Gastronomy - A Perfect French Term

Gastronomy - the art of fine dining and gourmet food. Of course that is French; others try to copy but really the best overall and throughout is France. As this holiday season comes to a close, why not some more info about something we have all hopefully enjoyed a little during this time! From a recent press release:

There's cooking and then there's cuisine, you can grab a bite out, or why not go upscale and eat French, but what exactly is it that makes French cuisine so darn appealing: the farm-fresh produce, what they call terroir, or just a special knack that comes with centuries of tradition and good taste? Every time the topic turns to food, playing around with recipes, exploring new restaurants, funny how the French savoir faire immediately becomes de rigueur… But how can culinary enthusiasts on our side of the Atlantic discover that special French touch all within a weeklong getaway to Europe?

Discover France has spent the last 14 seasons refining travel packages to respond to requests such as these… As the off-season looms, why not look to a warm destination and, better yet, one with a grand reputation for food and wine? The team at Discover France has put together a number of programs in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France, renowned for its year-round sunny climate and tantalizing variety of gastronomic fare. The French tradition of blending local agricultural produce with wines grown along the nearby slopes is no better showcased than in this region, which extends from the Pyrenees chain on the Spanish border through French Catalonia and into Cathar Country, famous for its fortified castles and citadels dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries.

The cuisine here is distinctively southern, shaped around olive oil, tomatoes and tomato paste, zucchini, eggplant and the variety of herbs and spices found in the dry brush known affectionately as "la garrigue". Outdoor village markets thrive all year round, and the proximity to the sea makes for an abundance of regional delicacies to savor… The Discover France culinary tour has been organized around a full-service 4-day/3-night program with some light walking and runs basically all year round (with just a couple modifications during the off-season); English-speaking guides are available on a number of visits and clients are chauffeured from one stop to the next. Each tour features a visit to the celebrated medieval fortified town of Carcassonne - "la Cité" in local parlance - perched on an outcropping on the east bank of the Aude River, completely restored during the 19th century to its former glory, and since duly recognized as a World Heritage attraction by UNESCO. The cooking classes have been organized in association with some of the area's finest dining establishments, where you'll be treated to a sumptuous recompense after time spent working with the chef in the back kitchen. The remainder of this tour has been built around sightseeing, from the rugged relief where the Cathars retreated to the sandy beaches of quaint Mediterranean fishing villages, with stops at some of the area's more renowned vineyards, such as Corbières - a relatively recent appellation that has established a solid reputation for its syrah and grenache-built reds, and further south along the Mediterranean coast enjoying labels like Banyuls (the grenache grape) and Rivesaltes (muscat), known for their sun-drenched sweeter taste and served as aperitif or dessert wines.
Other options crafted by Discover France for visiting Languedoc-Roussillon include a longer 8-day/7-night walking and self-drive tour with similar culinary-oriented stops (cooking classes organized as an extra) offered from March through November. The company has also put together its tried and true self-guided programs, one for cyclists and another for walkers, both designed to enchant you 8 days and 7 nights running amidst this spectacular region.
Enthusiasm for this part of Europe has been so keen that tours are now being organized on the other side of the Pyrenees as well, in the "Frenchiest" part of Spain, Catalonia.

Should your taste buds feel that the time is ripe for a culinary experience in southern France, staff at Discover France are on hand to fill you in with all the details on culinary packages, self-guided tour possibilities, ground logistics and can advise with air/train/vehicle transportation arrangements.

Happy Holidays

It is the holiday season, isn't it? I am sitting at home by the xmas tree watching my kids contain their enthusiasm for just 2 more days! I am not in Paris this year, but if I were, what would be something to do?

First, as the nights are long at this time of year in the City of Light, as well as wet, I would probably be warmly dressed in dark clothing like most of the city's residents. Black wool overcoat and scarf are standard issue necessities at this time in Paris. Then, apart from the obligatory shopping and dining, I would definitely get myself down to the the Grands Magasins to check out their window displays. This is not just a tourist thing to do, locals love to come check out what Galeries Lafayettes and Printemps and others have done to promote themselves. My wife was just there and she that this year is really good. These are not just cheezy displays meant to draw you in and spend. They are elaborate productions with moving parts and interaction set in elaborate themes. Here are the descriptions, grace a parisbydesign.com:

Au Printemps displays appeal most to the younger set. The air overhead sparkles with strings of hanging lights, and the raised wooden viewing area in front of the window lets kids get close to the animated scenes. Dancing tea cups and singing pots and pans have even the adults laughing aloud. (Evidement, the focus is home furnishings.) 64, blvd Haussmann, 75009, Métro: St. Lazare

The Galeries Lafayette theme is Noël Rêve, or Christmas Dream. Dancing bunnies, frolicking rabbits and flying pigs are the images dancing in the windows that represent the children's’ dreams. Adult dreams are apparently less joyful. Adjacent windows feature trees wrapped in black, disappearing bodies and mannequins that resemble witches - a European take on Christmas past? 40, blvd Haussmann, 75009, Métro: Chaussée D’Antin Lafayette

The Bon Marché windows capture dreams of a different sort: elegant, sophisticated, and très cher (expensive). Step into a perfect world outside the grande dame of department stores where exquisite garden scenes use birdsong, floating backdrops, unhurried animation, and shimmering fabrics and colors to render luxury items at once ephemeral and necessary. Corner, rues du Bac and Sèvres, 75006, Métro: Sèvres-Babylone

Where ever you are, and regardless of your holiday persuasions; we wish you a peaceful holiday time and prosperous new year!

L

Duty Free Purchases Down the Toilet

Travel tip: when you buy duty free liquids (perfume, alcohol) and travel into the USA, REMEMBER to pack them in your checked luggage after you clear customs but before you re-check bags onto your final destination!

This handy little tip will save you from throwing away your duty free purchases. My wife, an experienced traveler, picked up some perfume in Paris along with the obligatory bottle of pastis and then boarded her flight to the USA. She forgot to put these items in her checked luggage after clearing customs. She was in a hurry to make her connection etc, etc. When she arrived at the security in Cincinnati, they told her to throw them away or check them. $50 worth of NEW unopened goods! She ran back to the Delta ticket counter where a helpful person found a box and she got them to tape it up and check the small items through. Fortunately, she was flying first class and had a short line through security and just made the flight. They won't remind you of this in duty free!

Some further opinion:

1. The TSA rule against liquid carry on items is STUPID AND USELESS!!!!!!
2. The idea that international arrivals in the USA who have already undergone FAR MORE extensive security screening before their international flight, have to exit a secure zone and then re-enter security in the USA style is the STUPIDEST thing going! Hmmm, lets see....how about making our lines longer, people more stressed, and lets create more items to screen and throw away! Yeah, the US government really has it together on this airport security stuff!!

L

New Cycling Tour in Belgium

Tiny little Belgium, know for its many fabulous beers, its chocolate, and also the waffles! It also is the home to many cycling champions, the location of some of the most demanding one day races called the Spring Classics, and certainly home to the greatest cyclist ever: Eddy Merckx.

It's only natural that we should have a bike tour in Belgium! What more does a cyclist want than flat roads, bicycle friendly citizens, beer and waffles? Well, we throw in some pretty spectacular sites too, starting with Bruges. See Wikipedia for more on Bruges. I first visited Bruges almost 20 years ago and was offered a job to stay and work...in hind site which is 20/20, I should have done. What a beautiful town! The Venice of the North is filled with architecture, art, artists, canals, walking streets, and bike paths. It is one of the must do sites in Belgium

From there the trips heads out to Ghent, then Oudenaarde (think Tour de Flanders), and then back to Bruges via Ypres. All these stopover towns offers sites and charm, and because it is Belgium it is far off the beaten tourist path of non-Europeans. (except Bruges which is quite famous.) This trip was designed by Jean Marc in our French office who is actually Belge and knows the routes intimately. Its a kind of "best of Belgium" tour.

L

http://www.pure-adventures.com/images/gravensteen.jpg

Etape du Tour 2007

Etape du Tour was announced along with the Tour de France back in October, and like last year, this coming Etape stage is a massive climbing stage! I still get the question: So what is Etape du Tour?

I try to summarize by simply saying: Its amateur day on the Tour de France. The Tour is in full swing when Etape takes place, so this is always July, and the Etape event usually takes place about a week to 10 days before the pro peloton arrives on the same stage. Usually, Etape takes place on the rest Monday for the pros. The event takes up to about 8500 participants to ride an entire stage of the Tour de France over closed roads. The organizers of the Tour de France are the organizers behind Etape. There are feed stations, wheel support, sweep vehicles and a big pre-event party. There are also organized buses to do return transfers. This is one of the biggesst challenges for people who want to ride Etape - how to get back.

As the stage is always a one way trip that is ususally over 150 km, its not very easy to coordinate. That and the fact that its impossible to get a spot in Etape if you live outside France. So, Tour Operators sell programs including guaranteed entry in Etape. If you want to ride Etape, its the best if not the only way to do it. I say that not because we offer a trip, because its true.

I rode Etape last year, and after 10 hours in the saddle, and about 10,000 calories spent, I didn't want to have to think. SO, this year should be as hard if not more so than last year. Foix to Loudenvielle is 196 km long and includes 5, count em!, 5 climbs through the Pyrenees. It will be a very long day for some!

The official website of the Etape du Tour is www.letapedutour.com . On this site you can study the stage and look at listed "official" travel agencies selling space. We are working with one of these agencies to offer the places we do. We supply a number of these official agencies with services including the arrangement of their lodging, transportation, and guide/coordinators.

Our package for Etape is shown at http://www.cyclingclassics.com/etapedutour.php

I plan to ride again this year as well, and I'm looking forward to hitting the Pyrenees again. In my opinion, the Pyrenees are as tough if not more so than the Alpes, just not as high in elevation. Should be a hot - blazing hot- and long - very long - day! I can't wait!!

L

Limoges porcelain

It is the season - for gifts that is. One of the biggest shopping items on travelers minds when they come to France is porcelain. YOu will have noted lately there has been a lot of shopping "stuff" in this blog; well it is winter and the cycling is mostly indoors (unless you live where I do!). Anyway, its Christmas time and here is a little info on that famous Limoges porcelain, if your buying!

Porcelain, using the fine clay component kaolin, is considered to date back to the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD). In the late 13th century, while traveling through China, Marco Polo discovered a translucent ceramic unknown to the West and called this iridescent colored object "porcellana"; pieces went on to become highly valued by European Emperors and Heads of State. During the Renaissance, alchemists remained baffled by its composition, unable to detect the presence of this kaolin hardener. The first European deposit of kaolin was not discovered until 1707 in Saxony and "hard paste" ceramics started to be produced at "La Manufacture de Sèvres" in Limousin, France in 1767, at which time the famous Limoges porcelain was born.

The Limousin, and specifically the regional capital city of Limoges, is globally renowned for its porcelain and attracts many of the world's top collectors, especially keen on pieces produced from the late 1700's until around 1930. As a rough guide, if you're looking for a collector's piece, then Haviland, famed for its dinner sets and wedding china, is the name and manufacturer of choice. In the 1920's, as many as 48 companies were producing in Limoges, but Haviland pieces remain the most widely sought after. The ceramics factory's founder, David Haviland, was an American Quaker-entrepreneur-industrialist who set sail for the Old Continent to create a unique style of tableware with the natural resources lacking in the United States. He realized that almost as important as the actual fabrication itself was the decoration and had his designs created by some of Europe's most talented artists of the time, which would stand out as the Haviland brand hallmark (http://www.musee-adriendubouche.fr/pages/page_id18454_u1l2.htm).

When in Limoges, be advised that the Haviland factory has opened a museum for visitors (the Musée Haviland, also known as the Pavillon de la Porcelaine - http://www.haviland-limoges.com/fr/collection/excincrustation.asp), but no outlet store is on site offering discounted prices. It is commonly recognized that the best stop to make a purchase in this city is Prestige de Limoges, on the Boulevard Louis-Blanc.