Travel another way

I finally got my suitcase, 4 days after my arrival. Now I am about to pack again for a week in Belgium.

My first week here was spent adjusting to the French pace and the jetlag,watching a lot of tennis games from Roland Garros . That’ s the name the French use for the French Open. You would think Roland Garros was consequently a famous tennis player, No! He was a plane pilot.

Pictures from the market

Adjusting to the French pace means: preparing huge bowls of  “cafe au lait” for Valerie at breakfast time, opening the heavy wooden shutters in the morning and see the market vendors just in front of you under the 13th century covered market in La Cote Saint Andre and driving 30 minutes to find a parking spot in the narrow streets of this medieval town.

Today we will drive up to Belgium, for 3 days in Damme ( a cute village near Bruges) to celebrate Val’ s birthday, and I will spend the rest of the week scooping out the best places to paint for our august painting tours , as well as visiting family and friends in Wallonia.

A bientot!

If you want to travel to France or Belgium  with us, visit http://www.frenchescapade.com/

I am back in France for my 2009 travel season. It feels good to be here even though my suitcases have not arrived yet. No big deal! I am enjoying the heat (35 degrees Celsius today!)  and Valerie’s remodelled home!

I am expecting  all our June groups over here and in Provence with great pleasure. We will first have guests from China / New Zealand. It will be wonderful to see Lou and Meryll again. Then  we will host a group of American women in Provence for delicious, fun, gastronomical and cultural visits. For info about our tours for women, visit www.frenchescapade.com                                                           

Meanwhile, I am going to enjoy myself watching the French Open which is starting tomorrow! Tennis on the screen on my agenda, but also on the courts, where I intend to challenge you again, Evelyne, with my new Prince racquet !

Visit Belgium and you will understand why chocolate is essential in the life of this tiny country: you will find a chocolatier in every village, in every main street, and in big cities such as Liege, Brussels or Bruges, there will be an infinite choice of  chocolate makers displaying their beautiful pralines all around you!

So why is it so delicious? Well, the best ingredients are used and the traditional techniques still prevail. Most belgian chocolates are made by hand in small workshops, by people who love their job and are very proud of their specialties. They receive their chocolate paste still warm and liquid in heated tanker truck and not in solid cold paste like in other countries. This way, it keeps its original flavor longer.

Why is it different? Well, Belgian chocolate became internationally known thanks to the invention of   “pralines” (not the same as the sweet treats found in the States). This technique was invented in 1912 by Jean Neuhaus, a swiss man who had moved to Brussels. Praline-making consists in moulding a cold chocolate shell that can then be filled with any flavored chocolate or other ingredients (nougat, creams..). Neuhaus were also the first to use “ballotins”, the chic box to carefully wrap pralines.

Our favorite Belgian chocolate?

Pralines

• Neuhaus -   The original Boutique in Galleries de la Reine in Brussels.
• Leonidas - check here to order some from the States
• And many small chocolatier like Bouvier, in Anseremme near Dinant.

Chocolate bars

• Galler, made in Namur.  Check here to order some in the USA

For tours of Belgium including chocolate tasting and praline-making demonstration, check www.frenchescapade.com (50% off on August trip to Belgium).

The video below is a praline-making demonstration from Planète Chocolat.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WflQgQ7NV9g

Goree Island is just a few miles from the Western African coast, in the Atlantic Ocean. It only takes 30 minutes to reach by boat from Dakar, Senegal. It has become a Unesco world heritage town because of its historical importance, particularly in the 18th slave trade.

Today it is an importance pilgrimage place for African Americans who visit the island, and especially the House of Slaves, to pay tribute to those who were crually deported from their native land, after passing through the “doors of no return”. The trade was active from 1536 to 1848.

In Gorée you  can also visit  the Women’s museum and the Maritime Museum. In addition it is a charming place to stroll around the streets. The town council is well aware of environment issues and has been doing a great job at keeping the streets clean and at recycling.

Around the little harbour, restaurants offer a great variety of seafood and local dishes. Senegalese cuisine is very refined and diversified.

For English-speaking tours in Senegal, including a visit of Goree, contact French Escapade at frenchescapade@yahoo.com. Check also our  women-only tours focusing on Senegalese women ’s life.

All photos are from French Escapade Tours.