See the Eiffel Tower By Helicopter
Saturday June 13th 2009, 9:51 am
Filed under: outside of France, paris, photos, travel tip

helicopter ride las vegas and grand canyon
Click on the photo to enlarge
Ok, you got me. This “Eiffel Tower” is in Las Vegas, but I couldn’t help but post about it. We’d just taken a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon, and they fly you over Vegas on the return. One word about the whole trip: spectacular. So hey, if you can’t make it all the way to the real deal, head on over to Sin City!



Another Dialogue Entre Barack Obama et Nicolas Sarkozy
Wednesday April 29th 2009, 3:55 am
Filed under: conversations, dialogue, people, photos, politics

dialogue between obama and sarkozy

Previous dialogues: The Dalai Lama et Nicolas Sarkozy, 2 Air France Pilots, Barack Obama et Nicolas Sarkozy, Sarah Palin et Nicolas Sarkozy, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Anne Sinclair, Francois Hollande and Maxime Bono, The Dalai Lama and Carla Bruni, Michael Phelps and Alain Bernard, Sarkozy and Qaddafi, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos

[Photo courtesy of Pete Souza's Delivering on Change, an Inside Look (slideshow of Obama's first 100 Days at the White House)]



Friday France Photo: Sablés aux pralines
Friday April 17th 2009, 4:31 am
Filed under: cultural differences, daily life, food and drinks, pastries, photos

sable aux pralines



Friday France Photo: The Extremely Late Edition
Sunday March 15th 2009, 3:53 am
Filed under: art/culture/design, photos, travel and places

door in aix en provence france
Photo taken in Aix-en-Provence yesterday.



Friday France Photo: Subway in Nîmes
Friday March 06th 2009, 2:20 pm
Filed under: Gard, Languedoc-Roussillon, food and drinks, photos

subway sandwiches in france nimes
The sandwich invasion, not the underground transportation system.



Friday France Photo: Velodi
Friday February 27th 2009, 10:18 am
Filed under: Bourgogne/Burgundy, cars/bikes/etc, daily life, kids, photos, tips, travel and places, travel tip

velodi bike rentals in dijon france
Rental Bikes in Dijon



Louis Vuitton Graffiti by Skam
Friday February 27th 2009, 4:15 am
Filed under: advertising & marketing, art/culture/design, news, outside of France, people, photos

louis vuitton graffiti by skam in toronto
From viewonfashion:

“The Louis Vuitton ad campaign for the Stephen Sprouse collection is really amazing, and it´s a great branding tool too. All around the world, LV shops are using graffiti to promote this long-awaited collection which is already a big sales hit.

To promote the launch of the Louis Vuitton book that pays tribute to Stephen Sprouse, they´ve got legendary graffiti artist Skam to paint an LV mural in Toronto.” [via] (photo courtesy of inqmnd)



French Pastries 101: Pain aux raisins
Sunday February 22nd 2009, 8:05 am
Filed under: cultural differences, daily life, food and drinks, pastries, photos, tips

pain aux raisins france french viennoiseries pastries
What’s more perfect than a pain aux raisins dunked into a steamy bowl of café au lait for breakfast in France? Ok, a lot but this is still tops in my book. What is a pain aux raisins? It’s classified more in the viennoiserie category rather than the patisserie category (so it’s not officially a pastry, but anyway…) - and is a rolled up brioche dough filled with custard and raisins, and baked crispy thin on the outside and soft and moist in the inside, finished with a glaze.

When in France, please do indulge in this classic French treat. I can easily eat two of them but I’m American so I can be a pig like that. It’s expected. Thankfully.

See more French Pastries 101.



American Modern Art Invades Versailles
Friday February 20th 2009, 10:35 am
Filed under: art/culture/design, articles, events, news, photos, tips, travel and places, travel tip

jeff koons sculptures at versailles
I wonder if Jeff Koons, the artist whose sculptures are displayed at the Château de Versailles (until Dec 14), is responsible for those condom ads.

Versailles Exhibition (slideshow and article at nyt)



Friday France Photo: He’s Back
Friday February 20th 2009, 7:03 am
Filed under: Bourgogne/Burgundy, daily life, nature, photos

squirrel in burgundy
Can you tell? There’s not a whole lot of excitement goin’ on chez nous these days. Anyway, the little guy from the other day is back. Actually, I think this might be a different one. It’s hard to tell; they all look pretty much the same (sorry, squirrels!). The walnuts have made the French squirrel news because I saw four squirrels around our house yesterday. That, I think, is a bit too much.



Lurking Outside Our Window
Monday February 16th 2009, 6:35 am
Filed under: Bourgogne/Burgundy, daily life, photos

squirrel in france
It probably helped immensely that my sweetie put out a bunch of walnuts from our last walnut harvest. I don’t think the little guy would be that bold and stay so near to me, being only about 6 feet away when I took the photo. He was alternately watching me and the gros lot (the jackpot) of walnuts.
squirrel in france



Friday France Photo: No Swimming Allowed
Friday January 30th 2009, 7:16 am
Filed under: Bourgogne/Burgundy, environment, nature, photos, signs, travel and places

respect the environment protect nature no swimming allowed
Protect Nature / Respect the Environment / No Swimming Allowed

tags: signs, photos of france



Friday France Photo: Pierres Tombales Médiévales / Medieval Tombstones
Friday January 16th 2009, 7:16 am
Filed under: Bourgogne/Burgundy, photos, travel and places, travel tip

medieval tomb stones pierre tombale autun musee rolin

Medieval Tombstones in the courtyard of the Rolin Museum, Autun

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L’abbaye Saint-André / Saint André Abbey in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon
Tuesday January 13th 2009, 7:38 am
Filed under: Gard, Provence, garden, photos, tips, travel and places, travel tip

We were lucky to stumble upon a charming, 14th century, fortified medieval village called Villeneuve les Avignon (Region: Languedoc-Roussillon, Department: Gard), which sits atop Mont Andaon and is situated just a couple of miles outside of the city of Avignon, across the Rhône River. Instead of passing by it, we decided to see what was within the walls. No regrets because inside those walls we found a hidden gem, particularly the abbey and the Italian style gardens of Saint André.

During the same time as the Avignon festivals (July/August), Villeneuve has its own festivities, Villeneuve en Scène, with over 20 groups performing concerts, musicals and plays. Here’s a quick slideshow of some photos I took.


Saint André Abbey in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon

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Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder: The Church in Audinghen
Thursday December 04th 2008, 2:52 pm
Filed under: Nord Pas de Calais, photos, tips, travel and places, travel tip, weird

the parish church in audinghen france contemporary and ugly
While driving by this monument in the north of France not far from Fort Mahon and Ambleteuse, I let out a little gasp, “ew,” I added. My sweetie responded by saying, “that’s a classified historical monument you’re ewing…some kind of contemporary bit of architecture for a church.”

“THAT’S a church????”

It’s said that you’ll either be enthralled by this church or apalled by it. I seem to fit into the latter category though i want to like it. I’m used to seeing the beautiful cathedrals or village churches scattered throughout France, so once I saw this one near my brother-in-law’s home, I felt like I was no longer in France.

Despite that the Saint Pierre Church in Audinghen is not very old, there is, nevertheless, much history behind its creation. When you travel on the highway between Calais and Boulogne-sur-mer, you’ll notice there are at least five parish churches that look like they have been around for thousands of years…except this one. Why?

Actually, there was an old church in the very exact spot but it was bombed down in friendly fire by the bumbling Royal Air Force during the second world war. As a humane gesture and to make reparations, The Royal Air Force began building a new one in its place and finished it in 1960. I suppose the bell tower is meant to resemble an airplane wing…

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Friday France Photo: Stop Graffiti in Nimes
Friday November 21st 2008, 5:36 pm
Filed under: photos, signs, travel and places

graffiti in nimes france

tags: , , , , destructive



Dialogue entre 2 pilotes d’Air France
Saturday November 15th 2008, 12:44 pm
Filed under: conspiracy theories, conversations, cultural differences, daily life, dialogue, people, photos, politics, weird

dialogue between 2 air france pilots strike

Previous dialogues: Dialogue entre Barack Obama et Nicolas Sarkozy, Dialogue entre Sarah Palin et Nicolas Sarkozy, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Anne Sinclair, Francois Hollande and Maxime Bono, The Dalai Lama and Carla Bruni, Michael Phelps and Alain Bernard, Sarkozy and Qaddafi, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos

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Friday France Photo: Garden Sculpture
Saturday November 15th 2008, 2:38 am
Filed under: art/culture/design, photos

garden sculpture

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Friday France Photos: Restaurant Le Chalet Bleu

A well-established restaurant, Le Chalet Bleu, headed by Philippe Bouché, is one of our favorite restaurants in Autun, France (Burgundy). It’s very reasonably priced with a basic menu starting at 18 euros. Of course, that menu features Tête de veau, which I don’t think I could bring myself to eating. It looks so blubbery and well….it’s a baby cow’s face! I might be unreasonable saying this but I don’t really want to eat a calf’s head. Does that include the brains? I know, I know, I should TRY it one day to REALLY tell. It’s not like you see a face with eyes and ears and a nose and BRAINS.. Well. Anyway, we ate lunch at Le Chalet Bleu recently, so here’s a little sampling of what we ate. None of us ordered Tête de veau.

appetizer1

Ballotine et Rillettes de Faisan en Gelée de Lentilles Vertes , Magret de Canard Fumé en Compote de Figue, Effilochée d’Endive, glace aux champignons et au miel

appetizer2

Terrine de lentils, Magret de Canard Fumé, soupe aux lentils
main1

Dos de Flétan et Pétoncles au Safran, Meunière d’Endive, Epinard et Kumquat

(more…)



France Loves Obama
Thursday November 06th 2008, 2:26 am
Filed under: news, outside of France, people, photos, politics

france loves obama

An American Dream, What Obama Will Do, 84% of the French Happy about Obama, Hope Presides

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Late Edition: Friday France Photo - Butcher in Nimes

butcher in nimes
Specializing in beef, apparently. How good have we gotten at disassociating the cow from the steak? Very good.

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November Vogue Cover: Vanessa Paradis
Thursday October 30th 2008, 4:11 am
Filed under: celebs, people, photos, tv and movies

vanessa paradis on the november 2008 cover of french vogue
Though I’m not much of a fan of her music, I loved Vanessa Paradis in the excellent movie with Daniel Auteuil called, Girl on the Bridge, and I really like this recent photo of her by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott (photoshopped and all), which is featured on the November 2008 French Vogue Magazine Cover.

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Val de Reuil Loves Obama

yes we can val de reuil
Val de Reuil, located just south of Rouen has expressed their Obama love with this hard-to-miss billboard. I thought that was kind of cool.

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Friday France Photo: Fountain
Friday October 24th 2008, 11:38 am
Filed under: Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence, photos

fountain in roquemaure france

A fountain in Roquemaure, France.

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Seeing the Camargue on Horseback
Monday October 20th 2008, 7:02 am
Filed under: Bouche-du-Rhone, Provence, environment, nature, photos, sports, tips, travel tip

horseback riding in the camargue marshland

Although there are many ways to explore the Camargue, France’s sprawling area of protected marshland, my personal recommendation would be to see it on horseback. That is, if you’re up for that kind of thing.

horseback riding in the camargue egrets

Because the Camargue is designated as a botanical and zoological nature reserve, it seems fitting to try to see it all the while respecting nature and the wildlife all around. I love riding and I’d been wanting to go horseback riding for ages, so this was the perfect opportunity, and for me, the perfect way to see the Camargue. If riding on a big animal’s back is not your cup of tea, you have many options: jeep safaris, organized tours, and my second choice for seeing the area, bicycling. With many areas of the Camargue being off-limits to motorized traffic plus the advantage of such a flat terrain, you’re good on bike. Hills will NOT be a problem. Hiking’s also a good choice but you must be in enormously great shape to cover a lot of ground, and to run away from charging wild bulls. Just kidding.

horseback riding in the camargue wild bulls
photo from Les Arnelles

Looking for places to rent a horse to ride will not be a problem; they are everywhere. Just check out the place and owners a bit and examine the health of the horses. We visited three places before choosing Les Arnelles. The people working there were great, the horses were well taken care of, and since we had specific areas we wanted to see, they let us customize our ride.

horseback riding in the camargue beach

If you plan on taking photos on horseback, I’d recommend bringing a small camera that you can use easily with one hand. I made the mistake of bringing my large camera, which is a little too clunky and heavy to use with one hand (carrying reins in the other hand), which is why I took very few pictures. Also, along the way, I lost my lens cover while we’d been galloping for a stretch. Doh!

NOTE: Don’t forget the mosquito repellent! Also try to bring some binoculars.

Les Arnelles
Route d’Arles
13460 Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer France
Tel: +33 (0)603 892 379 | +33 (0)686 601 515 | +33 (0)490 978 286
Website: Les Arnelles

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