Category Archives: Uncategorized

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Using an iPhone in Paris- woohoo! – Learning French … an ongoing love affair – Expats Blog Award 2012

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It’s Wednesday again, and I have two blogs by fellow Australians to present and an award to announce. Teena Hughes from A Night in Paris, explains how to use your iPhone in Paris while Jill from Gigi’s French Window, a brand new blog,  shares her love of all things French and gives tips on learning French. I am also delighted to announce that I have been nominated for the 2012 Expats Blog Award by expatblogs.com which is a wonderful way to discover new blogs by expats across the globe.

Using an iPhone in Paris- woohoo!

by Teena Hughes from A Night in Paris, a Francophile who shares her week-long adventures in Paris in summer, taking readers off the beaten track to meet with locals, laugh & enjoy

A wonderful thought, but if you’re bringing your iPhone on holidays (from outside France, like the Optus network in Australia) you need to be aware of a few things. Here is a small section of the map of Paris showing the City of Paris WIFI hotspots (more info further down the page). Read more.

Learning French … an ongoing love affair

by Jill from Gigi’s French Window, French ponderings from an Australian who must have been French in another life

Where did my love of all things french come from……..? well, learning the french language at High school (many universes ago!) must have had something to do with it..my poor poor teacher..most of the students showed no interest whatsoever in her class..but moi? … well I sat at the very front..’ecoutez..ing and repetez …ing ‘ as I was told..I was sold on it at 13. Read more

Expats Blog Award 2012

Expats Blog, a “home for all expats abroad”, unites expat bloggers with their latest blog posts, blog reviews, expat interviews & contests. Their news team presents daily topical news items from around the globe. Every year, they “trawl the net dishing out awards to the very best expat bloggers” they can find for each country. They have gold, silver, bronze & runner up awards to the top 5 blogs in each country.

This year, Aussie in France has been included in their nominations. One judging criterion will be the reviews left on the listing on the Expats Blog website. It isn’t the only judging method, but it indicates that the blog has loyal readers and shows their feedback.

Some of you have already left your comments (and I am very touched by the lovely things you have said). If you have not already done so and would like to support Aussie in France, just click on the Expats Blog Award logo on the right and scroll down or click on http://www.expatsblog.com/blogs/526/aussie-in-france. Many thanks for your wonderful support.

 

France, Uncategorized, Wine

Sorting out the vines – Visiting some of the major champagne houses: Taittinger, Pommery and Moet & Chandon –

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This Wednesday’s blog round-up introduces a new blog from a fellow Australian living in the Loire Valley, Susan, author of Days on the Claise, explaining how to recognise the different grape varieties in the Loire. Thanks to her post, I was able to identify the grapevine at Closerie Falaiseau as gamay. Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris also explores a wine-related topic – a visit to some of the major champagne housse in  Reims – just one of her recent posts on the world’s favourite beverage!

Sorting out the vines

by Days on the Claise, a fellow Australian living in the south of the Loire Valley, writing about restoring an old house and the area and its history

On a recent visit with clients to la Domaine de la Chaise in Saint-Georges-sur-Cher the owner and winemaker Christophe Davault gave us an impromptu primer on how to tell grape varieties apart in the field.
Grape varieties are notoriously difficult to tell apart, but people like Christophe, who have worked with them all their lives, can do so at a glance. He says you need to look at the leaves and the wood. By wood he means the annual growth above the graft. Below the graft is the rootstock and will look much the same for all the varieties. He has planted examples of 5 varieties along a barn wall in his farmyard, and he explained the differences to us as follows: Read more

Visiting some of the major champagne houses: Taittinger, Pommery and Moet & Chandon

by Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, an American by birth, Swiss by marriage, resident of Paris with a Navigo Pass for the metro that she feels compelled to use

Just as I was dropping off to sleep last night, Stephane nudged my shoulder and asked if I was planning to write a blog post today. Rather surprised by his question, I mumbled that I was and started to return to that luxurious state when you’re just about to…. “What are you going to write about?” Jolted awake, I collected my thoughts and responded that the post would probably feature the major champagne houses. “Are you going to mention that the Cathedral of Reims is where 33 kings of France were crowned?” was the next question that he fired at me. When I replied that I wasn’t intending to write about it because we hadn’t seen it, Stephane chuckled and said that was the point he wanted to make. Read more

Italy, Lifestyle, Paris, Travelling, Uncategorized

Cameras I Have Known

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Writing last week’s post about my genuine Italian fresco made me nostalgic for Italy. We won’t be going there this year as we often do because we’re going to Australia for 5 weeks in September and have run out of holidays. Such a pity because I love Italy. First, I love the language and get a kick out of trying to speak it even though I can’t really hold a conversation. Second, it’s much warmer than France – particularly this year ! – and third, I love the lifestyle. There’s also the wine and the food and the endless choice of beautiful places to visit …

Hills of Umbria taken from our bedroom one summer  – you can see Relationnel’s foot!

Back in another life, I went to Rome and Sardinia and spent a couple of weeks with friends in Umbria when the kids were little. The places I visited are a bit of a blur. It was before the days of digital cameras and before we started our travel diary. My printed photos haven’t been sorted for so  long now that I have to rifle through endless packets to find some dimly remembered scene! It’s wonderful now to be able to match the date on a photo on my computer with  a diary entry. I’m a little disappointed at the quality of my early photos though.

 

Taken from the edge of the same property, but with my finger on the left!

I’m not one of those people who knows all about settings and photographic techniques. I like to be able to whip out the camera immediately and catch what I see. So the important thing is to have a good camera! And one that’s not too fragile either. My first digital camera, a gift from my children on a big birthday in 2003, gave up the ghost  when a screw came loose from being jogged about in my bike bag and sand got in. Just when I’d got out of the habit of putting my finger over the lens when taking photos too …

The same photo without the finger after using Photoshop

Relationnel then bought himself a very good camera that I use all the time. It’s small and compact and has an excellent Leica lens. However, I’ve broken the spring on the zoom because if I put it back in the case each time I finish using it, it takes too long to get it out when I need it. So most of the time, it lives in my hand bag or the pocket of my jacket or coat. It seems the lens is scratched too …

I’ve also been using an iPhone 3G which does well when there’s plenty of light but isn’t so great the rest of the time. It has the great advantage however of being quick and discreet to use and hard to damage! And now I’ve swapped to a 4S iPhone which has a much better camera. Black Cat showed me what she can do with hers and I was very impressed.

From the rooftops of Paris taken with Leica lens

 

Another great advantage of digital photos of course is that you can use software to improve them. A few years ago, I learnt to use Photoshop which produces wonderful results even if you only know the basics as I do. You can get a Photoshop phone app as well. I love Instagram too. It’s a phone app that enables you to cut and play around with your photos a bit then post them on twitter and facebook at the same time. You can also use it to send them by email.

Waiting for the fireworks on Bastille Day taken with my iPhone 4S

The latest addition to my electronic imaging equipment is an iPad which I won, would you believe! As an encouragement to purchase their PDF Converter software, which I consider is the best on the market, Nuance ran a competition with iPads as prizes. Fortunately, one of the winners didn’t claim theirs and I was the runner-up. How’s that for luck? I’ve compared the rooftop photos taken with the iPhone 4S and the iPad and they seem very similar. The big advantage of the iPad is that you have a better idea of the final result, but it’s not very portable!

So tell me what sort of camera you like to use and share your tips and apps

Cycling, France, Loire Valley, Uncategorized

At Your Age and In Love

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It’s an excruciatingly hot day in the Loire Valley and we’ve waited until quite late to go bike riding. After cycling about 15 K from Cour Cheverny, we’ve had our picnic dinner by a little lake in Bracieux and I want to find a place to have coffee. Relationnel doesn’t hold out much hope – it’s Thursday evening and Bracieux is a village with about 1300 inhabitants.

We ride into the centre and immediately come across a bar with a terrace jutting out into the street. We lean our bikes against the railing and Relationnel goes off to order. I think I hear someone say “Oh, they’re so cute!”. I look around but can’t see anyone that could possibly be described as cute.  I stand back a bit to take a photo of the café. Relationnel turns at the door to ask me what I want.

Our coffee comes and we drink it. I sneak a look at the other people on the terrace. They all look like regulars with a couple under their belt. A young woman and two men between 30 and 40 at one table and two men in the early thirties at the table closest to us. Relationnel goes off to pay. “Excusez-moi”, says one of the young men, “I just have to tell you how cute you both are.” Relationnel comes back at this point and hears the end of the conversation, “Like that”, continues the young man, “out for an evening ride, at your age, and in love”.

Relationnel (whence his name!) replies, “Yes, the most important part is being in love.” The young man isn’t quite sure what he means. “Finding the right person is the hard bit,” says Relationnel, “Bikes are easy to get.”

We ride off to visit the 17th century market place and as soon as they are out of site, we go into hysterics. “At our age”. Oh dear!

 

Uncategorized

Another Great Place to Dine in Blois

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Up until now, most of the time spent in Blois at our beautiful Renaissance home, Closerie Falaiseau, has been devoted to getting the ground floor ready for holiday rental. Now that we have our first guests, we decided it was time for a bit of a holiday. We arrived quite late in Blois, having spent the day driving around Paris and over-estimating the time needed to do various errands such as stocking up on bread-making flour and buying another expresso machine.

We debated where we would go for dinner on a Saturday night without a reservation at nearly 9.30 and thought we might try Vinomania since Femme Francophile and I had enjoyed our wine-tasting there so much. And we were not disappointed!

We chose the Vino Prestige menu, which is a platter for two including foie gras, various cold cuts, cod and salmon tartare, pâté and cheese. We had an excellent entre-deux-mers to go with it. A strange name for a wine (between two seas) particularly when you consider that it comes from the Bordeaux region, but the explanation is simple: it’s grown in the area in between two rivers, the Garonne and Dordogne.

Three grape varieties are blended – semillon, sauvignon and muscadelle. It’s a light wine, to be drunk young, and has a citrus fruit and pineapple nose. It goes well with oysters, fish, crustaceans and foie gras so was the perfect choice! We had an interesting chat with the owner who is just celebrating the first anniversary of Vinomania which is gradually gaining a regular clientele, not always easy in a small town.

I love its bright colours, comfortable armchairs and spacious tables. The service is cheerful and attentive and it’s excellent value for money. Our Vino Prestige platter was 19.50 and our bill, which included two glasses of wine each and an excellent café gourmand, came to about 40 euro. We’ll definitely be going back!

Vinomania Blois, 12 rue du poids du Roi, 41000 Blois. 02 54 90 17 66 http://www.vinomania-restaurant-blois.fr/ 

France, Loire Valley, Uncategorized, Wine

Wine Tasting in the Loire Valley Part 2

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I just sat down to write up my impressions of our recent wine tasting with Femme Francophile at Vinomania in Blois but, surprise, surprise, I’ve left my notepad at Closerie Falaiseau, and I don’t know how much I can rely on my memory to relate the details of a 3-hour session! But I’ll try anyway and then write another post when I get my notepad back.

Virginie, the sommelier, has various wine tasting themes to offer, but I chose one that links the history of the Loire Valley with the local wine production. Now, wine from the Loire Valley is not held in much esteem in France. Most people favour bordeaux and burgundies for red and Alsatian wines (particularly rieslings) and chardonnay for white, although sancerre does have a small following. There is actually an historical reason for this, but that’s one of the things I can’t remember!

The Loire vineyard is 1013 kilometres long and covers 70,000 hectares. That’s about 170,000 acres. And they produce every type of wine: white (52%), red (25%), rosé (16%) and natural sparkling (6%). The grape varieties (or cépages as they’re called in French) are numerous but the names are often different from those used in other parts of France.

Melon de Bourgogne (brought over from Burgundy by monks in the 17th century), chenin (also called pineau de la Loire), sauvignon (which sancerre is made of), chardonnay (also called auvergnat), pinot gris (alias malvaise), chasselas and romorantin are the main whites – already quite a large collection. The reds are cabernet franc (known as bréton because it originally came from Nantes), gamay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, grolleau (sometimes grollot), pinot d’aunis and cot (alias malbec). You may recognise cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon from Bordeaux among those (the other variety down that way is merlot) and pinot noir and chardonnay from Burgundy. But that’s where any ressemblance stops.

The main production areas are Nantes, Anjou-Saumur, Touraine and the Centre. The most well-known appellations (that’s how they categorise wine in France) are probably chinon, bourgueil, saint nicolas de bourgueil, saumur and saumur-champigny for reds, sancerre, as I mentioned, for whites, and vouvray, which is  a sparkling wine. If you don’t live in France, you’ve probably never heard of most of them. So with all those different grapes (which can be blended of course!), how do you find your way around?

Each grape variety has a range of “noses” to choose from. For whites (and these are probably the easiest to detect), the main ones are “white blossoms” such as hawthorn and apple blossoms, briar roses and roses, citrus fruits, grilled almonds and hazelnuts, pears, pineapple, lychees, apricots, toast, honey and butter. Sounds like breakfast, doesn’t it? But fresh butter is the very distinctive smell of a French chardonnay from Burgundy. The list isn’t really that long and with a bit of training, you can learn to detect most of those, particularly if you practise with those little phials I told you about in a previous post. Our perception of smell is very personal so, as Virginie insisted, there’s no “right” or “wrong”.

The reds offer a lot more variety as far as “noses” go, but on the whole, you can look for berries such as red and black currants, blackberries and raspberries and dark stone fruit such as prunes and cherries. Some of the stronger reds might conjure up mushrooms, cedar, pepper, leather and musk. A smell of vanilla is a typical sign of oak. In the Loire in particular, green capsicum (bell pepper) is a sure  indication of cabernet franc or cabernet sauvignon, particularly when they’re young.

So knowing what to expect can be very helpful when you first begin wine tasting. Next time, we’ll get down to the nitty gritty!

Croatia, Cycling, Sightseeing, Travelling, Uncategorized

My Croatian Itinerary – Part 6: Porec and Pula in Istria

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The previous leg of our Croatian itinerary (Part 5) ended at Plitvice lakes which were truly the highlight of our trip. The next stage of our journey took us to Porec in the very Italian peninsula of Istria. We arrived at Hotel Filipini, 7 or 8 K from Porec, around 3.30 pm. First problem – they didn’t have our reservation, despite the fact that it had been confirmed. They also only spoke Croatian and Italian! They eventually found us a room downstairs on the other side of the kitchen that turned out to be opposite a room full of noisy children. The bed was awful and I was bitten by mosquitoes.

We had hoped to cycle from the hotel to Porec but it was very hot and the cycle path proved to be of no interest whatsoever so we ended up driving there. We found free parking not far from the centre, just next to the post office and went off to visit the Euphrasian Episcopal Complex, a world heritage site and the town’s most important attraction. In addition to the architectural interest of the mainly Byzantine basilica, baptistry, palace and chapel, there is a 16th century bell-tower that affords a panoramic view of the old town. We strolled through the streets which, despite the tourists, seemed very typical with several well-preserved mediaeval houses of obviously Venetian influence.

We decided to go to the little village of Novrigrad for dinner. There was some sort of festivity going on which seemed to include food, drink and handicrafts but we had no idea what it really involved. We later saw they were selling mussels and other seafood that you ate standing up. In the meantime, we found a restaurant by the seafront appropriately called “Café del Mar” and had an enjoyable meal watching the sun set over the little harbour. Lots of shops were open so we purchased swimming shoes for next day because we had already seen that there is no sand on the beaches, just sharp rocks.

Despite the excellent breakfast, we left the hotel next day because of the bed, noise and mosquitoes. Their Visa card machine was “broken” so we had to drive into Porec to get cash. We then left for Pula. After a half an hour, I realised the hotel hadn’t returned our IDs, so back we went! We arrived in Fanzana at about 11.30 and immediately found a hotel more to our liking, the Villa Letan, in Peroj. It was a bit more expensive, but had a good bed, a balcony with a great view and air conditioning. I was even able to have my clothes ironed at a very reasonable price!

After lunch at a very friendly portside restaurant in Fanzana called the Batana and some well-deserved R&R at the hotel, we went swimming in the Adriatic for the first time. Thanks to our swimming shoes, we finally managed to get out far enough to enjoy ourselves before staggering back over the rocks.

We arrived in Pula at about 8 pm and were delighted to find the famous amphitheatre still open. It was wonderful to visit in the setting sun with hardly a soul in sight. I’m told it is packed during the daytime. They were preparing for some sort of show and it was easy to imagine the Romans occupying the 23,000 seats and milling in and out of the stores and shops beneath its 72 arches.  The old town was very animated and after strolling past the Temple of Augustus, the Town Hall built in 1296 and various gothic and renaissance buildings, we found a very friendly outdoor restaurant called Angulus on Hermana Dalmatina.

Breakfast next morning was nothing special but at least we’d had a good night’s sleep.  We had initially planned to visit some of the nearby islands, but they are very protected and you can’t take your own bikes so we decided to work out our own cycling itinerary around the tip of the peninsula west of Pula. It proved to be an excellent choice that I have already described in a previous post. Next day, we headed for Slovenia.

Accommodation, France, Sightseeing, Travelling, Uncategorized

Travel Tip for Biking in France – My New Paris Baby – The Marais Poitevin

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Interesting posts from other Anglophone Bloggers on France this week include a travel tip for biking in France from Experience France by Bike, but it’s not restricted to cycling -getting a chip credit card can make life a lot easier! Next Petite Paris introduces her “new baby” – a B&B in Paris that I’d just love to try if I didn’t already live in the City of Light. Then Abby from Paris Weekender takes us to the Marais Poitevin which has been on my list of places to go for some time. I’ll let you discover it for yourself!

Travel Tip for Biking in France – Get a Chip Credit Card

by Experience France by Bike

If you are planning a bicycling trip to France or anywhere in Europe this summer, simplify your travel by getting a credit card with a chip.  Often referred to as smart cards, this type of credit card has been in widespread use in Europe for several years.  Unknowing Americans often miss trains, are unable to pay for gas at the pump, and cannot rent bikes at public kiosks all because the machines do not accept credit cards without a chip.  Sometimes the problem causes an inconvenience, sometimes it can result in a major disruption to a trip.  Missing a train because you cannot retrieve or purchase a ticket can really be a problem. Read more

My New Paris Baby

by Petite Paris, an Australian-based service for Australian travellers and fellow francophiles

Coucou friends!!

I feel like im constantly announcing new B&B! Oui, but I am! We have landed another 4 in the last 2 weeks alone 🙂 Its so exciting and I really do feel as though each one is my new special little one! hehe

This latest addition to the ‘Petite’ family is so incredible. The ‘like’ ratings are going through the facebook roof! 😀 Its a complete package… in a nutshell:  You have your own private entry into your 2 bedroom apartment, ensuite bathroom, free wifi, delicious breakfasts served in the FABULOUS salon with sunny 30m balcony around the entire apartment! Foral and green and happy!

Martine your sweet hostess lives next door and offers guided tours of her secret spots in the neighbourhood and around Paris, as well as French lessons! (additional hrly cost). Read more

The Marais Poitevin and Angles sur l’Anglin

by Abby from Paris Weekender, with her collection of ideas for Paris weekends: staying put and getting out of town

The Marais Poitevin, aptly nicknamed la Venise Verte or Green Venice, is a magical place, a large network of intertwining canals. Marais, like the neighborhood in Paris, actually means “swamp” and the Marais Poitevin is indeed a swamp. Yet miraculously, there are no mosquitos! When I first heard this, I knew I was going to love this place

The architecture of the towns around the Marais Poitevin (Coulon and La Garette, for example) looked surprisingly Provençal to me. Perhaps the bright sun and warm weather helped that impression. And we had never seen so many roses in bloom! Read more

Uncategorized

A Restaurant with a View of the Seine

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River view in Prague

In Paris, there are not many restaurants with a view of the Seine, unlike Prague, for example, where you can sit right next to the river. Priority goes to the cars here! But there’s a big project underway to do something about it. In the meantime, we decided to try out a restaurant with a panoramic view of the river. We had to drive for about an hour from the centre of Paris to a town called Rolleboise in the western suburbs, not far from Giverny, nothing spectacular in itself, but there is a hotel with a restaurant up on the hill called Domaine de la Corniche.

Domaine de la Corniche on arrival

We booked a couple of weeks ago for our wedding anniversary in the hope that the weather would be fine. Of course, last week would have been ideal, but you can’t choose dates, can you? Black Cat reminded me that on the Big Day 14 years ago, it rained as well. Just during the apéritif fortunately and we had a marquis so didn’t get wet! But the kids’ new shoes were totally damaged from running around in the wet grass afterwards!

It was overcast when we got to the restaurant last night but we could still appreciate the panoramic view of the Seine from inside the dining room and the sun quite suddenly came out after an hour or so and cast a wonderful light over the valley below.

Amuse-bouches

We appreciated the friendly service and the food even though I didn’t think there was a big choice. I was disappointed in the “amuse-bouches” which I thought were a bit dull even though they were beautifully presented. In fact, the presentation of the different foods was probably one of the highlights of the meal. Each dish was prepared with considerable artistic flare. Even the cutlery was original (though I must confess not very pratical!). I chose 2 different coloured tomatoes and mozarella as an entrée, mainly because I wasn’t attracted by any of the other choices. Relationnel took the poultry gallantine.

But I had underestimated the chef, Vakhtang Meliava. My entrée consisted of red and green tomatoes with two white puff affairs which turned out to be a delicious mozarella mousse. Relationnel’s gallantine with cep mushrooms (we swapped plates halfway through) was very tasty as well. I followed with the extremely tender veal (called quasi-veau!) and spring vegetables while Relationnel had the maigre (meagre), an unappetizing name for a fish, you must admit. For dessert, I had a green tea mousse with verbena sorbet and Relationnel had a very pretty strawberry and raspberry dessert.

We started with champagne and then chose the “tasting duo” selected by the wine waiter to match our choice of dishes. He let us taste the wine first before he told us what it was. I haven’t posted much on wine but we are actually wine buffs from way back. We started with a series of wine tasting courses soon after we met 16 years ago and have since spent many wonderful holidays, mainly in France, going from vineyard to vineyard and adding to our collection of wine. We’ve slowed down in recent years because we’ve run out of room in the cellar and have reduced our wine consumption.

View when the sun came out

However, I was extremely proud of myself last night because I was able to identify three of the wines (the grapes anyway!). I had a Saint Bris sauvignon which comes from a village near Auxerre in Burgundy where the whites are usually chardonnays. Relationnel had a half-sweet chenin blanc from the Loire (Domaine de la Paleine “Traviata”) that we have never tasted before. After that, I had a 100% syrah (shiraz) from Minervois while Relationnel had a red burgundy. He had to ruefully admit to the very friendly and helpful sommelier that he had got them all wrong! As he pointed out though, he’s still better than me at finding and identifying mushrooms …

Domaine de la Corniche, 5, route de la Corniche, 78270 Rolleboise, Tel 01 30 93 20 00 contact@domainedelacorniche.com, www.domainedelacorniche.com
Cooking, Cycling, Loire Valley, Uncategorized

Summer Mushrooms in the Loire

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We really have had a beautiful week in the Loire. Everyone in France this year, particularly in Paris, has been complaining about the awful spring weather and it was no better in Blois. But when we came back last week, the potatoes we’d planted in the rain two weeks before were looking very happy (and so were the surrounding weeds of course!) and the vegetation, especially the roses, was flourishing.

The good weather stayed with us and as a result, we were able to go cycling several times. Our last excursion was to the nearest village, Chouzy sur Cisse, about 5 kilometers away, in the opposite direction from the centre of Blois. Being on our bikes, we were able to take a dirt road running parallel to the main highway along the Loire, thus avoiding the 70 kph road I’m not so keen on.

The entrance to the village is not particularly attractive, but in the centre there’s a butcher (very handy for barbecues), a baker, a little supermarket and a hairdresser. I had seen a sign saying “plan d’eau” which generally means a small lake so we kept going and, to our surprise, came across a lovely little stretch of water next to the Cisse. The river itself is very picturesque with yellow waterlilies and water irises.

We followed the path along the edge and found ourselves cycling along the river past lots of small market gardens. One even had a whole row of lilies-of-the-valley. Relationnel consulted the map and said we could take Rue Beaumont. I groaned inwardly because the name means “beautiful rise” which obviously means cycling uphill. We were rewarded though because it took us onto a flat though bumpy road through the forest.

Suddenly Relationnel stopped and said, “Not sure what it is but maybe … “. I continued cycling but soon realised he wasn’t following. I looked back to see him waving frantically. “You should get out the camera”, he said as I got closer. What a find! Several large fresh summer cep mushrooms. Now one of the reasons we chose Blois for our retirement is its proximity to a state forest so we can pick mushrooms in the autumn, so finding such wonderful specimens in summer is extremely promising! We cooked them in the frypan and ate them with our côte de boeuf!