The French Journal

Travel round-up: Ski stops, Backpacking, Paris with kids, Montmartre on the cheap, and danger

Here are links recent travel articles which I haven't featured because they're too short, or I've written about the subjects before, or some other reason.

• Chamonix lodgings. The Times (U.K.) reviews Les Granges d’en Haut, an agglomeration of ski chalets which have been restored as boutique lodges. The paper is impressed (even if the writer forgets to mention the lodge's name until the end of the article). There's also an adjoining spa. "This is simply an independent, family-run operation that channels a tasteful mix of mum and dad’s talents towards its aspirations of five-star comfort."
• Club Med in La Plagne. Another ski area, another hotel. The Daily Mail opines: "A touch of glamour and comfort in one of France's less celebrated ski resorts."
• Cheap stays in Montmartre. The Sydney Morning Herald recommends the Hotel Sofia, a one-star in the area's Arab district. It's clean, with big rooms, and a "in-the-middle of it all" location. A helping of local color makes this review enjoyable.
• Paris with kids. A mother with romantic memories of the city determines whether its magic is still in force with children in tow. (It is.) There's a good list of family-friendly activities. (Toronto Globe and Mail)
• Backpacking in the Auvergne. A grim beginning with lots of rain, but France's magic takes over by the end. (The Boston Globe)
• Courchevel landings: not so good. The folks over at ProTraveller have a post about the ten most dangerous airport landings in the world, and Courchevel has made the list. "Not only is the runway short, but you also have to navigate through mountains to get to it." Here's a simulation:

Happy landings!

Blog Day! Aveyron, Paris, French in Action, Paris, and the joys of translation

A few sites for you to explore:

• First, with all the articles recently about Aveyron, why not a blog? La France Profonde is by Betty, an ex-pat, who keeps it simple and promotes the region enthusiastically.
• The International Herald Tribune sponsors a Paris blog, written by reporters stationed in the city, called Globespotters. Who knew? Well-written, it covers some familiar territory (like that old chestnut, Père Lachaise; so this morning...oops. They wrote about it before me. Nevermind.). Paris is one of a half-dozen cities that are blogged by the IHT.
• Mystère et boules de gomme! has an aficionado's focus: the old PBS show French in Action, a multi-chapter introductory French class. All who've seen it, raise their hands! As I thought: every French speaker in America. (HT to Polly).
• Can one have too many Paris photo blogs? No...there's always room for one more, like Spirit of Paris.
• Another for the language buffs: Naked Translations, available in both French and English, wrestles with the problems of interpreting and translating from English to French -- or is French to English? There's also a really useful page of language related links.

The Millau Viaduct: A bridge so high, plus a book

We started off last week above Paris in the Eiffel Tower, so let's begin this week in the air again and join the redoubtable Robert V. Camuto in The Washington Post as he drives in the sky across the Millau Viaduct, the highest bridge in the world, and a modern marvel of engineering. While that may sound "ho-hum," the reality is not. The bridge is...

"...part of the Paris Barcelona highway connecting central France with the southwest and Spain...As we approached the bridge, it became clear why the experience sends people away in awe. The bridge spans a still, green farming valley and a ribbon of the Tarn River, stretching more than 1 1/2 miles over one of France's most graceful and open landscapes. Norman Foster, the bridge's British architect, said he designed the bridge to resemble a butterfly crossing the valley. The structure is supported from below by seven soaring, narrow piers shaped like tuning forks. This may be the lightest, sleekest bridge design anywhere. Framed by the surroundings, it is pure environmental sculpture."

Camuto and family find other things to fill out their round of bridge. Roquefort cheese is a product of the area, the Tarn valley is gorgeous, and there's an unexpectedly edifying visit to Micropolis, an exhibition about the insect kingdom. Despite these pleasures, the trip is all about the bridge.

The Millau Viaduct is located in Aveyron, an area that I highlighted last week in a recap of an article from Travel + Leisure. Fulfilling the cliché that these things come in threes, there's also a new book about the region, Aveyron: A Bridge to French Arcadia. Thirza Vallois, who wrote it, had concentrated her efforts in the past on knowing every speck of dust in Paris, so it'll be interesting to see what happened when she broke away from the city. 

The Wild, Wild Ouest

To honor the new spirit of fellow feeling between France and the U.S., I'll try not to gulp too hard when I write this next item, which is about a country and western festival which occurs in...the Auvergne. I love country music -- some of it, anyhow -- and so do a subset of French people, apparently, as the fest is celebrating its 20th year. The International Herald Tribune tells that the weekend Country Music celebration at Craponne-sur-Loire is only one of several in the country, and is born out of a "an abiding fascination with the trappings of the American frontier as well as by a craze for line dancing."  A little more:

"Thousands of cowboy-hatted spectators carpeted the gentle grassy slope in front of the stage, and hundreds of boot-shod line dancers crowded dance floors set up behind the huge sound tower. Dozens of vendors, meanwhile, hawked everything from flouncy skirts, Native American jewelry and Tex-Mex cuisine, to banners, bumper stickers, buckles and bandannas featuring the Confederate flag, as well as Old Glory."

So, mes Français and Françaises, get out your cowboy chapeaux, and dansons!

Le Puy Lentils: The pearls of central France

Okay, we'll move from Yentl to lentils.

France Magazine offers deep background on one of the most prized legumes in the world: the green Lentils du Puy. Grown in the Auvergne, the tiny legumes apparently inspire stress disorders in the farmers who harvest them: timing has to be perfect -- pick too early, and they don't ripen properly. (The biggest impetus for acting too soon is the need for cash.)

The lentils have AOC designation. The same meal that gave my husband intestinal distress from bleu cheese also came with a crock of these things, and they were exceptional; I'd risk his stomach for a return visit.

The article, which also features information on the rival Lentil du Berry, tells how chefs like Christian Constant use the the "pearls of Central France":

“'I’ll typically make a lentil cream and serve it with foie gras.' He (Constant) also teams lentils with pigeon or sea bream or, when they are in season, fresh sea scallops. 'One of my favorite preparations starts with minced coquilles Saint-Jacques seasoned with a bit of salt and rosemary or lemongrass. Then I make a lentil cream and pour it, still steaming, over the raw scallops.'”

And like other classic foodstuffs in France, this one has its own brotherhood; presumed members are pictured above at a celebration of the legume. There'll be another fete later this year.

Book: French by Heart

An ex-pat who writes a book about living in any French region other than than Paris or Provence gets a big cheer from me. French by Heart: An American Family's Adventures in La Belle France is Rebecca S. Ramey's account of  moving her family to Clermont-Ferrand (Michelin country) in the Auvergne. It sounds as if the inevitable social pratfalls come to a good end. Publishers Weekly says "Rather than tell the story chronologically, Ramsey links the narrative to everyday events recalling the pitfalls and petite triumphs inherent in each encounter...Ramsey acknowledges telling 'the whole truth, even when it makes me look ridiculous' —and this results in an endearing memoir."

Here's an excerpt.

Travel on four legs, Part 2: On the Stevenson Trail with donkeys

Long ago, author Robert Louis Stevenson trekked through the Cevennes of south central France on a donkey and wrote about it. His book inspired -- to use the word lightly -- The Independent's Hilary Macaskill to re-create Stevenson's journey, complete with friend, dog, and a rotation of asses. (Is it possible to write about donkeys without one "ass" pun? I'm not strong enough.)

Moving forward, I'm not convinced that donkeys are the way to go. Although Macaskill and crew saw lots of pretty scenery, she says "It had taken him (Stevenson), a consumptive invalid with aching heart, 12 days. It took us, two healthy females, 17 days spread over four years."

There's a French language site about the Stevenson Trail. Also, Stevenson's book, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes, can be downloaded for free. It doesn't appear to be a long read.

Horse whispering in the Auvergne

  A different strategy for a family vacation in France: pack up the kids and spend time riding horses at an animal treatment center in the Auvergne. In a lengthy article from The Independent, Rory Ross and his brood take in the rustic charm of the Allier district and get to know Willie Sidorak, who treats the ailments of horses at a facility called Le Frelut (fr). The opening line may cause you to believe you're in for lots of over-writing -- "The local cocks were already fiercely debating the salmon dawn by the time the first rays of sunlight struck the steaming manure heap in the farmyard" -- but Ross settles down quickly. Near to the gite are the medieval cities of Souvigny (fr) and Bourbon-L'Archambault (fr) which have seasonal fairs and markets. (BTW, a "gite" is a simple, rural vacation lodge, especially in France. Sheltered person that I apparently am, it's a word I'd not come across often until recently.)

Regions of France: Facts about Auvergne

Those of us who have seen the wonderful documentary, Etre et Avoir, have experienced one view of the Auvergne region of France. A part of the Massif Central, Auvergne is known above all for its breathtaking landscapes, including a chain of (inactive) volcanic peaks.

Facts about Auvergne follow.