Cute Chocolate Chick (that disappeared quick(ly))
Bernigaud
Chocolaterie/Pâtisserie
18, rue de la République
58170 Luzy (Burgundy) France
Tel: 03.86.30.04.70

From AFP:

A letter of love sent by a French 13-year-old to her late mother, addressed to “Paradise Street, Heaven,” was returned to sender with a postage fine slapped on, a report said Thursday.

On the second anniversary of her mother’s death the young girl from central France, named as Anais, wanted to send her a “message of love, like a bottle in the ocean,” according to the Journal de Saone-et-Loire newspaper.

But two days after she slipped it into a local postbox, marked with her mother’s name but no stamp, her missive was returned as a mistaken address — along with a 1.35 euro (two-dollar) fine for unpaid postage.

Asked to explain the mishap, the French post office said there really was a town in the area called Heaven — “Ciel” in French — but that the street was unknown.

You can never take in too many beautiful, moated castles in your life, I’ve always said – and I’m not talking about the fake versions at popular amusement parks. Have you ever heard someone visiting Europe say, “Wow. That castle looks just the one at Disneyland!”? I have. Needless to say, that bugs me. A lot.

“It’s a REAL one, though,” I usually say.

Newsflash: the castle at Disneyland is FAKE.

The Château de Sully is worth a detour if you’re anywhere near or between Beaune and Autun in Cote d’Or, Burgundy. Not only is it the largest Renaissance castle in southern Burgundy, it is still inhabited by royalty. Since the 18th century, the MacMahon family has called Château de Sully home, or, castle sweet castle.

The MacMahons were originally from Ireland but fled to France after the defeat of the catholic English king, James II during the 17 century.

And like most tales that take place in castles, this tale includes intrigue, treachery and complicated politics but also has a happy ending. So, to make a long, historical story short, The MacMahons, several generations later, still live in the Château de Sully. Yes, the Duchess of Magenta and her kids are current residents of the castle. Luckily, a visitor can take a peek into their home by touring a corner of the castle with a tour guide. (photos are not allowed inside). I thought it seemed strange to see a pool table underneath a 400 year old chandalier and plastic toys scattered about inside the castle but people do live there!

Our guide reminded me of Johnny Depp’s little brother, if Johnny Depp HAD a little brother. Anyway. He was more entertaining and funny than any guides I’ve seen and he could tell you the whole story of the MacMahons without you needing to yawn. That’s a pretty good tour guide!

After the guided tour, you’re free to roam the premises. There’s a huge lavoir (a public basic to wash clothes). The garden is very English in style so there’ll be a bit more symmetry and order, and the potager (vegetable garden) and flower gardens to the side of the castle are very wonderfully asymmetical.

The best time to visit is when they’re having special themed events, so you can tour the castle and later enjoy a horse and carriage ride, visit a special exhibition or conference, or participate in other special events. We were there on a day where they were showcasing old vintage collector cars. (The only other time I saw a Trabbi was at a U2 concert a long time ago.)
Château de Sully
71360 Sully (Burgundy)
France
Tél. 03 85 82 09 86
Hours: Open from April 7 – Nov 4 , 10am to 6pm
Entrance Fee: 6 Euros
Website: Chateau de Sully

Related: Labrador at Chateau de Sully

Exploring off the beaten path in France oftentimes can and will lead one to real gems in unexpected places. The restaurant at the Hotel Les Ursulines in Autun, a small town in the very heart of Burgundy, is one of them.

We’ve been to the Les Ursulines restaurant for dinner and everything is always excellent. Here is a sample of a few dishes they offer.

Vegetable Tart with Roasted Langoustine in a Milky Parmesan Foam Sauce

Saffron Mussel Soup (disguised as a cup of coffee), a surprise dish from Chef Jerôme Bru

Seared Foie Gras with a fig tatin in a Burgundy cassis sauce

Filet of Charolais beef with cured Morvan ham in a Bordelaise sauce (Cooked “a point” it melts in the mouth) served with a potato tart

Warm Peach Souffle with Sicilian Pistachio Ice Cream

Cassis Poached Pear with Mango Sauce

Mousse au chocolat

That said, the dinner does not cost 20 euros hee! but the week day Menu Affaires “Business Menu” at Noon does! For that you get an appetizer, main dish, dessert, glass of wine and coffee. A steal!

Restaurant Les Ursulines
4, rue Rivault
71400 Autun
Burgundy France
Email: welcome@hotelursulines.fr
Website: Hotel Ursulines

How could I have missed this festival of gluttony aux escargots? I don’t know. AND it was held in Burgundy’s Digoin, not too far from where we live! Well. I would have warned informed you about this snail fête in advance so you could have made it there to try to join the rest of the gastropod eaters and stuff your face with Polish snails (I don’t think they could find enough French snails). Doesn’t that sound fun??! There was an all-time record of 100,800 snails gobbled in total. I would have loved to have SEEN the event but no matter how much butter, garlic and parsley, it simply comes down to chomping on slimey, rubber bands with antennae. Btw, make sure you don’t miss next year’s fest in Digoin. It’s always on the first weekend of August. More info is here.

[via tocqueville]

That doesn’t quite roll off the tongue like “The Barber of Seville.” Anyway. While taking a walk through one of our favorite medieval villages, Autun, in Burgundy, we came across a shop window that read, “messieurs, messieurs“. (men, men) A barbershop in France! Well, SORT of a barbershop. Probably as close to a barbershop as one could get in France. Where was the barbershop pole?

Why did it look like time stopped inside the shop sometime in the 70s to become a movie set with Quentin Tarantino directing? Nevermind. Look in the display window and what do you see?

Blood splattered everywhere. Barber Shop! Then it must be so.

You see, in France, places like this attract attention because normally during that stroll down the street of French shops, you will see something to this effect: a hair salon, a lingerie shop, a shoe shop (rinse and repeat SEVERAL times over and over and over again). Ok. Once in a while a tabac, clothes store or souvenir shop will be thrown in for good measure but in general it’s the hair salon, lingerie place and shoe store or combination thereof. So, when you see a place like Mr. Barjot’s barbershop, it stands out.

Though he didn’t appear insane at all, the name: “Barjot” actually means “crazy” in French slang (Verlan), taking the inverse of jobard (crazy). He and his client were kind enough to pose for a photo. Thanks, barber (and barber’s client) of Autun!

It occurred to me that barbers might originally have been French, since “barbe” means beard (or boring: la barbe!) in French and barbers back in the day shaved beards. However. Despite being a barbershop, Mr. Barjot doesn’t do barbes.

Links: Everything you ever wanted to know about barbers but were too bored to ask

Probably one of the largest street art festivals in France, the Chalon dans la Rue (Chalon in the street) festival starts today and is a smorgasbord of activities specifically dedicated to street art and artists but it really goes beyond that. Over the course of four days, you will run into percussive pyrotechnics, street operas, parades with gigantic papier mache figures and other demonstrations in the street, experimental performance art along the sidewalks, live music, storytelling, marionette shows, dance, theater performances, circuses, movies, images and art installations projected against buildings and more.

There’s also lots of entertainment for kids: jugglers, clowns, acrobats, magic shows, and a special studio for kids’ activities.

Festival: Chalon dans la Rue (in Burgundy, France)
July 19 – 22, 2007
Chalon dans la Rue / L’Abattoir
52, quai St-Cosme
71100 Chalon-sur-Saône
Tél. +33 (0)3 85 90 94 70
Website: Chalon dans la Rue
Schedule of Events: Program

The longer I live in France, the more I realize that all Pains aux raisins are NOT created equal here. Take for example, the Pains aux raisins in Burgundy. Oftentimes in France, you’ll come across many examples where a French region has adulterated changed a staple food of France, even naming it something different to suit its own tastes (and specialities) and to fight for their own regional culinary culture. And yes, btw, the Pain aux raisins IS a staple food of France. At least chez nous.

Burgundy is known for a few things: its wine, its food, usually consisting of lots of wine: Coq au vin, which is chicken in wine, Boeuf Bourgignon, which is beef cooked in wine, Pochouse, a dish with 4 kinds of fish cooked in wine, Andouillette au chablis, which are sausages cooked in wine, Oeufs en meurettes, an interesting spin on eggs that are poached in wine, Les Tripes au Rosé de Marsannay, which is tripe cooked in wine. Are we seeing a pattern here? I think I now know why the people here are so friendly and happy.

Anyway – probably most famous of all foods from Burgundy is Escargots, the little rubbery, slimey critters, or as I liked to call them: snails. Escargot is world renowned and world consumed (usually not cooked in wine but eaten with a garlic butter parsley sauce) and you will find them all over Burgundy. (Nevermind that most of the Burgundy snails are actually from Poland, Romania and Russia. You’ll see “transformé en France” when they don’t want to say where they came from originally, and want to make you believe they are the real Burgundian deal, slime notwithstanding.)

I know. I digress. Sorry.

So. Given all of that food trivia à la Bourgogne, the Burgundy Pains aux raisins, became Escargot aux raisins. And, much like the region’s signature culinary dishes, the Escargots aux raisins are heavy. In fact, much heavier than the light, airy, flakey on the top, soft and custardy in the middle Parisian Pain aux raisins. The Bourgogne version with its different and cutely appropriate moniker seems to have way more raisins, and is bigger, thicker and breadier, thus softer and having no crisp to it at all. Not knocking it because it is pure yum especially dunked in a bowl of steamy hot coffee for breakfast.

We always joke about this sign whenever we pass it, and I’ve been meaning to take a photo of it but haven’t until recently. Just a few days ago, we were on our way back from Dijon and decided to finally stop to take a picture. Since we stopped, we thought, “why not check out Mr. Gérald Pott, the potter and his pottery store?”

We found his cute country house and was welcomed by Mrs. Pott as we walked up their driveway.

Looking around the beautifully disorganized garden you’ll find his work scattered here and there – like this ceramic bull.

There are 2 exhibition rooms to look at Mr. Pott’s pots and artwork. We couldn’t help but notice that he distinctly draws inspiration from Asia, and later when we talked with him he mentioned that he has a strange affinity to Japan, for no apparent reason whatsoever. He also uses techniques borrowed from Korea, where pottery is wrapped in materials like mesh to give the final result a textured finish.

We thought this water fountain would be a nice piece of art in someone’s office, as well as create a relaxed work environment.

Finally, Mr. Pott himself emerged from a hole in the ground to meet us. (Really! He was trying to find a leak in his plumbing.) Though originally Swiss, he’s been in France for quite some time in this little corner of Burgundy. We found him to be funny, silly, intelligent, kind and passionate about his art.

He got so happy when he asked us if we wanted to see the wood-burning kiln he built, and we said yes. When he fires his pottery, it takes 5 hours to heat it to the correct temperature. The pottery has to bake for 10 hours and he has to maintain a constant temperature as it bakes .

This means he needs lots and lots of wood.

Earlier in the visit when he told us he was totally infatuated with Japan, he told us that he was also a monk. I thought he was joking (he’d been joking a lot) and I laughed. But then he said he really was a monk at the nearby Taizé Monestary. Doh!

I guess being a monk wasn’t everything he thought it would be. I think that, in fact, it was because of his name. Yes, words are powerful! And his name is POTT, afterall. He couldn’t fight it any longer. Pott(ery) did force its way to become his destiny…

Gérald Pott, Artisan Potter
Chassenay
21230 Arnay-le-duc FRANCE
(In Burgundy, about 20 miles southwest of Dijon)
Tel: 33) 3. 80.90.18.20
Hours: Workshop/Exhibit Room Open Daily
Closed December, January, February (except for for appointments)

We bought these cute sake cups and plate. I think they will be great for afternoon coffees, too.