Vincent Careme is one of many young winemakers who are creating great white wines in the area around Vouvray, near Tours, France. Compared to the storied wine regions of Burgundy and Bordeaux, land costs in this part of the country are cheap, allowing twenty-something winemakers like Careme to begin early. […]
All over France, a new tradition is bringing citizens and visitors into the streets at night. It’s called Les Nuits Lumiere, or Illuminated Nights, and combines classical music and large images projected on buildings, bridges and other surfaces. Using the lines of the ancient buildings in the city, like the […]
This morning we walked around an area called the Marais, the marshes in Bourges, France, where 1500 local people tend gardens among watery trails and wildlife. In this video you can hear the frogs making their mating noises in the marsh. It’s a lovely spot, surrounded by water and some […]
We walked through the city of Bourges, in the center of the region of Cher, not expecting such a lovely and compact old city. I just never knew how nice this town was, and it surprised me. But it’s been a center of history and the cathedral is as dramatic […]
White, white, white, this afternoon was a blizzard of white. White wine that is, from the Sancerre region of the Loire Valley. Hit me with half full glasses of refreshing sauvignon blancs from domains like Quincy, and Sancerre, and after a few I am….well, sleepy. Then we pile into the […]
This perfectly cooked medium rare steak came with a three-quarter inch thick slice of sizzling fois gras on top. It’s one of those foods that just melts in your mouth, and to have this copious slice on top of a grilled steak was a meat-lover’s heaven. We helped cook our […]
This is Stephanie Le Donne’s last week of working at her day job. She met our van at the Hotel de Ville in Orleans, where she took us on a city tour that included the city’s famous cathedral, which is a monument to the heroin of this city, Joan of […]
Since 1765, The Chavanettes have been making chocolate from scratch here in Orleans, France at Chocolaterie Royale. Standing in front of a life-size mermaid made of carved chocolate, we met the master of chocolate, the handsome 43-year-old Charles Chavanette, who arrived on his motorcycle and quickly changed into his chef’s […]
Chartres is a jewel among religious shrines of the world. These panes are among dozens of intricate stories that are told by images made by glass pieces. It’s hard to do justice to the famous “Chartres blue” which is the most dominant color on the 12th century windows that face […]
I’ve found a slice of time to share some first day thoughts on Chartres, home of the world famous cathedral as well as a neat little compact town of about 42,000. They have built a lot of underground parking, here, you walk back from the 12th century cathedral and see […]
It’s hammer time in Amherst. Larry Kelley is merciless on anyone who has the temerity to be elected to town government. His latest victim are a couple who serve on the selectboard but who have bought a house in, gasp, South Hadley. Anne Awad and Robbie Hubley also own a […]