb chops are my favorite food group.

IMG_1320And does anyone here bring me an extra little sweet at the end of the meal? The folks at Logis du Guetteur do…and they throw in a fabulous view to boot. IMG_1310

Gosh, I feel better already. I think I’ll go heat up my canned chicken soup…and dream of France.

Bring Paris and Provence Home in Miniature

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A must purchase every time I visit France is a few of the J Carlton miniatures of Paris and Provence. On each trip, a few of the charming and very accurately detailed buildings and figures have found their way home in my suitcase.

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The majority were purchased at a favorite shop on Île Saint-Louis but I found a lovely shop near the Opera Garnier as well. You can see me in this picture bending over examining my next purchase with the store clerk. I have to take a list with me to ensure I don’t buy the same ones twice.

Enjoy this video of my entire collection. Now if I could just shrink myself down to about an 1/8th of an inch high, I could visit Paris or Provence as my pleasure. 

A magical photo of Eze leads to a poem

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EzeVillageStarStreetI took this photo during a chilly evening walk in Eze. I couldn’t roust my fellow travelers from the warmth of the restaurant for the trek up the steep hill into the medieval town. So, I found myself alone with the magic and the Christmas star. On my return home, I wrote a poem entitled Dreaming into the New Year.

Winding down,
new memories as yet unborn,
asleep before the celebration arrives.

Drifting through dreams.
Slivers of imagination
fluttering in secret nooks.

Walking through midnight spaces
that hibernate
until eyelids close and my mind dissolves,
then burst into exotic avenues
brimming with intrigue.

Dreams conjured
by a capricious master,
Liquid dreams,
wild with passion.
Desperate flights
on wingless arms.

By act of will,
demons are banished
on this eve.

Dreamless sleep
as old as childhood,
as fresh as the next breath,
welcomed.

Sanctuary found
in unconscious grottoes
shimmering with pools of blessings.

Restored.
Energy harvested like golden sheaves
to feed a year of tomorrows.

Treasures of Antibes

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PicassoWavesViewI have traveled to Antibes in the dead of winter, cocooned in a scarf, turned-up collar, and mittens and watched the waves pounding the sea wall from a window in the Picasso Museum.

I have luxuriated on Antibes’ beaches at the height of the summer season and not even minded the jellyfish sting or two. The lifeguards are well-prepared with a special balm for tourists who do not heed the warnings.

AntibesNarrowStreetArchI  will never tire of walking its narrow streets and lingering for an hour or two in the Picasso Museum. And this jewel on the Mediterranean was always within easy travel reach whether my home away from home was in a camping site near Cannes (2006) or a medieval Logis in Les Arcs (2004), or a luxury hotel in Eze (2005).

Moules et pétanque et la plage et le bébé en Cassis

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IMG_1295We have been to Cassis several times. But this was the littlest muffin’s first look at the pristine beach. IMG_1269Because we weren’t sure about an eleven-month-old on the high seas, we bypassed our favorite activity this time: a boat trip to view The Calanques.

IMG_1288But she did have here first taste of moules with lobster sauce at one of the waterfront restaurants located along the Quai Jean Jacques Barthelemy.

And her first gander at old men playing pétanque.IMG_1300

A gloomy day in Paris is better than a sunny day anywhere else in the world

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ParisEiffelTower

A December day, Nearly Christmas. I was traveling with a friend and her seniors group. The weather casters on the news said it was the coldest December in forty years. Two inches of snow had fallen in Marseille! We had done the Riviera wrapped in layers and with newly purchased hats and scarfs and gloves. The night before we had almost frozen our toes off walking in open toed heels back from the Metro to our hotel near La Defense after seeing the ballet at the Opera Garnier. In the morning, everyone else was still snuggled in bed, but I hadn’t had my Tour Eiffel fix. So I walked there by myself. I was surprised to find no one in the ticket line. Even more surprised to find no wait at the elevators and only a patron or two on the ride up. As I slowly circled the top, identifying each Paris landmark below, I suddenly discovered why I was almost alone. The iconic landmark shuddered under my feet and began to perceptibly sway in the winter gale. I reminded myself of all the years it had stood strong while chicken-heartedly beating a path back to the elevators. Sometimes the only thing you really need to bring back from France is a memory.

L’Ambroisie in Quimper

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our table ambroisieRemember the scene from “When Harry Met Sally” in the restaurant? Of course you do. Well, a slightly less R-rated version occurred when a good friend and I first dined at the highly recommended L’Ambroisie in Quimper.

It occurred at the very table pictured in this photo. We ordered the foie gras and with our first simultaneous bites, we both let out an audible, involuntary groan of complete delight. The ultimate braised foie gras, the deep sweetness of the fresh fig compote, the crunch of perfectly crisped triangles of toast, and the chunky granules sal de mer combined to produce the most scrumptious bite we’d ever tasted. That our hosts insisted we must have the Normandy pear cider with a splash of cassis to accompany this dish, without charge, only added to the experience. I think there was quail and a tarte tatin to follow but we will never forget that first bite.

Mommy and the Muffins in La Selle Sur Le Bied

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IMG_0061Mommy and the Muffins first destination last summer was La Selle Sur Le Bied, a beautiful rural community 110 km southeast of Paris, where they had a 10 day visit with very dear forever French friends Christian and Chantal, who have chosen this lovely community for their retirement.

The Muffins learned that basil comes from a garden, not from the grocery store and that it becomes part of very tasty dishes.IMG_0052

That there is nothing quite so interesting or charming as a stroll down a French country road.IMG_0068

That the portable travel high chair that Mommy brought along and which straps securely to any chair works just great to eat those delicious meals.IMG_0046

IMG_0065That there is a poule around every corner.

That Christian knows exactly just how to put on your shoes.IMG_0055

IMG_0090And that relaxing with Chantal creates the perfect ending to another  beautiful day in the French countryside.

Provence and Quimper on a Table

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P1020647My collection of Quimper china comes from the Quimper factory, from Paris flea markets, from eBay, and even matching petite dejeuner platters from my ancestral home in Maine, a gift from my beloved Aunt Midge. I loved seeing the artists at work in the Quimper factory. Amazing how each of their marvelous patterns is created with only single brush strokes.

Adding just the right ambiance to my table setting is the delightful musical petite poupée I bought at my favorite boutique on Île Saint–Louis.

And speaking of La Vie en Rose, here is my daughter’s recording of the Edith Piaf classic which was played to her guests’ delight for the last dance at her wedding (click below to play).

Traveling in Corsica with my daughter

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Arriving Corsica Ile RousseHere we are, coming in by ferry from Nice to L’Île-Rousse. One of the perks of traveling with my grown daughter, besides the fact that she is very outgoing and fluent in French, is that we are in complete sync as traveling companions. No squabbling over when to get up or when to go to bed. And with her encouragement, I see many sights that would have passed me by had my “old bones” been making the decisions. Her theory: if we’re here we should see everything! So, armed with our favorite travel book, a DK Eyewitness Travel Guide we set out to see every nook and cranny possible during our scheduled days in Corsica.

Top on the agenda was to see many of the places that serve as locations in my novel MOTHER TONGUE which included Bonifacio, the Citadelle at Corte, the Restonica Valley, and L’Île-Rousse. Even made a few stops to capture roadside graffiti scrawled by FLNC sympathizers.Dinner on the beachMaggie dinner on beachBut one of my favorite memories was dinner on the beach at L‘Île–Rousse, the western port where we had arrived by ferry earlier in the day.