since today is halloween, here’s my macabre “treat” – the dying words of a famous french grammarian:

“I am about to — or I am going to — die:
either expression is correct.”

-Dominique Bouhours, died 1702.

vence, the medieval hilltop village and former roman market town in the south of france is a great day trip escape from the nearby coastal towns of nice, cagnes-sur-mer and antibes. in addition to some of the most breathtaking views of the mountains, the most visited place in vence is probably the rosary chapel (chapelle du rosaire) made famous by the artist, henri matisse who oversaw the interior and exterior design of it from top to bottom, including the floors, windows, chairs and even the vestments of the priests.

vence is a perfect place for hikers and if you’re there in the summer, you’ll find delicious fruit growing all over the mountains. when we lived in vence, we hiked quite a bit and would bring back baskets of cherries, figs, grapes, apricots, apples and peaches. there are also fragrant bay leaf trees, rosemary and lavender growing wildly everywhere! pick up hiking maps at the tourism office. walking tours are also available.

the old village is worth a visit and i highly recommend the creperie there called, CREPERIE BRETONNE HERVE, 6 PLACE SURIAN, 06140 VENCE, Tel: 04 93 24 08 20 it’s where i took this photo of crepes.

another cool thing about vence is that there are fountains all over the village with spring water coming from the mountains. you will see these all over the place and even queus of people waiting to fill up their bottles. my little vence tip would be to find the highest fountain to find the purest water (it’s on rue de la fontaine veille). (i’ve seen people bathing in some of the fountains! washing their feet, armpits, ETC…)

some vence trivia: writer, DH Lawrence died on March 2, 1930 in vence. first he was buried there, but later his body was exhumed, cremated, and shipped to new mexico, where his ashes now presumably are interred at his former ranch, now part of the university of new mexico campus.

WDB#7 hosted by Sweetnicks!

french filmmaker, jean pierre jeunet, probably best known recently for “amelie,” (my personal favorite from him is the city of lost children) has accepted a new project. he will be directing a film, which is based on the best-selling novel, life of pi by yann martel.

life of pi is a story about precocious 16-year old pi patel, whose family is moving from india to canada in a freighter carrying his zookeeper father’s animals. the freighter sinks and left bobbing on a 26-foot lifeboat in the middle of the ocean are: pi patel, an orangatuan, a hyena, a zebra and a bengal tiger named richard parker. it is a tale of hope and survival.

originally set to direct life of pi was m night shyamalan (director of the 6th sense and the excellent breakable) but withdrew due to conflicting schedules. m night shyamalan is currently shooting lady in the water.

life of pi is scheduled to be released in 2006.

[via smh]

on november 7, 2005, at the palais de congres in paris, there will be a concert to help new orleans musicians affected by the recent hurricane katrina.

the concert is organized by the newly created, not-for-profit organization, “L�association SOS Musiciens de la Nouvelle-Orléans” founded by francis cabrel. with the help of zachary richard, and with the cooperation of the Community Foundation of Acadiana” based in Lafayette, Louisiana, the evening will include 2 and a half hours of music by performing musicians: francis cabrel, zachary richard, véronique sanson, garou, alain souchon, laurent voulzy, gérald de palmas, sanseverino and paris combo.

proceeds from the concert will be donated to the musicians in new orleans needing aid.

buy tickets online now (website of the palais de congres, paris)

more information about the concert (in french – a PDF document file to download)

our friend, emmanuel, who is a game developer and who is based near montpellier, france, has just released a new game called, “fairies.” it is sure to be a big success in the world of casual gaming, much like his last hit called, “atlantis,” which was insanely popular a few months back.

fairies is a beautiful, whimsical-themed game where you slide rows of fairies trapped inside jars. match 3 or more same colored fairy jars together to free them from their jailed state.

there are pretty images of fairies imbedded in the game. after solving a level, the player removes a partial fragment of a covered image. once all fragments are removed, the entire image is revealed. when the player reveals these images, he can then view them in a “photo album of fairies” included in the game.

the soundtrack sort of reminds me of the music from cirque du soleil, and seems to fit nicely with the theme: phantasmagorical fairies and elfin lore. (if you don’t like the music, though, you can still play the game and turn off the music. good for people playing at work )

below i’ve included links so you can download the demos of fairies and play it. i think it’s fun. at first i thought it was a bit too easy, but once you advance into higher levels, it progressively becomes harder and harder. it’s good to play when you need a short break from things and decompress.

Download Fairies (Mac)

Download Fairies (PC)

right about now i’d be posting photos of our fabulously carved jack o lanterns – but i don’t have any because i can’t find ONE FREAKIN’ PUMPKIN anywhere near my house! geez. i can’t even find a *&^%$%%^ “potimarron,” a french pumpkin wannabe. if i’d known there’d be so many pumpkins at disneyland paris, i would have made a trek up there to STEAL ONE.

i will have to grow my own pumpkins next year. (of course i have no idea how to do that and what exactly is involved. no matter.)

halloween is starting to become much more mainstream in france though i don’t know if it would go as far as actual “trick or treating.” I WISH! i love giving out candy on halloween!!

there is no shortage of the halloween spirit at disneyland paris, as you’ll see at the photo gallery on Das Freizeitpark Forum, a german site.

happy halloween. carve a pumpkin for me!

tags: france disneyland paris potimarron halloween pumpkins

the largest wind farm in france was just inaugurated in Haute Loire. with 26 turbines it is enough energy for 80,000 people. the french government plans to increase wind powered energy in france by 20 times by the year 2010.

while many are opposed to these giants structures (400 feet high (40 stories)) claiming they’re eye sores and are killing birds, i openly welcome them because something drastic must be done to combat global warming. wind farms are sources of CLEAN energy. and there is more of a risk to birds colliding into buildings than getting hit by wind turbines.

it is probably best explained in this article by one of my heros of environmental activistism,

“We see beauty through filters shaped by our values and beliefs. Some people think wind turbines are ugly. I think smokestacks, smog, acid rain, coal-fired power plants and climate change are ugly. I think windmills are beautiful. They harness the power of the wind to supply us with heat and light. They provide local jobs. They help clean our air and reduce climate change. ~David Suzuki

besides, the wind farms are far more attractive than the 58 nuclear power plants in france.

Sources:
The Beauty of Wind Farms by David Suzuki
borolex opens up the biggest wind farm in france press release from borolex
Boralex inaugure le plus grand parc d’éoliennes de France (in french)

tags: france environment peak oil global warming wind farm

the official route for next year’s Lance-less Tour de France has been posted.

the complete route will cover the usual 20 stages in 3,639 kilometers (nearly 2261 miles).

the tour will pass by a place that is not too far from us, so i might have to go take a look!

Distinctive aspects of the race

* 3 mountain finishes
* 2 rest days
* 116 kilometres of individual time-trials (including the prologue)
* 22 Category 1, Category 2 and highest level passes will be climbed
* 8 new stop-over towns: Obernai, Saint-Grégoire, Cambo-Les-Bains, Val d’Aran – Pla-de-Beret, Montélimar, La Toussuire, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Antony.

for more detailed information about the tour de france 2006, please visit the official site located here: letour

tags: tour de france 2006 cycling france

well-known for his humanitarian efforts by founding Emmaüs, france’s 93-year old abbot pierre has written a new book called, “Mon Dieu …pourquoi?” (My God…Why?)

in it, he talks about many things including his sexual relationships. he strongly advocates the marriage of catholic priests and admits to knowing priests that live with women. he hopes to reopen the debate of celibacy and sexuality within the catholic church.

i don’t think people feel this is scandalous (perhaps more in the u.s.?) in nature but are rather relieved by the obviousness of priesthood. it seems to be a breath of fresh air to hear a priest admit something that many priests have denied (and lied about) in the past.

personally, i’ve suspected that pope john paul II had a child, who then became one of his guards at the vatican. if you look at some archives, you will find a guard that looks EXACTLY like him!! unfortunately, this guard is now dead after having been mysteriously murdered in 1998. the case was “solved” even though there were no witnesses and the “murderer” was found dead as well.

but i digress.

back to abbe pierre’s book! he also writes about homosexual couples and parenting, and the ordaining of female priests.

[via tf1] (in french)

Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow, authors of best-seller and very interesting Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong from 2003 have released a version in french that is updated and tailored for france.

i think it will be an entertaining read for the french crowd to hear detailed observations about the french – from the point of view of a couple of canadians. i might have to check it out myself and compare the versions.

Available at franceloisirs: Pas Si Fous, Ces Francais!

tags: france cultural differences books

i guess if you hire the town tagger to design your store’s exterior, in this case, a hair salon, you probably won’t get random graffiti on your building.

i’m seeing more and more of this graffiti store front “trend” in france and will be posting other photos in the future.

they are always so striking especially in a medieval village because it’s sort of unexpected. you know, you’re walking down a cobblestone winding road, you notice a 14th century cathedral, you see a butcher’s shop that has been owned by many, many generations, you pass by a fountain from which horses drank hundreds of years ago….

then BAM! GRAFFITI ART!

it catapults you suddenly to TODAY.

by the way, if you’re looking for a manga style hair cut, you know where to go.

tags: france graffiti art

there’s an article via reuters news expressing that eating poultry or eggs poses NO RISK of bird flu to consumers. in the same article, the European Commission’s spokesman, Philip Tod is quoted as saying, “…We don’t think there’s a risk of avian flu from the consumption of eggs whether raw or cooked…”

clearly, there is skepticism amongst the french consumers made apparent by the significant decline in sales of poultry in markets and restaurants. many restauranteurs have been forced to remove chicken from their menus.

french confidence in the government (via the media) is sketchy at best due to the fact that THEY LIED IN THE PAST. it is no secret that important information has been SUPPRESSED over history. example: when the chernobyl fallout occurred, france seemed to be the only country in all of western europe to have not reported the radiation dangers to the general public. no precautions were even given. as a result, there is a group of people in corsica, now in their twenties, with cancer. they are in the process of suing the government. additionally, other people from different regions of france are following suit.

as of today, there is a mandate to keep chickens indoors until december in many regions in france particularly in bretagne.

to note: the virus that turned into a deadly pandemic back in 1918, the very bird flu virus scientists believe could replay today, took the lives of 50 million people.

a first glance at the village of la machine (burgundy) would leave you thinking that you have better places to be, but scratch a bit beneath the surface and oh, what you will find.

though largely an unremarkable place, la machine was quite a surprise when i found myself in the village’s primary attraction: the mine museum. no, i’m not at all interested in mines, coal, lime, nor their industry or process but what i found interesting there was its history. in 1916, the french government negotiated a labor deal with the chinese government to import low-wage chinese workers to france.

the first wave of chinese workers from shanghai arrived in marseille in 1917 and dispersed throughout france, mainly to the north to clean up the bloody battlefields (WWI), and to the suburbs of paris to work in the automobile industry factories (renault and citroen).

among the group of slaves immigrants, 372 chinese workers ended up in the mines at la machine being hired by the schneider company (the schneiders were sort of a dynasty for the then huge town of le creusot and owned mines throughout the region). though the original contract was to last for only 5 years, the group stayed from 1917 to 1935, 18 years! they were paid approximately 5 francs to work 10 hour days. i believe these were “ancient francs” in which case would amount to about 1 cent of a euro (less than 1 u.s. cent) a day. most of the workers sent money back to china but when the families received the letters, only a fraction of the original amount was included. information about the immigrants’ living conditions was clearly absent. additionally missing was the information about what the non-chinese mine workers were earning compared to their immigrant counterparts.

when the term finished, most of the chinese returned to china with the exception of about 20 people. some of the chinese moved to le creusot, 2 of them joined the resistance, some went to paris and a few remained in la machine. according to historians, there are no more chinese people left in la machine, as the last chinese immigrant died in 1981 at the age of 86 years old. however, a group of people that stayed for nearly 20 years had to have had an effect on the immediate population landscape, and i wish they’d continued their study past 1981. the face of chinese diaspora surely began to change in appearance in the la machine area but they aren’t considering the consequent chinese-french biracial generations. there have been some occasions, though rare, where i’ve seen people in this region that look like they might be of chinese origin (definitely of asian origin) and wonder if they had family members working in la machine.

the mine museum, 1, avenue de la Republique, 58260 la machine, france – tel: 03 86 50 91 08 (1 hour guided tours of one of the mines is available for 5 euros. claustrophobics need not apply.)

tags: france mines chinese diaspora

recently, i received an email from an american couple that just returned from a trip to france, something they love and have been doing over many years. there’s a snippet in the email that made me laugh:

“…my husband had a run-in with some andouillette….how awful was that!!”

i have to agree with the awfulness of andouillettes, andouille and anything of that same sort. it’s NASTY! now, there’s not a lot of food i dislike, just a few on my list and this one is near the top. i usually say that maybe it was the way it was prepared and only an isolated case, hoping that i’ll find a version that i like.

but.

with andouilles, you’ve gotta really CHANGE THE FLAVOR OF INTESTINES AND STOMACH OF A PIG to make me change my opinion. there’s no amount of HEAVY seasoning or luscious sauce that can mask the original ingredients’ flavor. i gag thinking about it

now, snails seem so mild in comparison.

another list topper for me is a filipino dish called “pinapaitan,” which is goat in a goat BILE SAUCE!!!

what ’s on your list?

[thanks, lorna!]

tags: france gross food

“Saying that Nevers is a tiny town is an error of both the heart and the mind.” –Marguerite Duras (writer/actor/director)

perhaps most well-known to be the setting in marguerite duras’ novel and screenplay of the 1959 film, hiroshima mon amour, nevers deserves much more recognition as it offers a visitor more sights and activities than one would expect.

nevers has something to offer a wide-range of travelers: biking or strollling along the path at the loire river, or walking and relaxing in its neatly tended parks. you might come across a sequoia redwood tree from california along the Promenade des Remparts, or find cute sculptures of wild boars at the Parc Roger Salengro. exploring the many museums, churches and the impressive, well-preserved medieval edifices and original gateways and town walls will also be of interest to budding historians.

also known for its artisan community, nevers is home to fine porcelain and pottery artists; their workshops are scattered all over the city. however, if porcelain is not your cup of tea, then you’re sure to find something in the old town where the winding cobblestone streets are lined with brasseries, bakeries, cafes and specialty shops from A to Z. for a city with a population of only 55,000 inhabitants, this capital of Ni�vre is far more alive than many cities in france twice her size.

other points of interest are: the ducal palace dated to the 15th century, now a courthouse; the 11th century romanesque Church of St. Etienne; and the 13th-16th century Saint Cyr Sainte Juliette Cathedral with its kooky mix of gothic and roman architecture.

another big attraction to nevers is for those making a pilgrimage to the convent of St-Gildard, where Bernadette of Lourdes (Bernadette Soubirous) spent her last years. bernadette of lourdes was famous for her “encounters” at age 14 in lourdes with the virgin mary, who gave her messages to share with the world including where to find the healing spring. mass pilgrimages head to lourdes each year in search of its spring’s healing properties.

nevers was the final resting place for sainte bernadette, and the 126 year old embalmed body is displayed in a glass-encased shrine in the convent chapel, which is available for public viewing.

out of morbid curiosity, i went to the chapel where sainte bernadette’s body is showcased, and it is a bit creepy to see a preserved 126 year old body in a glass coffin. you can tell that her hands and face were covered with wax. however, most visitors see her to find spiritual inspiration and reinforce their religious convictions.

———————————————————————–
*Lulu lundi (lulu monday) is a weekly feature dedicated to my favorite boston terrier, lulu in france.

one of my frustrations here is that it’s difficult to find shirts with french on them. i’ve been looking for sweat shirts, t-shirts etc. for christmas stocking stuffers for my nieces and nephews. other than the large city names on t-shirts, there are slim pickings.

you’d think there’s an enormous missing opportunity here since france is the MOST VISITED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.

clothing shops! think of all the shirts you’d sell to tourists! yes, there are other souvenirs to get from france but t’s with french written on them – are the most requested item from kids (at least from my fam). not mini eiffel towers, not croissant magnets, not arc de triomphe keychains – but french shirts!

there’s no shortage of “ENGLISH” written on shirts here but oftentimes they are like the one in the photo.

it’s amazing that this is the first dog bakery in france considering THE GOBS OF DOGS in france!

the new parisian dog bakery, “mon bon chien,” (my good dog) was just launched over the summer by an american expat from seattle.

doggie delicacies in this bakery include cookies of all sorts, without sugar or salt and customers can order birthday cakes in advance for their canine companions. i don’t know what other ingredients are used in the baked goods but i hope she uses flours that are compatible for dogs’ digestive systems.

i’d been wondering if dog bakeries would take off in france as they did in the u.s. (the first dog bakery launched in 1989 in the u.s.) so i do hope mon bon chien does well.
i imagine that the expat community in paris would pay regular visits to this dog bakery, and i’ll probably try to check it out next time i’m in paris.

Mon Bon Chien
12, rue Mademoiselle
75015 Paris
Métro Commerce
01.48.28.40.12
monbonchien@yahoo.com

3 brands that one would think typically american, are in fact, french owned! i thought that was a fun bit of irony there. the largest donut chain in the world, dunkin’ donuts, the largest ice-cream chain in the world, baskin-robbins, 2 of the most recognized and frequented brands in america, as well as the popular sandwich chain, togos – are owned by french parent company, pernod ricard.

ok, so they haven’t owned these companies very long, having just this year acquired allied domecq plc, the previous owners, who, btw, are british – and they won’t be owning them for long since all 3 chains are for sale.

a law was passed in france to put a positive SPIN in textbooks related to its painful colonial past, making it mandatory to enshrine in textbooks the country’s “positive role” in its colonies.

do i hear revisionism? since when is colonialism POSITIVE?

[via France Orders Positive Spin on Colonialism]

when we visited Montlu�on in the department of Allier, central france, people we met suggested we also check out charroux, “the most beautiful village in france.” thinking that that was quite a claim, we had to see for ourselves.

to us, after seeing many perched villages in the south, charroux, in comparison, was definitely a beautiful medieval village and in the category of “one of the most beautiful villages of france.”

with a population of 320, charroux’s size is extremely manageable and you can plan to see the whole place in a couple of hours. it is a well-preserved, protected historical village filled with fine artists and artisans specializing in ceramics, glass, embroidery, wood sculpting – and mustards, oils and hand-made soap.

the soap atelier is housed in what used to be part of a tower from a medieval prison. the artisan soap makers told us they only spend 6 months in charroux working in their atelier and spend the rest of the 6 months vacationing!! their “parole time” well spent after 6 months of hard labor sweating it out in “jail.” NICE.

other activities include a museum, an antique clockmaker at la maison des horloges.

just 10 minutes from charroux are the Gorges de la Sioule, where you can catch an aerial view of charroux from your hang-gliding kite! (also recommended for more experienced hang gliders is to glide from nearby puy de dome not far from clermont-ferrand) but there are many activities available in the area: horse-back riding, canoeing, swimming, mountain-biking, hiking, and rock climbing.

the best time to visit charroux is from march to the end of september because many of the shops are closed during the colder months.

WDB#6 – Weekend Dog Blogging hosted by Sweetnicks

tags: france charroux

the bird flu has been a subject on the news every day for the last couple of weeks or so and it was an inevitable entry for a post. not much is actually revealed on the news except for that the bird flu is now in europe (in greece, last i heard moving southwest) and could be a GLOBAL THREAT. though no precautions are suggested.

a poll published in USA Today talks about the worry level of americans and europeans as it relates to the bird flu and their knowledge of it. i suppose your worry level depends on which news channel you watch.

most people don’t seemed to know much about it, INCLUDING THE MEDIA. on the news in france, it was reported that poultry sales (including eggs) have declined by between 10% and 20% – a clear indication that people are wary of the bird flu and are self-prescribing their own precautions. one night the news reported that decline in sales but the next day ADDED that chickens are piling up in warehouses – and that there is NO risk of flu contamination if poultry is well cooked then consumed. i’m wondering if they really know that to be true.

for the last week or more, i’ve noticed in the couple of markets near my house that the poultry isle is practically deserted and looks barely touched with nearly full-stocked refrigerated shelves.

possible scenario from an american conspiracy theorist living in france: next week’s special! on sale! PORK SAUSAGES!!! of course these purported porky sausages taste suspiciously like…..CHICKEN!

i wonder if there will be a significant reduction of turkey sales for christmas this year in france?

we’ve eaten poultry lately – so if there’s a sudden gap in posting here, you know what happened to me – perhaps we should switch to the “other white meat.”

our polish friends have reported that in poland, they’re saying the bird flu is already in france, while in france, they are saying it’s only reached greece (from turkey and romania).

what to believe, what to believe?

there just seems to be a GAPING VOID of missing information between “the bird flu is here” and “it could mutate into epic pandemic proportions.”

lawmakers in france declared foie gras “part of the cultural and gastronomic patrimony, protected in France” and by unanimous vote drafted a law, which is to become a bill to be part of their overall agricultural policy. the draft now goes to the senate.

though uncontested in the lower house, many animal activist groups and governments oppose the practice of force feeding that is necessary to obtain the buttery consistency of fois gras, claiming it is cruel.

the state of california will ban the force-feeding of ducks and geese, as well as ban the sales of products resulting in such practices.

[via the LA Times and the independent]

Note: According to an article from Agence France Presse, “In France, producers of foie gras were on high alert over the approach of avian flu, but expressed confidence that any damage to the lucrative Christmas and New Year market would be limited.”

tags: france foie gras

we took a walk through a park last saturday and ran into this carousel ride.

“why are those kids reaching for that mop?”

“THAT’S NOT A MOP! THAT’S A POMPOM!!!!”

i learned that there’s an adorable tradition in the world of merry-go-rounds in france where a pompom is jolted around above the kids’ heads for them to try to grab during the ride. the child that gets the pompom wins another ride on the carousel. it is so cute!

the kids know they have to stay seated for their safety and there are signs round that emphasize that plus their parents are there to remind them.

i can’t imagine an american equivalent because it would be considered too dangerous. in the u.s., would it be a lawsuit waiting to happen?

tags: france

lulu thought she’d be able to pick up that “stick.” anyway, have a good monday. today’s also a little late entry for WDB#5 (Weekend Dog Blogging) hosted by Sweetnicks

remember the bush google bomb a while back? if you typed, “miserable failure” in a google search, george w. bush would be the first result? a similar google bomb appeared for the possible 2007 french presidential candidate, nicolas sarkozy.

last week, his party, the UMP, bought commercial databases to obtain email addresses in order to further step up the volume on their campaigning – innocent recipients were emailed by the UMP with spam. that wasn’t highly appreciated so the french ‘net community began working on the google bomb.

now, when you type “nicolas sarkozy” in a google search, you will get “IZNOGOUD,” (pronounced, HE’S NO GOOD with a french accent (sans H)) which is a comic strip, made by the same creators of asterix, about a second-in-command officer in bagdad whose sole purpose in life is to eliminate/destroy the first-in-command caliph.

last i checked, the iznogoud result was in 2nd position but my guess is that it’ll become first in a short period of time.

[via: 01net (in french)]