A Young Turk Succeeds with Organic Wine
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. […]
Lighting up Ancient Buildings Brings Out Crowds
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 […]
Listening to Frogs in Marais, Bourges France
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 […]
A Proud Father and Luthier Carves Cellos in Bourges
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 […]
Time to Taste, er, Guzzle, More Crisp White Wines
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 […]
Steak with Giant Foie Gras Hat in Chartres
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 […]
She’s Making the Big Leap Next Week
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 […]
There is Chocolate…and There is Chavanette
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’ Famous Blue
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 […]
Chartres Shows Clever Ways to Avoid Driving a Car
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 […]
Their Move Out of Town Was Guided by Their Commitment to Amherst?
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 […]
He Has No Home, Just a Gulfstream Jet
Nicolas Berggruen doesn’t have a home anymore. But don’t pity him–he still owns a Gulfstream IV jet. He’s a reclusive billionaire who has decided that he doesn’t want to own a house any more. Or a car. So he lives in hotel rooms and does most of his work running […]
We’re Giving Money to Farmers Who Don’t Need It
I knew I was mad about this farm bill that was just passed over President Bush’s veto. I knew it because it is a perfect example of waste…huge, bloated government waste, and subsidies for rich farmers who are now making more money than they ever have. Both parties love farm […]
Moped Jim Doesn’t See What All the Fuss is About
Yesterday I read a story about scooters in the WSJ. More on that later. I also rode my own scooter for the first time in many months. My two-stroke Taiwanese ride had been marooned up at ‘Moped Jim’s’ as we call Jim the owner of Mohawk Motors, and I finally […]
La Sobremesa is What Makes Life Interesting
Once in a while someone writes an article for GoNOMAD that really hits a chord. That happened today when we posted Paul Shoul’s piece about Zaragoza Spain. The reason it resonated was a simple Spanish word that means lingering for a long time over dinner. That’s one of my favorite […]
The Rumbler Wakes Up Even the Most Clueless Drivers
Distracted by your loud radio, jangling cellphone or that lovely scone you’re munching on? The Boston Police Department has a new way to rouse you out of your drivers seat stupor–it’s called The Rumbler. Today’s Boston Globe showed a police officer with the initials RJS on his sleeve holding what […]
This and That and a Cool New Map on GoNOMAD
We are settling into life under the new managers of the cafe. I slaved away for half of Sunday, and even though I was so tired I had to nap after my shift, it was good to be there and welcome the customers and to know once again how hard […]