The Green Traveler: The Camargue, a View from the Saddle
Exit Provence's lavender charms and enter its cowboy country, horseback riding in the sparsely populated marshland called the Camargue. By Laurence Bry.
Elsewhere along the Loire: Val d’Aubois
You’d be the rare traveler, French or foreign, to have heard of the Val d’Aubois, the Aubois Valley, a largely bypassed portion of Loire...
Calvados, Where Rotting Apples Have a Good Name
An introduction to the alcoholic apple-based beverages cidre (hard cider) and calvados produced in Normandy.
Jason and the Armagnacs
In the gastronomic jigsaw of Gascony, travel writer John M. Edwards goes prospecting for the amber eau-de-vie Armagnac while housesitting a 15th-century farmhouse.
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Must-Tastes of the Normandy Landing Zone: 4 Norman Cheeses
It’s the greenery of inland Normandy that first grabs your attention when arriving from Paris—that and the hedgerows, the apple orchards, the traditional half-timbered homes and barns, the horses, and, most importantly for lovers of French soft cheeses, the cows.
Congénies Quaker House: Peace, Friends and Dogs
Photos by David Kashoff of the Quaker House and village of Congénies, France, located between Nimes and Montpellier in the Languedoc region.
Crepes, tourtisseaux, groundhogs
Today is Crepe Day in France as well as in other countries with crepe traditions, such as Belgium and Switzerland. Americans think of it as Groundhog Day. Crepes and groundhogs both mark the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The day’s Catholic name is la Chandeleur in France, in recognition of the candles (chandelles) that are/were brought to the church in remembrance of the day when baby Jesus was first brought to the Temple.
The Birthplace of Bubbles: An Introduction to Champagne
This article provides an overview of the Champagne region for travelers looking to visit its winegrowing zones over the course of a day or two or three. It partially echoes another article on this site, A Champagne Diary: 3 Grapes, 3 Lunches, 3 Dinners, a Bit of Chocolate, and Countless Bubbles, which indicates a number of worthwhile restaurant options in the region.
Dom Pérignon and the Birth of Champagne
As cellar master at the Benedictine Abbey of Hautvillers, Dom Pérignon was instrumental in development of clear, bubbly, cork-popping Champagne.