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The Makings of Dinner for One

The Makings of Dinner for One

At Les Halles, the indoor and outdoor market in Tours, I asked this friendly produce vendor why her strawberries were so much redder and juicier than the ones across the aisle, which barely looked red, let alone ripe. “It’s because they are, vendres, and we are the growers,” she explained. […]

In 2008 France, The Flat Rules

In 2008 France, The Flat Rules

I’ve discovered that French shoe fashion doesn’t follow what most women in America prefer. I first noticed this when I saw a women wearing ballet slippers. These women at my cooking school all agreed–the flat rules. No chunky heels here, no big high clogs or high heeled sneakers. I had […]

Ahh, the Delicate and Fussy Macaron

I’d never given much thought to how one of France’s most famous cookies was made. Macarons, they’re called. Today I got an up-close look at how these delicious little sandwich cookies are made, when I joined ten French women for a baking class at tours a Table, owned by a […]

A Young Turk Succeeds with Organic Wine

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

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

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

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

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

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 […]

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