Winter on the Riviera: The Mimosa Route
All that glitters on the French Riviera, the Côte d’Azur, is not 18K gold. As Corinne LaBalme reports, bright yellow mimosa flowers add Mother Nature’s Midas Touch to the winter season, particularly along the Mimosa Route between the medieval village of Bormes-les-Mimosas and the perfume capital of Grasse.
The Abolition of Slavery Route in Burgundy – Franche-Comté
Honoring the victims of slavery and the slave trade as well as major abolitionist figures of the 18th and 19th centuries, two dozen sites in eastern France and Switzerland form a constellation known as the Abolition of Slavery Route. This article concerns several of those sites in the Burgundy - Franche-Comté region in central eastern France.
Over There: WWI Sights of the American Meuse-Argonne Offensive
This article, including three videos, focuses on sights relative to the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of the U.S. First Army in the fall of 1918, specifically the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne 14-18, the Romagne German Cemetery and the Montfaucon Monument.
France Revisited’s Early Autumn Newsletter
Autumn was slow in coming to France this year, but it has finally arrived and with it a shift in our approach to enjoying life in Paris and travels in France as sunset creeps toward teatime. This newletter contains links to articles as well as information about exhibitions, books and tastings.
In the Spirit of Normandy: Calvados Cocktails
Getting into the spirit of Normandy with the history of the apple brandy calvados, the rise of the calvados cocktail, encounters with top bartenders Colin Field and Marc Jean, and the Calvados Nouvelle Vogue International Trophies competition in Normandy. Includes four calvados cocktail recipes.
The Deep South of the Loire
Long before it reaches the photogenic limestone castles of valley fame, the Loire River gathers strength in a region simply called Loire, where Corinne LaBalme took an off-track journey to a château that hosts a family-friendly classical music and dance festival and to some of the region's rural and natural delights.
ABMC WWI Museum Opens at Chateau-Thierry’s American Monument
History has never been America’s strong point, and our grasp of our own role in the First World War is no exception. We need more context and basic information than other combatants of the Great War in order to begin to understand its significance. Thanks to the new little museum at the foot of the American Monument above Chateau-Thierry, context and information are now readily available on a daytrip or more from Paris.
The 2018 Ryder Cup Shines a Spotlight on Golf in France
With 410,000 members of the French Golf Federation and hundreds of thousands of occasional players swinging and putting away at 733 clubs and on over 600 courses of 9+ holes, golf is well established in France. It's most prestigious courses and resorts are sure to gain further attention when France hosts this year’s Ryder Cup from September 28 to 30.
Vézelay: A Chardonnay Emerges from the Shadow of Broader Burgundy Wine
From time to time a winegrowing area will flex its viney muscle and, claiming distinctiveness, seek to untether itself from broader semi-generic wines in a region. So it is with Vezelay, France's newest village appellation, a chardonnay from Burgundy.