Jun 19
Bastide #5 was Cordes-Sur-Ciel. As with the other towns we visited, tourism is the main industry. The city was much more touristy than the other bastides. However, our accommodations here were probably the best of those outside Paris. We stayed at a delightful bed and breakfast called Le Secret du Chat. Alain and Marie are …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/06/19/to-the-bastides-parte-deux/
Jun 17
We visited several hilltop villages in southern France called bastides. The peasants could retreat behind their walls when under attack during the Hundred Years’ War. The walls have crumbled, but the towns have survived. Accessing these towns is not easy for modern tourists, even though nobody’s pouring boiling oil on you from the ramparts. The …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/06/17/to-the-bastides/
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/06/17/man-at-work/
Jun 15
The trains in Europe are great. However, they don’t serve some of the smallest towns in France. To visit those, you’ll need to rent a car. We’ve rented cars to travel around Europe twice, and here is our collective wisdom: Rent the smallest model that will fit you, your traveling companions, and your luggage. If …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/06/15/words-from-the-wiseacres/
Jun 04
Corn is not a major ingredient in French cuisine except in the Basque country. So how come we saw corn fields in the Dordogne Valley? Two words: Foie gras. Corn is a key component of overfeeding ducks and geese to produce the fatty liver that’s such a delicacy in the region. Julian had some duck …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/06/04/cornfields-in-france/
Jun 04
It’s a good thing we came here during the age of the digital camera. Julian would have gone broke with all the pictures he’s taken on this trip if he still used film. Photoshop has also saved him from over- or underexposed shots. He’ll be spending many hours after we get home tweaking his photos …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/06/04/pictorial-observations/
May 31
Today was our last day in Paris. Unfortunately, it rained. We wandered around the Jardin de Luxembourg and the neighborhood where we rented an apartment four years ago. In the afternoon we attended a short organ concert at St. Eustache church, which boasts the largest pipe organ in Europe. We had dinner at Alsace aux …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/31/off-to-the-hinterlands/
May 31
Friends, we have been to the Promised Land. It’s the Galeries Lafayette Gourmet Shop, which has FOUR FLOORS of food, beverages, and cooking tools. The Harrods Food Halls in London and the KDV Food Halls in Berlin are pale pretenders. Even our beloved Pike Place Market in Seattle doesn’t have the density or breadth of …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/31/foodie-heaven-on-earth/
May 30
Four years ago we were walking around Rue Francois Miron and happened upon an organ concert in St. Gervais Church. While we were listening to the concert, I noticed that some of the stained-glass windows looked way too modern for such an old church. A trip to Google revealed the answer: The church was bombed …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/30/a-touchstone-for-me-at-least-in-paris/
May 30
The letter R in French poses a problem for English-speaking learners. It sounds more like a gargle than the rolled R of Spanish. So we saw this delivery truck bringing supplies to the café downstairs, and I immediately thought of our French class. The name on the truck is François Frites Fraîches. French fries (frites …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/30/a-french-alliteration/
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