We found another bakery about 12 miles from our house that sells these DONUTS. I wouldn’t really call them “beignets” though that’s what the bakery called them. These were like real, donuts filled with yummy donutty goodness; These sort of remind me of the ones in the U.S., but they are actually better in France. They are sooo goooooood. Why better in France? I think it’s because they are less sugary sweet. (so you can distinguish flavors better, and also because it’s not too sweet, you can eat more than one. Easily. And that is a good thing.)

Each time we returned to this bakery for donuts, the donuts were all sold out. BUT! You can order them in advance and have a guarantee that you’ll get some donuts. (Note: You can do this for nearly any item in any bakery.)

Ordering in advance at this particular place, imposes a minimum purchase of 10 and they have to be the same flavor, so we ordered 10. Normally the chocolate tops have chocolate filling, but they kindly obliged our request for chocolate tops with crème patissière (vanilla cream filling). 10 donuts for two people is a bit much (though do-able) so we shared them with our neighbors. Donuts really need to be eaten the same day they are made. Ok, I ate two, my SO ate four. (He’s the type of guy that can eat four huge donuts every day and not get fat. I know, that’s not fair.)

The only way to get a variety of donuts (All the flavors: Apple, Raspberry, Chocolate, Vanilla) is to order a minimum of 40 donuts. So, our next special order was 40 donuts.

Gruik! (Oink!)

Related: French Pastries 101

This parking game, “Parking Perfection” from Peugeot is slightly easier than the other parking game I’d written about not long ago. Each level has different challenges and as you progress, you’ll have obstacles like dogs to park around. Don’t hit them! And try to avoid bumping the cars around you. Be sure to read your mission for every level. Sometimes you’ll be required to park front first; other times you’ll have to back up into a space. Use the cursor (arrow) keys to steer and the spacebar to stop. You have a minute to park in your spot.

Strangely, the French car maker, Peugeot, has offered this game from their UK site and not from their French website.

Park your Peugeot Now!

My neighbor has a gorgeous potager (kitchen garden) and brought over lots of vegetables including these beautiiful Tomates Coeur de Boeuf / Beef Heart Tomatoes. They are about the size of large oranges. I love how they look like hearts and are so different in shape (ridges and a tapering bottom) from your run-o-the-mill tomatoes everywhere. There might be many varieties of these Beef Hearts but they don’t look anything like the so-called Beef Hearts I’ve seen in French markets, even at the farmer’s markets. The market varieties never usually look like cow hearts (or at least what I imagine actual cow hearts to look like) because they have flat bottoms. These from my neighbor do seem to merit their name. I am guessing that the market varieties are genetically modified or just a different kind of Coeur de Boeuf that have flat bottoms, which pack and transport easier. (They don’t roll around so much and get damaged with that flat bottom.) In any case, it is once again amazing to see all of the different kinds of vegetables and fruits around here, that I’ve never seen before. Btw, these are so amazing in flavor, it is best to eat them raw in salads or as thick slices inside a simple yummy tomato sandwich. (I made tomato sammiches with avocado, bleu auvergne cheese and lightly toasted walnut bread.)

It may be cold, rainy and icky outside in August of all months (I thought it was supposed to be summer?!), but that didn’t stop us from having a summery lunch next to the warmth of the fire inside!

Say it ain’t so, Johnny! Apparently, 63 year-old French King of Plastic Surgery Rock ‘n’ Roll, Johnny Halliday has joined the political party the UMP and will be endorsing Nicolas Sarkozy.

That is bad news (at least to me) because so many millions of French people LOVE Johnny and will likely listen to him while he jumps on the Sarkowagon. Why do people love Johnny so much??! This is one of the mysteries of France I will never understand.

Tags: france, french, rockers, johnny+halliday, sarko, ump, 2007+elections

As a true pastry pig, I can either smell or spot a boulangerie/patisserie from miles away. Once spotted, I make a quick beeline to the place, and fix my eyes on the display window until I get closer and closer. In this case, I walked around a corner and saw this apricot pear tarte, which was beautiful, if not different than what we usually see. Then, I looked up and saw their adorable iron bakery sign. It is just so sweet, sincere and perfect – and, doesn’t need any translation.

Tags: travel, france, boulangerie, french, bakery, pastries, iron+signs

Overlooking the Rhône River, Avignon, with its 14th-century ramparts, enloses a labyrinth of town squares, winding, cobblestone alleys, and narrow streets, and sits upon the beautiful white, rocky outcrop, le Rocher des Doms.


^{Palais des papes, invaded in Avignon}

The golden Gothic palace, le Palais des papes (the Palace of Popes) in Avignon, was known as “the biggest and strongest house in the world” during its glory days some several hundred centuries ago. In fact, over 700 years ago, Clement V, the then homesick French Pontiff shifted the papacy to Avignon due to political dissent in Italy. Stunned Romans called the move the “Second Babylonian Captivity of the Church” and during this time, seven popes expanded Avignon’s palace to rival the magnitude of their previous home, making Avignon a “Rome away from Rome.”

In 1377 the papacy was returned to Rome but only for a very short period, then went right back to Avignon soon after. Avignon remained papal territory until the Revolution. Though the palace was looted during the Revolution, the interior is still remarkable and a worth a visit. Be sure to get the most incredible, detailed and comprehensive audio guide of the palace (available in 7 languages) included with the admission ticket. Admission is 7.50 euros (Nov 1 – March 14) and 9.50 euros (March 15 to Oct 31).

Palais des Papes

RMG – 6, rue Pente Rapide
Charles Ansidei
84000 AVIGNON – FRANCE
Tel : +33 (0)4 90 27 50 00
rmg@palais-des-papes.com
Website: Information for the Palais and Bridge

Le Pont St-Bénezet

Le Pont St-Bénezet, also known as The Pont d’Avignon (The Avignon Bridge), is a 12th century bridge with only 4 of the original 22 arches intact. The chapel Saint Nicolas (dedicated to the patron saint of mariners), is housed on the second arch. The bridge was immortalized in a famous French nursery rhyme called “Sur le pont d’Avignon” and all French children know the song and the bridge. [More on the History of the Pont St. Bénezet]

Related Events in Avignon: Festival d’Avignon
====================
Lulu Lundi* features Lulu, our Boston Terrier, somewhere in France every Monday.

I had to stop to take a picture of this unique home.

Tags: france, french, homes, unique, provence, residence, windmill, cool

Hardly a day goes by without me watching a video or more at YouTube. They have practically every video from everywhere including the entire French INA archives, which is nearly everything ever played on French TV. The problem with YouTube previously, was that you could only watch videos from the site, and that always bugged me because I like to dissect videos and scrub through them on my own. I didn’t like that I couldn’t do that without always having to go back to YouTube or the site with an embedded video (to YouTube). There was no way to download the videos there. That is over – thanks to PodTube.

This brilliant freeware for Mac by French developers, Djodjo Design, allows you to download any videos you’d like from YouTube and it will place them directly into your iTunes library and you can also transfer music and videos onto your iPod. Later, when you play downloaded videos from YouTube using iTunes, the video is in a tiny screen but it’s much clearer than watching 20/7000 vision clarity videos on YouTube. Note: You must use this application in conjunction with Safari.

Here’s the link to get it: PodTube Download (3.6 MB)

One of my biggest fears is getting some sort of life-threatening illness that will force me to go to a hospital in France during the month of AUGUST. It’s not the getting terribly sick part that is so horrifying, it’s the going to the hospital in August part. Let me get ill any other time, but god, please: not in August.

Most people know this but just to reiterate: France is basically closed for business during the month of August. It is the time practically everyone takes a vacation and many businesses are simply closed or work with a skeletal staff, or interns. (This is why, I feel, I haven’t received my Mac from Apple France! The people who know what to do are on vacation! To date: it has been 3 weeks plus 2 days since we ordered, the wrong Mac is still sitting boxed waiting to be picked up and I STILL haven’t received the correct one!!! but I digress.)

Yesterday, it was reported that an 18-year old man in Reims was admitted into the hospital to have a varicose vein removed, which normally, is a simple and uncomplicated procedure that involves rudimentary surgery and the patient can usually leave the hospital the same day. This man, in otherwise perfect health, never woke up from his surgery; he died on the table due to a grave surgical error, a major artery was accidentally cut and he bled to death. [via france2, rtl]

I find this story so incredibly tragic, and think it might have been avoided if he had gone when the hospital was better staffed. I dunno. Maybe he would’ve gone in March or May, had the procedure and be alive today. But maybe the same mistake would have taken place in those months. Who can know what would have happened?

Mistakes do happen, I realize. All the time, not just in August. And everywhere, not just in France. So when I say “don’t go to the hospital in France in August” please realize this is more relatively tongue-in-cheeky and an exaggeration – I’m SURE you can find quality hospital healthcare in France, even in August!

My choice, however, would be to try to avoid getting admitted into a hospital in France, in August, if at all possible. But that’s just me because stories like these contribute to my paranoia and deeply mess with my conspiracy theories and dreaded fears.

Does this sign, tourisme seulement (tourism only), mean that only tourists can use that parking lot? We are always so baffled when we see this sign.

Being a chronic night owl and a part-time insomniac, if I’m not reading, listening to music or spacing out in the wee hours of the night, I sometimes find myself watching TV when most people are sleeping. Surprisingly, there are some great shows after midnight in France. Perhaps I can dare say the programming is better after midnight than at any other time.

Last night, I watched “Taratata” a music show hosted by one of my favorite animateurs (hosts) named Nagui. He’ll cover a wide variety of music and bands and musicians perform throughout the program. Sometimes, this show is just too excellent. It vaguely reminds me of the the short-lived Sessions at West 54th first hosted by Chris Douridas (KCRW) and later David Byrne.

On Taratata there were lots of musicians/bands: M, Camille, Bénabar, Katie Melua, Feist, Astonvilla and Arthur in the night’s lineup. Each played several tunes and then they mixed it up with duos. I loved the duo with M and Camille singing “Au Suivant” / Next (1964) by Jacques Brel. I am not much of a Jacques Brel fan (*gasp!*) but I do like this song and this made me look for a couple of his versions, just to hear it out of curiosity. Actually pretty awesome, Jacques, but I definitely prefer the modern version of it with M & Camille. (Though, if you’re a Jacques Brel fan, you’ll probably love this version better. and this version too!)

Click on the photo to the left for the performance of M & Camille’s interpretation of Au Suivant on YouTube. My blog template, for some reason, will not let me embed the code and the player to play it on this site. Grrr!

In a nutshell, the song is about a man regretting that he’s been a follower during his life. French lyrics for “Au Suivant” are here. A translation in English for “Next” is here. (The English version took many artistic liberties but it works nicely.) I hope you like it.

Anyway, a few remarkable things happened last night after watching Taratata:

1) it inspired me to explore even more French music; 2) it made me want to look for M’s Qui de Nous Deux, Je Dis Aime and Camille’s Le Fil; and 3) I now sort of kind of a little bit maybe like Jacques Brel slightly more than before. (I think he was a performer that you had to both watch and listen to – not just listen to without seeing him.)

Tags: france, french, music, m, camille, taratata, nagui, jacques+brel, au+suivant, next

The recent chaos with air travel security has forced me to postpone my trip to the U.S. where I’d planned on buying another Mac. I buy our Macs in the U.S. because I need to have an English keyboard, the qwerty version instead of the dreaded azerty keyboard, made for French speakers.

We then heard it was possible to buy a Mac at Apple France with a qwerty keyboard, so we ordered one. To do this, Apple says you must place the order by telephone (instead of online), you know, it is a special request and they need to get the order right.

Today’s post was going to be a happy one about how cool it is that one can order a Mac in France with an QWERTY keyboard (for English speakers) instead of the kooky AZERTY keyboard (for French speakers), but alas, this post isn’t going to be happy and cool has left the building.
(Click on the photo to enlarge the horror.)

How different are these keyboards? Let me count the ways:

- “q” is in the position of the “a”
- “z” is in the place of the “w”
- “m” is where you normally find semicolon (and colon)
- a question mark and comma are where the “m” SHOULD be
- to type a period, you have to shift and press your comma key
- all of the shift plus numbers have something different on every single one of them
- etc.

That is just the tip of the iceberg. As an example, just so you can understand my pain, if you typed the following sentence on the French keyboard:

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.

it would look like this:

Tzo things qre infinitem the universe qnd hu,qn stupiditym qnd iù, not sure qbout the universe:

That quote is from Albert Einstein, btw. But do you see how essential it is for English speakers to have a qwerty keyboard?

Sadly, the keyboard issue was just one problem. First, they actually delivered the Mac to the wrong address, and the person at that address was on vacation (it was left with the concierge), so we had to wait for him to return, at which point he could forward it to us. Shouldn’t Apple have just gone back and picked it up then sent it to us? Nope, no go. And waiting several weeks does suck. We finally got the Mac this morning and to our disgust, it came with the wrong keyboard, an azerty keyboard!

We called Apple France, which is ironically located in IRELAND – to alert them to their error and to ask them to remedy the situation as soon as possible. They are currently “working on it.” Apple’s normal protocol (if I’m not mistaken) is to pick up the computer while delivering the correct one AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I’m thinking, “TODAY!!!”

Will this turn into another Apple Walk-of-Shame?

Coupled with my disappointment in the materials and craftsmanship, I must say I am truly disgusted with the service and this whole experience.

During this time of year, the French government allocates money in the sum of 268,01 euros per child – to families with children (ages 6-18) going back to school in September. This Allocation de rentrée scolaire, 268,01 euros, is approximately $344 per child, and is meant for purchases related to the preparation of the child’s smooth (re)entry into the school year: school supplies, clothes, etc. Schools send families a list of required supplies, generally.

Not all families are eligible to receive this school entry aid. For example, if there is one child and the household income is 17,299 euros ($22,169) or more per year, your child will not receive the allocation de rentrée scolaire. (see income eligibility list under “Plafond pour la rentrée scolaire 2006-2007″)

I find this a fascinating aspect of France and like how the state tries to help kids, particularly from families that could really use this aid (and of course, hopefully these kids benefit from the money their parents receive for them!)

This amount is in addition to the Caisse d’allocations familiales (CAF), which is money alloted to all families in France with kids.

[For more information: Allocation de rentrée scolaire (in French)]

Tags: france, french, social+welfare+system, Caisse+d'allocations+familiales, (CAF), Allocation+de+rentrée+scolaire

It seems like the French lycée (high school) system is a no-nonsense educational entity in France and compared to the American public high school (at least  to the public high school I attended in California), let’s simply say that we might as well be talking apples and oranges. This is not to say one is better than the other; just that the systems are like night and day, both having their own advantages and disadvantages. I’m constantly finding myself asking my s.o. about what it was like growing up in France. I almost can’t imagine living in that French world as a teenager.

Me: “What time did high school start and finish in France?”
SO: “It started at 8am and ended at 6pm, Monday through Saturday but only morning classes on Wednesday and Saturday.”
Me: “OMG those are LONG hours! We went from 8:30am to 3pm M-F. Saturday classes!? Yuck!”
Me: “Did you take any fun classes in lycée?”
SO: “Yeah, English and Math.”
Me: “THOSE aren’t fun! Especially MATH. I mean stuff like art, journalism, archery, horticulture, music, woodshop, sculpting, photography, football. You know, FUN fun classes.”
SO: “We didn’t have classes like that.”
Me: “WHAT? What if you wanted to learn how to play an instrument? Weren’t there classes to see if you would like to be a musician? Try out some instruments?”
SO: “No. No classes like that.”
Me: “Wasn’t there a band or orchestra? Or a chorus? What about a marching band?”
SO: “Nope.”
Me: “Well, I guess the marching band worked in conjunction with having a football team or other sports teams. So, did you have like a football team or tennis team or I dunno, a pétanque team?”
SO: “No, we didn’t have sports teams. We did have fitness class 3 hours a week.”
Me: “That’s all? So, what if you wanted to play an instrument or be in a band or play competitively on a sports team or learn how to make pottery or paint or draw?”
SO: “You had to do that outside of school, on your own, with clubs.”
Me: “Whoa. ok. Hmmmm.”
Me: “Could you design your own course?”
SO: “No.”
Me: “Did your school have a swimming pool?”
SO: “No.”
Me: “Did you have lockers?”
SO: “No.”
Me: “DId you have a student government?”
SO: “No.”
Me: “Did you have a graduation ceremony after you passed the Bac? You know, pomp and circumstance? Flipping the cap tassel and gowns and simultaneous cap throwing?”
SO: “No.”
Me: “School dances?”
SO: “No.”
Me: “A yearbook?”
SO: “No.”
Me: “A school newspaper?”
SO: “No.”
Me: “A school radio station?”
SO: “No.”
Me: “Did you have speakers in classrooms so that announcements could be made??”
SO: “No.”
Me: “Assemblies?”
SO: “Nyet.”
Me: “Lockouts?”
SO: “I don’t know what those are but most likely…no.”
Me: “Did you have detention? or other disciplinary action?”
SO: “Some punishments would be to sweep floors or clean classrooms. And Yes! I was collé / detained (literally: glued)”
Me: “A YES!!!!!”
SO: “Punishment is universal.”

I’d never heard of Mirabelles until I saw them growing on a huge tree in the golf course-size yard of my inlaws. I saw them the summer we moved to France and wondered what they were. Then I tasted one, then another, then another, then another, then 800 more.

Mirabelles are yellow, mini-sized plums, just a bit larger than cherries. I didn’t think I could get so excited about plums but these are sooo good!

Every year, the city of Metz (in the Lorraine region) dedicates two entire weeks to this miniscule (in size but not in flavor!) fruit, the Mirabelle. There are a lot of activities: an open market where you can buy fresh Mirabelles or Mirabelle tartes or Mirabelle liqueur or liqueur soaked Mirabelles… There’s live music, fireworks, parties, hot air balloons, a flea market, art exhibits, a parade with floral floats and competition, and the crowning of the Mirabelle Queen and a gala celebration.

Fêtes de la Mirabelle, Metz, France
August 19 – September 3, 2006
For more information, email mirabelle@mairie-metz.fr
Website: Mirabelle Festival Program (in French)

Tags: travel, france, french, festivals, mirabelles, plums, fruits, metz, lorraine

I don’t think Lulu would mind very much that Lulu Lundi was pre-empted this week. Afterall, the theme is still a Boston Terrier in France.

This is the absolutely most adorable (next to Lulu) Boston Terrier, Bosco. He is sooooo cute!! I love the dot on his head. Unlike Lulu, Bosco was born in France and now lives in Southwest France with his dad, Greg.

You can find Bosco on the site called, Orr d’oeuvres, which is an interesting personal blog by a retired US diplomat living in France. Read about life in France, thoughts, experiences, food and adventures with the community of Lauzerte.

It’s always fun to see what other expats are doing in France…

Visit Bosco and Greg here: Orr d’oeuvres

Tags: travel, france, southwest, boston, terriers, bosco, expats

Article Fermez La Bush from Slate Magazine:

excerpt: “…L’Affaire Camus is the last straw in the Frenchification of American politics. Last week, we uncovered circumstantial evidence of Bush’s hidden interest in the Tour de France. In the meantime, the Bush administration encouraged France to take the lead in negotiating the cease-fire in Lebanon. A few weeks ago, the House of Representatives—the supposed Bastille of Francophobia—dropped “freedom fries” and went back to french fries. All year long, House members have shown an inexplicable, French-like affection for a troubled colleague named Jerry Lewis. It’s only a matter of time before the House cafeteria starts serving Perrier and pommes frites, and Republicans stop pronouncing the final “t” when they refer to Speaker Hastert.

In retrospect, we should have seen the tell-tale signs of Frenchness all along: Bush’s Parisian refusal to work in August, Cheney’s snooty contempt for American culture, Condi’s flair for haute couture, Bolten’s Marie-Antoinettish tax cuts, and Rumsfeld’s penchant for les head-butts. All this time, we’ve mistaken W for the Peter Sellers in Being There, when in every aspect of his job, Bush is actually Inspector Clouseau…”

Read the full article

Tags: france, us, politics, french, bush, w, camus, american+president

Though the weather has cooled down quite a bit and already feels like autumn, it is nevertheless still officially summer. Here are some summer events going on in France in the next weeks to come. Like always, I try to pick from the more unusual happenings:

August 26 – The Sugar Festival, Erstein – Alsace, France
If you live off of sugar highs, this fete is for you as it celebrates sugar in all forms. It probably has something to do with the fact that there’s a sugar refinery in Erstein. This is an annual event that takes place on the last Saturday of August. [links: Alsace Tourist Office Tel: +33 (0) 3 89 24 73 50]

August 19 – 27 - Storytelling Festival – Vassivière, Limousin France (12e Festival Interculturel du Conte de Vassivière en Limousin) Explore the four corners of the world without ever leaving this beautiful beach island in the middle of the Vassivière lake in Limousin. Nine days are dedicated to the art of storytelling, live music and the imagination. (in French). Admission: 12 euros (free for under 12 y-o) [links: Festival du Conte (in French]

August 26 – 27 – The Ch’ti Bike Tour – Villeneuve d’Ascq Northern France (and around Lille) Who are the Ch’tis? I wrote a little about them here: Les Ch’timis – This is a three-day bike ride event in the north of France. You need to be in reasonably good shape but the rides are fairly easy going. If you do not want to ride, you can check out the festivities at the Lille stadium or go to the pasta party (20 euros) [links: Ch'ti Bike Tour (in French); Email: information1@lechtibiketour.org]

July 1 to September 1 (or as long as the corn fields last) – Giant Labyrinth of the Seven Valleys – Buire le Sec, Northern (Nord Pas-de-Calais) France – A fun event for kids as this tiny village is home to one of the biggest corn field mazes in France. Admission 9 euros, 4-12 y-o 7 euros. [links: Nord Pas de Calais Tourism]

September 1 and 2 – Coup de Chauffre – Cognac, France
Free festival with street performers: stilt walkers, jugglers, mimes, puppeteers, tightrope walkers, musicians, dancers, clowns. Make sure to tip the performers! [links: Coup de Chauffre schedule]

Also to note: Rock en Seine (August 25-26) 2006 lineup (click on “programmation“) looks awesome, La Braderie de Lille (September 2-3)

My knives set finally came in the mail from Williams-Sonoma (via a friend – they don’t deliver to France.) and in the box was their mosts recent catalogue. These “French” platters caught my eye. At the top of the platter it says “Je demande du porc” and there’s a picture of a pig divided up into its pig parts: epaule/shoulder, pieds/feet, etc. They’re called “pig chop plates” and cost $44 for a set of 4. These plates are sort of weird but intriguing; a country style mixed with a semi-formal font design yet strangely casual in theme. Not really my cup of tea but… I wonder if they’d cost less if it just said, “I want pork” in English. You know, less fancy without French words…

Me: “Sweetie, look at these kooky platters from the U.S.!”

S.O. “Hmmm. Je demande du porc. Isn’t that a game??!”

Me: “I don’t know. Why do you say that?”

S.O.: “While that’s correct French, you wouldn’t really say ‘Je demande du porc’ if you wanted pork. You’d probably say, ‘Je voudrais du porc.’ So, ‘je demande du porc’ just sounds like something you’d say outside its true context, like in a game. In fact, I think there’s a game called that.”

Me: “I can’t find anything on a game called ‘Je demande du porc’ on Google but I did find something else called, Le cochon qui rit. Is that was you were thinking about?”

S.O.: “OH Yeah!”

Maybe it’s more weathered and actually not as old as it seems. I love old signs like these in French, anyway, and wanted to post about it.

It says, “During breaks, Coca Cola quenches the best.”

[related: Old Pepsi Sign]

More fun flash games from French developer Jean-Philippe Sarda at Pepere.org! Yup, this is the very same company that made Pépère, sa voiture et son créneau (Pepere, his car and parallel parking), the fun parking games.

This most recent game released by JP was inspired by the classic BMX series and the famous Nanaca crash game. The beauty of Jump Gear comes from the driver’s ability to jump (using the spacebar). You must adeptly control all of your jumps over the hills (left & right cursor arrows). Use the up and down arrows to accelerate and reverse. Cute, fun and challenging. Click on the picture above to play the game.

Here’s an interesting photo essay about the making of French champagne:

Click on the photo to access the slideshow at BusinessWeek.

[related: Radioactive French Champagne?]

Tags: france, travel, champagne, drinks, making+champagne, Chandon, process, Mumm, Perrier-Jouet, Pernod, Ricard, Clicquot, LVMH, Moët, Hennessy, Louis, Vuitton, Dom+Perignon

Remember those adorable garden tools I wrote about the other day? These graters were in the same store. People have been asking about it and I can’t tell you the name of the store/gallery or the address but I can tell you how to get there if you’re in Avignon.

We’d come from the Palais des Papes, walked past the theater house (with 2 seated sculptures, one is Molière with his face resting on his hand). We then made a right to go to the post office, continued on and made a left. Ok, I just took a quick look at Mappy and i THINK it’s either on rue St. Etienne or rue Folco de Baron Celle. If not, it is very, very close to this area. You can probably ask around once you’re there. Sorry I don’t have a name or address, but this is all by memory from a few months ago. The old part of Avignon is not very big so you really shouldn’t have any difficulties finding it. Good Luck.

OH YEA!!! and if possible please tell them you found them via me at www.whytraveltofrance.com

[Also, if you live in Avignon (mg, don't you live in Avignon?) and know this place, can you send me an email or comment with the name and address? Thanks.]

Tags: france, french, kitchen, graters, design, cute, avignon

Click on photo to zoom out

So many villlages in France claim they are amongst the most beautiful villages, but Gordes is really and truly one of them. The perched village is known as “The Acropolis of Provence” with its fortified Chateau de Gordes’ crenelated bastions and round towers anchoring the structure’s four corners. The chateau and village date back to the 12th century and its narrow, winding cobblestone streets circle a rocky bluff above the Imergue Valley.

Gordes was once in a state of abandonment by the 20th century but was revived by the Cubist painter André Lhote who lived in Gordes, from 1939-1948. Also, famous artists like Marc Chagall began visiting Gordes and spending his summers here and the Hungarian-born French painter Victor Vasarély, one of the founders of Op-art, became its most famous full-time resident. Victor Vasarély has a Didactic Museum here as an extention to the Vasarély Foundation in Aix-en-Provence. Gordes is now a popular summer residence for artists and Parisian media and film people.

Office de Tourisme – Tourist Office in Gordes

Tel: 04 90 72 02 75
Email: office.gordes@wanadoo.fr
=======================
Lulu Lundi* features Lulu, our Boston Terrier, somewhere in France every Monday.

As most people know, the French consume a lot of snails, approximately 40,000 tons of slimy creatures are sliding down the throats of gobs of people in France annually. (Do you think they’ve tried slugs, too?) But a surprising fact regarding the famous escargots de France, is that very little of the snails consumed in France, are actually from France. In fact, only 2% of the snails are from France and many of the French snail producers import snails from Russia, Poland, Greece, Turkey and Indonesia – then process those and then later put their own names on the packaging. So, those “Escargots de Bourgogne” (snails from Burgundy) are most likely from Eastern Europe and not from Burgundy at all. Double Gasp!

It hasn’t always been like that but now many snails are protected in France and also, many French snail farmers gave up their escargot farms because they were experiencing fierce competition from Eastern Europe and Asia.

Other Exciting and Appetizing Snail Trivia:

Snails are full of calcium, magnesium and vitamin C.