Travel another way

I just wanted to share with you some details of my recent stay in Switzerland: half for pleasure and half scouting for places to soon offer a new tour in Switzerland.

As usual, my main concern was to find authentic places and people, interesting places to visit and a fun ambiance for our future groups.

Moreover, one of the goals of French Escapade is to introduce our guests to the culture of the visited country, and mostly to meet locals. So I visited farms and was glad to meet wonderful hospitable people we will be able to meet.

It didn’t take too long to decide that the Gruyere area was still a beautiful preserved countryside, with stupendous chalets, peaceful herds of cows enchanting our ears with the music from their bells, cheese and chocolate makers all around, and friendly people.

So here is a special preview of the possible visits for this new tour for you (work still in progress!):

• Gruyere cheese fabric
• walk to mountain chalet (when season permits) for artisan cheese making
• medieval village
• pastry workshop
• lunch in a private home to discover Swiss specialty food and drinks
• paper-cutting artwork demonstration
• 18th / 19th chalet villages
• Balthus chalet
• Swiss Riviera and Geneva Lake
• Montreux market
• salt mine
• terraced vineyards
• Medieval castle
• Scenic train ride
• cable car ride to peaks
• Nestle chocolate factory

In 2010, we will probably start with a painting tour in this area (just a few cultural visits and great painting opportunities) with teacher Sonja Hamilton.

If you are interested or want to check all our 2010 destinations, visit us at www.frenchescapade.com

Cindy, you have no idea how right you are. We had to visit a supermarket today so that Hope & Pam, as well as Rosa and also Sarah could buy some extra luggage to carry home all their shopping!!!

We started the day by drinking wine!!!! Well, visit of Chateau Neuf du Pape village and of course visit of a cellar before the tasting of three Chateu Neuf du Pape wine, The very famous Cote du Rhone.

Linda, Sarah and Sue are very serious abut the swirling, an important step in the tasting.

A bottle in the US is at least $80 when it is only 30 euros here (about $45). Everyone bought as much as they could which is three bottles per person. Hope and Pam maxed out.

After all this wine, we needed some food. Sarah was wondering how she will finish her “little” salad.

After lunch a little dessert was needed. Why not some chocolate tasting? We met with Stephane, the chocolate maker at Castellain in Chateau Neuf du Pape for a little demonstration on how to make chocolate. We kept asking him questions and therefore got many more samples that we were supposed to.

Not sure the group will appreciate this picture on the Internet but I couldn’t resist.

Join us next year on this great trip to Provence. Sign up before Oct 30th and get $150 off.

Click here to see the details of the trip.

What are the specialties? Here are some of the specialties our group bought during their excursion in Provence :

Lavender of course: Fine Lavender is from Provence while the Lavandin can be found anywhere in the world. Everyone in the group bought  and bought and bought some lavender products, from soap to essential oils to hand lotion or shower gel. I think the 2 big winners (I mean buyers) were Linda and Hope.

But Lavender is not all. Today in “Les Baux de Provence” everyone rushed into the cookie store. The first reason was maybe to warm up since it was so windy out there but then everyone felt for the cookies. The nougat is of course the specialty of Montelimar in Provence. Prepared in Montelimar since the 17th century, the nougat combines artfully honey, sugar, egg white, vanilla, almond and pistachio nut in a recipe kept secret…. Its velvety frosting is due to the azymous bread in which the dough cooks.

“Calissons” is the specialty from Aix en Provence. Calissons are white diamond-shaped sweetmeats, made from ground almonds and candied fruits. it is a white cookie with an almond paste inside. Calissons were first prepared in Aix en Provence during the 15th century, and its name is said to come from the expression : Di Calin Soun, which means in the dialect : “they are a stroke”…

Not sure what Lynne and Pam bought but they seem very happy about it:

But there is more than food. What about the “Santons of Provence” From the 19th century, the Santonniers of Provence (santons manufacturers) started to introduce the village people of Provence in the nativity scene: the Water Carrier, the Lavender Lady, the Shepperd, the Cheese Maker but also the Bush Ranger or the Gossiper ! All of them are now part of the traditional Provençal crèche.

Rosa was very interested by the tiny ones but did she have time to buy them? She wasted her time at the restaurant for lunch and missed the “Santon Museum” in les Baux de Provence.

Tomorrow, we are going to Chateau Neuf du Pape for wine tasting and chocolate tasting, so there will be more shopping. Stay tuned!!!

Visit our complete itinerary at www.frenchescapade.com

New tour, new group. We have spent only 2 days in Provence and so much shopping already.

Yesterday we visited Andre, an olive oil maker at the Clos des Jeannons in Gordes, in the Luberon, Provence. But how is olive oil made?

In Provence, harvesting normally takes place around November.

Using traditional methods, this will be done by hitting the olive branches with long sticks, thereby forcing the ripe fruit to tumble onto nets spread on the ground beneath the tree.

After harvesting, olives must be taken to the mill for processing as quickly as possible -  within 3 days to get the AOC (Apellation d’Origine Contrôlée, which is a label of quality from France). Leaves and twigs are removed, the fruit washed, then the olives – pits included – are ground into a paste … using huge millstones.

Yes, the pit is included because it contains a anti-oxydant that will preserve the oil. No preservatives are added to the oil.

A first centrifuge at 4000 rpm will separate the solid (skin, pit) from the liquid (water an oil) and a 7,500rpm centrifuge will then separate the water from the oil.

The best quality oil is made from the “first cold press”. In other words, it must be derived from the first pressing of the olives. And cold pressed olive oil means the olive paste must be kept under 27C (80F)  for, if too much heat is used, the oil chemistry will change.

Our group (from the left: Linda, Lynn, Rosa, Pam, Hope, Sarah, the olive producer Andre, Sheila and Susan…and all our bags full of olive oil !!!!!)

If you are interested in joining one of our tours, check www.frenchescapade.com

Six American ladies managed to hide a big surprise to Sharon on her birthday. She had been told she was going to travel for a week, but she had no idea what her destination would be until she finally got to San Francisco airport, from where she flew to Marseille. But it was not her final destination: Barbara, her girlfriend, took her on a train ride to Avignon, where 5 friends of theirs were expected them.

                                               Carol and Sharon in Chateau-Neuf-du-Pape

 Allison was also there and joined the jolly group along ! Everybody had a great time, visiting the area (hilltop villages, ranches, markets …) and enjoyed the Bastide in Luberon.

                                                                  Sharon, the birthday girl !

  Allison, chocolate-tasting in Oppede                   Ready to board the van for another fun day!

                                                The whole group on the ranch in Camargue

For more information about our tours in France, Belgium and more, check www.frenchescapade.com

Women from Canada and from the USA have joined me this week to tour Provence. Provence is known for its breath-taking sceneries, its historical hilltop villages and its art. We saw all that, but its natural beauty was at the heart of this week’ s delights.

Camargue is always a highlight, with the visit of Thibaud Ranch, where Olivier and his friends always put on a show just for us.

Roussillon with its ocher walk is a kind of fairy land, with magical colors.

In Les Baux, houses are nested in cliffs around the medieval castle, or down below the village walls.

In Saint Remy de Provence, Van Gogh also discovered the beauty of nature and depicted it on many of his paintings. We visited the hospital where he stayed and painted a few months before his death.

We took pictures of all of that, and we will again tomorrow, when we will admire the Pont du Gard, one of the most impressive roman ruins in Provence.

To find out more about our coming trips, visit www.frenchescapade.com

The Chateau-Neuf du Pape is the most famous Cotes-du-Rhone wine.

So what is the grape used in this wine? Is it merlot? Cabernet?…Not at all. That was a trick question because 13 different types of grapes are used in Chateau-Neuf du Pape wine. The king of the grapes is the Grenache, used for both white and red wines. Up to 8  types of grapes are used to make the red wine and five for the wine.

There is no rose wine in Chateau Neuf du Pape.

For the red wine: Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre are the most common. Each wine maker in this village will have his secret blend: they can add more types of grapes as long as they belong to the list of grapes recognized by the AOC (Applelation d’Origine Controlee which is a label of quality) for the Chateau Neuf du Pape wine. That is why you can taste wines in every cellar in this village (there are more than 320!!!!) and not taste twice the same.

They all have in common to be have a velvety quality, could be spicy, with flavors of prunes, have a high in alcohol percentage and to have aged for a long time (2 years).

We went to “maison Bouachon” for our tasting in Chateau Neuf du Pape. Florent, the  sommelier, was very friendly and knowledgeable. He shared with us the 3 techniques of tasting wine:  swirling, sniffing. tasting.

Another great day on our French Escapade tour. For more details about  our itinerary, click here.

Our painting tour in Belgium  has ended. Everyone had a wonderful time. The weather has been wonderful, sunny but not too hot. The painting sites were delightful. We had our “last supper” together at the hotel.

Below are some of our guests’ drawing and paintings (they are work in process):

Our hotel near Bruges, by Bonnie C.

A house on the herring market in Damme by Sylvia G.

Curtain at the  hotel near Bruges, by Teresa G.

Windmill in Damme by Margaret A.

Statue at the hotel near Bruges, by Catherine D.

House in Bruges by Sandy Delehanty, our teacher on the tour.

Sheep statues at our hotel near Bruges, by Linda C.

If you want to join us on our next plein air painting trips in France or Belgium, please check www.frenchescapade.com

Today we visited the capital of Belgium:  Brussels.

We took the train from Bruges to Brussels. At the train station, some of us had a hard time reading the signs without their glasses so Linda gave us a tip: Close one eye and look through your fingers with the other. It sounds odd but it works. Everyone tried it!!!!!

We started the day with a visit of the Palace of the King. This is not where our King, Albert II, and the queen, Paola, live but where he works. Since the king is on vacation, the palace is open to the public.

The Palace is of course very luxurious but maybe not always at our taste. We had a hard time with the ceiling of the mirror room decorated with 1 million 500 thousands beetles from Thailand!! Yes, real beetles (dead of course!!!). It makes it all blue and green. Even the chandelier was all covered with those bugs. It was maybe in fashion under the reign of  King Leopold II (the second King of Belgium at the end of the 19th century) but it was for sure not ours. Wish we could have taken pictures…

While we were walking in Brussels, Bonnie stayed at our accommodation near Bruges and painted all day. Here are some of her paintings:

During that time, we were still wandering around and of course eating some Belgian waffles. Actually there is not such a thing as A Belgian waffle in Belgium. There are two types of waffles: the Liege waffle or the Brussel Waffle. The Liege waffle is harder and has more sugar than the Brussel waffle. The shape is also a bit different (oval for Liege, rectangular for Brussels).

Here is the Brussel waffle (with powder sugar and whipped cream ):

And here is the Liege waffle:

You can of course have them plain or with whipped cream, chocolate, strawberries, etc…

The day ended with a great dinner at our hotel, served by Monique who is a real delight. To characterize Monique, I will just say: “Ask and you shall receive.”

Teresa was cold one day and Monique prepared her a hot bath with candles for the ambiance. Sandy can’t eat sugar, so Monique would bring her an alternative dessert. Teresa wanted to take a pic of her chocolate pralines and Monique brought her a plate and arrange them for the picture to make sure it looked nice. It wouldn’t be the same without her. That is a big reason that made me choose her accommodation.

The evening ended with some of us dancing in the dining room (Teresa and Catherine on the picture)!!!!!

Tomorrow, I will post some of the paintings made by the group. Make sure to check again.

Join us next year on this fabulous trip: check our site at www.frenchescapade.com

Our first day in the Belgian Flanders was another sunny day that we spent leisurely on the beach in Ostende. Some enjoyed sunbathing, some rode bikes on the boardwalk and others simply indulged in eating waffles and drinking beer.

                                                                                          Jac and Bernice on the Beach

We spent today visiting Bruges. After a walking tour of the old medieval town, we took a boat ride on the canals (there are 5 kms of canals in town with 80 bridges) to enjoy views that cannot be seen from the street.

Barabra was the bravest of all of us and decided to climb up the 366 steps of the Belfry tower to discover the town from above: she said there were some beautiful views from up there.

                                                                                                          Seen in Bruges

Mary tasted one of the most famous beer sin Bruges: the Kwak beer,  served in a round-bottomed glass hanging on a wooden stand.

Dinner will be in Damme tonight, and we will spend tomorrow in Brussels, that we will reach by train.

For information about our tours, check www.frenchescapade.com

Based in Namur for 3 days, we gave  our four guests (Mary, Holly, Bernice and Barbara) a tour of Wallonia out of the beaten paths.

                                                                       In the visitor house of the American cemetery

On day 1. even though we visited the well-known museum of the battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, we spent the afternoon at the home of Germaine  (a survivor of WWII) who was 11 in 1944, and spent 6 weeks in a stable when the German army took over her farm. She talked about her experience of the war and treated us with Belgian cakes and coffee. We later paid a tribute to the American liberators by visiting the American cemetery in Neupré.

                                 Translating Germaine ’s stories about WWII

On our second day, we attended a speculoos workshop at the Chateau de Harzé; our pastry chef was  tough about the shapes of our cookies but we all passed the class :) ! In the afternoon, we went to Hermalle for its Cramignon festival where couples dressed in prom oufits, dance in the street, drinking beer and fighting musicals feuds between loud  bands. But first, we had a decadent pastry feat at Annick and Fernand’s, 2 locals who had invited us in their home. They even offered each of our guests , a basket full of Belgian treats.

                                                           Cramignon girls in Hermalle

                                                             Speculoo workshop: the pastry chef and Bernice.

As for today, Monsieur and Madame Bouvier demonstrated the art of making chocolate pralines, in their family workshop near Dinant.

For more information about our tours, visit our website at www.frenchescapade.com

We headed to Ostend today, the queen of Belgian sea resorts. It started as a windy cloudy day but turned out to be warm sunny day.

The wide boardwalk was very colorful, sided by a multitude of restaurants and stands, advertising delicious wafles and the most typical Belgian dish: mussels and fries. However, ice-creams and candies were more attractive for some of us!

Some sketches were done, and tomorrow will be a painting day, for our second visit of Bruges.

BBQ dinner by the pool tonight! Yes!

                                                                                     Who didn’t get ice cream?

                                                                                         Seen on the beach

                                                                                       Sheltered from the wind!

                                                                                           Ostend Beach, by the North Sea

                                                                                                  Sketching session on the beach

Our first group visiting Belgium has arrived … under the sun !

We are very glad to host our third painting workshop with Californian artist Sonja Hamilton. Seven American watercolorists are attending, sketching and painting  quaint scenic vignettes of the Belgian Flanders.

On our first day, we toured the charming village of Damme, near Bruges. We had a delightful picnic by a windmill along a canal, before Sonja Hamilton gave a demo and assigned each participant to pick a spot to sketch and paint.

In the evening, everyone learnt from the critique session that was followed by dinner in “Il Sonriso della Nonna” restaurant in Damme.

                                       Picnic before sketching session

                                Demo by the windmill

                           Jackie explaining some historical  details about Damme by the canal

                                                                                            Some more views of Damme

                                                                                              Some more sketching pictures

Belgium is split in different linguistic areas, the biggest ones being the Dutch-speaking Flanders and the South-speaking Wallonia. More than a language divide, it is also a cultural, religious, and political one. When I travel in the Flanders, I sometimes feel like in a foreign country, more in the Netherlands than in “my” Belgium. Yet I love that about Belgium: we are as different as can be, and yet we know how to stick together when necessary.

So what is our commom ground ?

• Mussels and French fries that we eat with mayo !
• our  love for Beer and chocolate, plus tons of wonderful desserts like waffles !
• our even share of rain all year long!
• our lit highways that can be seen from space!

What are the specialties of each area?

In the Flanders

• The means of transportations: bikes, bikes and more bikes !!!! Plus barges on canals.
• The flatness of the lanscape
• Windmills sticking out in most villages

In Wallonia:

• Deep forests on rolling hills
• Our love for parties and local festivals
• Hidden castles and historical battlefields (the battle of the Bulge, Waterloo …)

50% on August trip to Belgium! Check www.frenchescapade.com for details.

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/