Planning to visit Brittany? What do you do after visiting Mont-Saint-Michel and Saint-Malô on the northern coast?  Why not take in some of the lesser-known, but still charming sites?

Drive west along the coast from Saint-Brieuc and stop at Perros-Guirec.  This is the beginning of a delightful hiking trail that stretches to Trébeurden in the west, but is most spectacular between Perros-Guirec and Ploumanac’h.  This is part of Brittany’s Sentier de Douaniers, a trail created at the French Revolution to guard again smuggling which hugs the entire coast of Brittany for 800 miles, from Saint-Malo in the north to Saint-Nazaire in the south.  The very walkable 3-mile stretch between Perros-Guirec and Ploumanac’h along the Pink Granite Coast, so called from the pink color of the unusual rock which dot the coastline.   Tourists stopping at the beach in Ploumanac’h can find an unusual little shrine containing the statue of St. Guirec, one of the many Breton saints, whose nose is punctured by a pin by the young ladies of the region looking to get married within the year, according to local legend.  If you pay a visit to this statue, beware!  The saint’s oratory is on a boulder that becomes its own island at high tide.

Continue to stroll along the coast and you will find huge boulders strewn along the beach , piled high on each other, forming all kinds of unusual rock formations; sometimes it’s hard to fathom how they are still free standing.  Many of the rock formations have been given names, such as “Napoléon’s hat”; others resemble a witch, a rabbit, and even a pig.  Hikers leaving from Ploumanac’h can expect the round trip to take about two hours.

Once back in Ploumanac’h, visitors can stop and admire the Château de Costaérès, which was constructed at the end of the 19^th century.  This enormous castle built to look like a medieval chateau is located on a rocky island just off the shore of the town; built by a Polish engineer, the German army inhabited it during World War II and is now owned by the German comedian, Dieter Hallervorden.   The name of the castle comes from the Breton phrase “hozh-sec’herezh”, because fishermen used to dry their fish on the rock.   Although it is not possible to tour the castle, tourists love to walk around the exterior and take photos.

So, after climbing up Mont-Saint-Michel and walking around the ramparts of Saint-Malô, continue your trip along the coast to enjoy the la côte de Granit Rose.

 

 

On Sunday July 27, 2014, the 101st Tour de France ends on the Champs-Elysées in Paris.  It has been a particularly challenging event; there have been spectacular crashes, and very bad weather.  A crash at the end of the first stage took out one of the favorites, Britain’s Mark Cavendish, who was unable to ride the next day.  Since then, several other race favorites have also withdrawn from the Tour because of injury: Luxumburg’s Andy Schleck, Britain’s Kenya-born Christopher Froome, Spain’s Alberto Contador, and America’s Andrew Talansky.  Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali wears the leader’s yellow jersey and is expected to ride down the Champs-Elysées as the winner.  Much to the delight of French cycling fans, two French riders are racing for the second and third spots on the podium: Thibaut Pinot and Jean-Christophe Péraud.

The first Tour de France was organized in 1903 to increase circulation of L’Auto, a daily sports newspaper.  Initially envisioned as a five-stage race that started and ended in Paris,  the stages went through the night and finished the following afternoon; cyclists found that format very daunting, so no one entered.  Henri Desgrange, the newspaper editor, changed the race to a more feasible 19 days, and the Tour debuted on July 1, 1903. The race is run in a clockwise fashion in even years, counterclockwise in odd years; the Tour has started in other countries, such as Germany, and England.  The Tour has been held every year, with the exceptions of World War I and II.

There are 19 stages over 21 days, with flat stages, hilly stages, and the ever popular mountain stages in the Alps and the Pyrénées.  The most challenging stages are

those that climb Alpe d’Huez, Mont Ventoux, the Col du Tourmalet.  The most visited mountain is the Col du Galibier, located in the Alps near Grenoble; it is the ninth highest paved road in the Alps.

Besides the yellow jersey, awarded daily to the rider who has the lowest elapsed time, and then overall at the end of the race, there are other categories that have their own jerseys.  The best in the mountains wears a white jersey with red polka dots; the best young rider wears a white jersey.  The most aggressive rider is awarded daily with a special number – white on red – to wear the next day.  In addition, there is a jersey

for the rider who collects the most points during the stages and there is a special jersey designation for the best team.

The last stage of the Tour de France concludes in Paris, when the cyclists race through the streets of the capital.  If the competition for the yellow jersey is concluded, the winner will often enjoy a glass of champagne just before finishing the race and climbing the podium.  So, as you watch the cyclists cruise up the Champs-Elysées, lift your own glass to celebrate such a storied bicycle race.

 

If you are in France this weekend, you might wonder what is going on –the roads leading to the south of France are jammed with cars, campers and some small RVs, Paris seems to be less crowded, and perhaps your favorite little café is closed.  Voilà pourquoi: Monday is Independence Day, or le Quatorze Juillet, in France.  (It seems that only English speakers refer to the day as Bastille Day)

In 1789, French commoners – bourgeois and peasant alike – were in the midst of breaking away from the monarchy and establishing a constitution.  On July 14, Parisians were afraid that they would be attacked by the royal military and were looking for arms and gunpowder.  Both were stored at the Bastille, a fortress like prison in Paris, which also held political prisoners.  The crowd overwhelmed the guards, released the seven political prisoners, killed the warden, and stole the guns and gunpowder.  Soon afterwards, in August 1789, feudalism was abolished, the Ancien Régime was finished, and France was on its way to becoming…an empire, then another kingdom, and finally a Republic.

The French have commemorated July 14 since 1790. In 1880, July 14 was officially declared France’s national holiday: la fête nationale.

Official celebrations of July 14 includes the Défilé du 14 juillet, or Military Parade, that

has been held in Paris since 1880.  Since 1918, with the exception of the German occupation years, this parade has descended the Champs Elysées, from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde.  Over 7,000 soldiers march in the parade, including cadets from various military schools, as well as 240 horses, 300 vehicles and tanks, and more than 80 planes and helicopters.  The famous Patrouille de France, the French Air Force’s precision flying team, soars over the Arc de Triomphe and the crowd trailing blue, white and red contrails.  The President of the French Republic reviews the troops in an open Jeep before joining his guests at the reviewing area in the Place de la Concorde. In the past several years, groups from other countries have been a part of the parade, most notably members of the French Foreign Legion, Malian soldiers, and the Entente Cordiale, from Great Britain.

Throughout the country, French people celebrate with Fireman’s balls, street festivals, dances, and other fun events.  In many cities, some museums are free.  And there are fireworks! In Paris, the fireworks display is at the Trocadéro, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower.  Crowds gather to watch the show on the Champ de Mars that stretches out behind the Tower, as well as on boats in the Seine.

In the United States, there are July 14^th festivities in over fifty cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, Minneapolis, Sacramento, and Saint Louis.  Naturally, New Orleans has a party in the French Quarter, while in Philadelphia there is a reenactment of the storming of the Bastille, held at the Eastern State Penitentiary.

So, no matter where you are, on Monday July 14, you can celebrate French Independence Day with a baguette, a glass of wine, and maybe participating in an event held in your town.

Bonne fête!

If you are in France this weekend, you might wonder what is going on –the roads leading to the south of France are jammed with cars, campers and some small RVs, Paris seems to be less crowded, and perhaps your favorite little café is closed.

Voilà pourquoi: Monday is la fête nationale, or le Quatorze Juillet, in France.  (It seems that only English speakers refer to the day as Bastille Day)

In 1789, French commoners – bourgeois and peasant alike – were in the midst of breaking away from the monarchy and establishing a constitution.  On July 14, 1789 Parisians were afraid that they would be attacked by the royal military and were looking for arms and gunpowder.  Both were stored at the Bastille, a fortress like prison in Paris, which also held political prisoners.  The crowd overwhelmed the guards, released the seven political prisoners, killed the warden, and stole the guns and gunpowder.  Soon afterwards, in August 1789, feudalism was abolished, the Ancien Régime was finished, and France was on its way to becoming a Republic, although it  took a few more monarchs and emperors before a Republic was born.

The French have commemorated July 14 since 1790. In 1880, July 14 was officially

declared France’s national holiday: la fête nationale.

Official celebrations of July 14 includes the Défilé du 14 juillet, or Military Parade, that has been held in Paris since 1880.  Since 1918, with the exception of the German occupation years, this parade has descended the Champs Elysées, from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde.  Over 7,000 soldiers march in the parade, including cadets from various military schools, as well as 240 horses, 300 vehicles and tanks, and more than 80 planes and helicopters.  The famous Patrouille de France, the French Air Force’s precision flying team, soars over the Arc de Triomphe and the crowd trailing blue, white and red contrails.  The President of the French Republic reviews the troops in an open Jeep before joining his guests at the reviewing area in the Place de la Concorde. In the past several years, groups from other countries have been a part of the parade, most notably members of the French Foreign Legion, Malian soldiers, and the Entente Cordiale, from Great Britain.

Throughout the country, French people celebrate with Fireman’s balls, street festivals, dances, and other fun events.  In many cities, some museums are free.  And there are fireworks! In Paris, the fireworks display is at the Trocadéro, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower.  Crowds gather to watch the show on the Champ de Mars that stretches out behind the Tower, as well as on boats in the Seine.

In the United States, there are July 14^th festivities in over fifty cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, Minneapolis, Sacramento, and Saint Louis.  Naturally, New Orleans has a party in the French Quarter, while in Philadelphia there is a reenactment of the storming of the Bastille, held at the Eastern State Penitentiary.

So, no matter where you are, on Monday July 14, you can celebrate French Independence Day with a baguette, a glass of wine, and maybe participating in an event held in your town.

Bonne fête!

 

The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Chartres, located in Chartres, about 50 miles southwest of Paris, is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture.  The current cathedral is was built between 1194 and 1250, the fifth church built on the same site since the 4^th century.  The construction of the cathedral actually started in 1145, but a fire damaged part of the building; reconstruction and renovation took place over the following 26 years.

The cathedral has survived lightning strikes, the French Revolution and heavy bombing during World War II, which destroyed most of the surrounding city. In addition to its remarkable architecture, two other factors make the cathedral of Chartres worthy of its UNESCO World Heritage Site classification:   its beautiful original stained glass windows and the labyrinth located in the center of the church. The majority of the stained glass windows in the basilica were made and installed between 1205 and 1240, however, some date from even earlier.

from even earlier.  Located below the rose window in the west façade, the Passion, Infancy of Christ, and the Tree of Jesse windows are believed to date from 1145, but have been restored at least twice. Many of the windows reflect stories from the Old and New Testament, and the Lives of the Saints; they also include images of local tradesmen with details of their equipment and their work.  All the windows, along with all the glass from the cathedral were removed from Chartres in 1939, just before the Germans invaded France. After the war, the windows were cleaned and releaded before they were replaced.

Set into the floor of Chartres cathedral is a labyrinth of over 42 feet in diameter.  It represents the spiritual quest of pilgrims; it is suggested that these type of labyrinths served as a substitute for pilgrimage paths, with the center being the Holy City of Jerusalem.  The center of the labyrinth in Chartres is now empty, but at one time there was an image of the Minotaur, a common motif in mazes and labyrinths. In medieval times, the pilgrims to Chartres would follow the path of the labyrinth on their

knees while praying; today, pilgrims still continue to visit the stone paved labyrinth, and walk the path to the center.   Usually the labyrinth in the basilica is covered by rows of chairs, however it is traditionally uncovered every Friday from 10 am to 5 pm from Lent until Toussaint on November 1.

Tourists to Paris can easily visit the town and cathedral of Chartres by train or car, and many day trips are offered by tour companies.  Regular train service is available several times a day from the Montparnasse train station; trip takes a little over an hour and costs roughly 15,00E one way.  Other interesting sites in the town include beautiful gardens to stroll through, the “Picassiette” house, and the Fine Arts Museum.  A busy Tourist Office located near the cathedral offers a variety of tours.

“Anything one can imagine, other men can make real.” – Jules Verne, 1828-1905

 Considered the Father of Science Fiction, French author Jules Gabriel Verne was a brilliant, creative writer with far-reaching imagination.  His novels, including Around the World in Eighty Days, and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, are considered revolutionary and have engaged readers for more than a century.

Born in Nantes, France, his father was a lawyer and his mother a daughter of navigators and ship-owners.  Verne’s father expected him to follow him into law, but Jules was very interested in sailing and obsessed with the sea.  Legend has it that when Jules was 11, he took the post of cabin boy on the Coralie, which was sailing to the Indies.  His father, however, arrived just in time to grab his son off the boat and made him promise to travel “only in his imagination”.    Even though we think of Jules Verne as a scientist or a world traveler, the truth is that he was neither.  Much of the research for his novels was done by reading books, magazines, and talking about the scientific breakthroughs of the day with his friends.

Many of Verne’s novels predicted situations that have actually occurred in the 20^th century.  For example, From the Earth to the Moon (1865), predicted the Apollo space program.  In the novel, a group of gun enthusiasts decides to fire a cannonball to the moon.  A French daredevil volunteers to ride the cannonball, but before he can go, the group launches a cat and a squirrel to experiment (NASA used monkeys).  In addition, the astronauts are shot from an enormous cannon located in Florida, very close to where the Kennedy Space Center would be constructed almost a century later.  The astronauts even splash down in the Pacific, just like the Apollo astronauts would.

Another novel, published posthumously only in 1994, was considered too dark by Verne’s publisher, so it was rejected and found only in 1989 by Verne’s great-grandson.  The story is set in Paris in 1960 in a world where there were skyscrapers of glass and steel, high-speed trains, gas powered automobiles, calculators, and even a worldwide communications network.

One of his best-sellers became an internationally acclaimed movie.  Around the World in 80 Days produced by Michael Todd,  won

an Academy Award for Best Picture of the Year, featuring David Niven and Latin comedian Cantinflas.  The musical score became very popular as well.  Watch the trailer here. 

The works of Jules Verne influenced a many generations of scientists and science-fiction enthusiasts.  Admiral Richard Byrd stated on the eve of his polar flight, “Jules Verne guides me”; William Beebe, who explored the sea in a bathysphere, attributed his interest in oceanography to reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  And the late Ray Bradbury once said,”…we are all, in one way or another, the children of Jules Verne.”

Tourists to France and chocolate lovers everywhere know this beloved icon:  a little girl in a red and blue pinafore, writing on a

yellow wall using a piece of chocolate, advertising the brand, Menier chocolate.   This famous little figure turns up on candy tins, mugs, pitchers, posters and other artifacts, is a staple at flea markets and antique stores, and decorates many a wall worldwide.

Founded in 1816 by Antoine Brutus Menier, the Menier chocolate factory initially produced chocolate as a medicinal powder to coat the bitter tasting pills that Menier, a pharmacologist, sold.  Soon, however, the demand for the chocolate outpaced the medicines, so the Menier family purchased a small water mill in the town of Noisiel, twenty kilometers east of Paris, to produce cocoa powder.  The factory was revamped and modernized to facilitate assembly, and became the first factory in France to mass produce the powder by machines.

Menier then introduced blocks of chocolate (les tablettes) wrapped in yellow paper.  To keep up with production, the company began to concentrate on the exclusive production of chocolate products – it had cocoa growing estates in Nicaragua, sugar beet fields and a sugar refinery in the area of Roye, France.  Before long, the Menier Chocolate Company was the largest chocolate manufacturer in France, whose production necessitated a larger factory.

With the Industrial Revolution in full swing, the Menier factory revamped and extended the factory  in Noisiel with the newest materials, reflecting a boldness of design, considered today a National Heritage Site and is “one of the iconic buildings of the Industrial Revolution” (Archtectural Review, February 1997).

Resting on four stone piers that were sunk into the river bed, the chocolate factory is built on square hollow sections that feature an

exposed metal frame and diagonal pillar reinforcements that form a lattice. Yellow bricks filled in the latticework, some glazed to form cocoa flowers for decoration, others, when viewed from afar, formed the letter M.  Another building in the factory complex was designed and built by Gustave Eiffel for the Universal Exposition of 1898, taken apart and reassembled in Noisiel for the purpose of cooling the chocolate.  More additions to the plant were made later, including a major building that used reinforced concrete and was nicknamed “the Cathedral”.  One last innovation was the Pont Hardi, a 142 foot long concrete bridge that spans the Marne River, linking the new building to other parts of the complex.

At peak production around the turn of the 20^th century, the chocolate factory employed over 1500 people, but World Wars I and II hurt production, and the Menier brand declined. Ultimately, the brand was sold to Nestlé S.A.  Nestlé’s French headquarters are housed in the main building of the Menier chocolate factory, while other parts of the original complex house a chocolate museum.   

Last month, after disastrous results for the ruling party, France now has a new Prime Minister.  Manuel Valls, the former interior minister, was elevated to the position

after the resignation of Jean-Marc Ayrault.  How that happened is due to the way the French government is organized, which is semi-presidential.

What is a semi-presidential system?  It is one in which the president is elected by popular, or direct, vote in a two round process.  The President, whose term lasts five years, presides over the Cabinet, is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and settles treaties.  The President names the Prime Minister, who is in charge of running the government.  The PM is also responsible for the implementation of laws, can introduce bills in Parliament, and names the Cabinet.

Because the President is directly elected by popular vote, one can assume that he is supported by at least half of the voting population.  When the President and his political coalition control the Parliament, he names a Prime Minister from his party.  There is an assumption, therefore, that the President can push through his political agenda, although that is not always true.

On the other hand, when political opponents of the President control the Parliament, the President names a Prime Minister who reflects the majority opinion, and who, in theory, promotes the opposition agenda.  When the President and Prime Minister are not of the same political ideaology, that situation is called cohabitation.  After the last set of mayoral elections, the Parti Socialiste lost several key cities to other political parties; change at the top was needed.

François Hollande and Manuel Valls are members of the same party, the Socialist Party & Radical Party of the Left (Parti socialiste – Parti radical de gauche), so there is no cohabitating.  But Manuel Valls is from the right wing of the Parti Socialiste, so he and the President are not quite on the same page.

The new Prime Minister was born in Barcelona, Spain and moved to France as a teenager.  He joined the Parti Socialiste at the age of 17.  After graduating from the University of Paris 1, Valls continued to be very active in the PS.  He has been compared to Great Britain’s Tony Blair in his political opinions, which include a ban on full-face veils in public, evicting Roma from illegal camps, and cracking down on youth crime.  He is often described as courageous, competent, and having deep convictions, and has criticized policies within his own party, characteristics that should serve him well in his new position.

 

Les Baux-de-Provence is a commune, or township, in the Provence region of southern France.  It occupies a dominant position in the Alpilles mountain range.  The ruined remains of a castle sits on top of a rocky outcrop that looks out over the plains to the south.  The word “baux” refers to the prominent cliff of bauxite upon which the commune is located, discovered by geologist Pierre Berthier in 1821.

Historically, its defensive position atop the rocky outcrop encouraged inhabitants in Les Baux as far back as 6000 BC.  In the 2^nd century BC, the village became the seat of one of the major Provençal families, which was subsequently deposed in the 12^th century; Les Baux was  eventually incorporated into the newly-established country of France.  Les Baux was granted to the Grimaldi family of Monaco in 1642.  Although the town is French, the title of Marquis des Baux does remain with the Grimaldi family; Monaco’s Prince Albert II is the current Marquis.

Today, visitors come the Château des Beaux to see the remains of the castle, the medieval walls and the breathtaking view of the surrounding countryside.  The château-fortress also contains real sized medieval-style siege engines, including a catapult, covered battering ram, and a trebuchet, making for a fascinating visit for children and young adults.

After visiting les Baux, why not end the day with a glass of wine from the region?  The commune is also known for its red and rosé

wines made from grenache, syrah and mourvedre grapes. The predominance of red, and recently white, wines is a rarity in the Provence region, more often reputed for its rosé wines.  The classic Baux de Provence wine is a deeply colored red with aromas of mountain herbs, black olives, violets and stewed blackberries.  Only 25% of the wines made in this area are rosé.  Les Baux earned AOC status in 1995, and was the first AOC to require that all vineyards be farmed organically.  Many of the producers in the area were already using organic methods to cultivate their grapes, which eliminated the use of chemicals that could be spread by the strong Mistral wind that dominates the region. Wineries in the area include Terres Blanches, Mas de la Dame, and Mas Sainte Berthe.

You’re sure to enjoy your visit to this unusual village.

For more information:

On the wineries mentioned:

http://www.masdeladame.com

http://www.massainteberthe.com

http://www.terresblanches.com

Wine of the region:

http://www.lesbauxdeprovence.com

On the Château of les Baux de Provence:

http://www.chateau-baux-provence.com

Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is a custom in many Catholic and Christian countries that marks the day before Ash Wednesday,  the 40-day period before Easter. On Mardi Gras, the tradition is to eat rich, fatty foods before starting the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.  Many cultures start Mardi Gras festivities way before the day itself; the Carnival season can start as early as Epiphany (January 6).

Carnaval (derived from carne levare – away with meat) is this time of celebration.  Historically, during Carnival season there were balls, parties in the streets, and excesses were tolerated.  Revelers wore masks to protect their identities while they participated wild activities in the days before Ash Wednesday.

In Nice, the season of Carnaval dates back to 1294, when the Count of Provence, Charles Anjou, spent the “joyous days of carnival” in the area, but it was in 1830 that the current form of the Nice Carnaval was born, when a parade consisting of about 30 carriages was organized in honor of King Charles-Felix and Queen Marie-Christine of Piedmont-Sardinia.

This year, the Carnaval in Nice started on February 14, and will end on March 4. During that time there are parades and parties.  The

two main parades are the Flower parade and the Carnaval Parade of Lights.  Running down the Promenade des Anglais, the Flower Parade or “flower battle” showcases floats decorated with stunning floral compositions.  Beautifully dressed characters on the floats throw mimosas, gerberas, lilies and other flowers down to the spectators.  This year’s theme is Roi de Gastronomie, and the floats have titles such as Gastronomic Oppression (chefs race to keep Gargantua well fed), Crooks in Booze (a typical Frenchman clings to a bottle of champagne while others drink their favorite beverage) and the Nose (the dictatorship of the wine taster, who can destroy careers in a gulp)

Between the parades, there is plenty to do.  There is a Rock’n’Roll 10 mile run, and a Carnaval dip, where everyone is invited down to the beach to plunge into the Mediterranean.   Of course, since the theme is gastronomy, there are plenty of restaurants offering prix fixe meals that reflect the theme; if you have eaten too much, there is also a Zumba party to help you stay slim.  The Carnaval ends on Tuesday, March 4, with a parade in the afternoon, and the closing program at 9 pm that includes fireworks.  Then all is shut down, the streets are cleaned while the people get ready for Ash Wednesday and the somber period of Lent.

For more information on Nice Caranaval (to get ready for next year perhaps?):

http://www.nicecarnaval.com/

General information on Nice:

http://www.nicetourisme.com