French escapades: C’est beau Les Baux de Provence
Les Baux is captivating in the hush of darkness, with only the echo of your feet on the narrow cobbled streets. And in broad daylight, with a panoramic view of the surrounding Alpilles countryside.
Les Baux is captivating in the hush of darkness, with only the echo of your feet on the narrow cobbled streets. And in broad daylight, with a panoramic view of the surrounding Alpilles countryside.
There’s a delightful pâtisserie to savour after Christmas – an Epiphany cake called the galette des rois. It takes its name from the three wise men or Magi who visited Jesus twelve days after his birth. It’s served not just on January 6 but throughout the month.
What would Christmas Day be without food and a house full of relatives? A French Christmas by definition is a family celebration. Several generations can gather under one large and embracing roof.
Vaux-le-Vicomte has all the wonder to bring out your ‘inner child’ – glittering lights, an enormous tree in the Grand Salon, an enchanted forest where stuffed animals peek out from snow-covered boughs and branches, fires crackling in fireplaces, and tables set for a feast. It also dazzles with its history.
It's truffle hunting season in France. If you've never looked for these black diamonds, come along because it's definitely worth the trip.
When I’m not living or traveling in France, I do one of the next best things – I read about it. These three books transported me.
Pastries don’t have to be the fancy, over-the-top constructions that Carême, the celebrated late-18th century cook, wrote about. Délicieux is what counts. Next time you’re in striking distance of a pâtisserie, you might look for one of these top ten.
His superb collection of furniture, silver, porcelain, tapestries, sculptures and paintings that are all on display at the museum. It is a three-story mansion de Camondo commissioned French architect René Sergent to build in 1911. Sergent modeled it after Le Petit Trianon at Versailles.
It’s good to have a French friend who lives five minutes by car from Uzès, in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.