European vacations

A few friends and I headed off to Bordeaux for a four-day weekend off from school in Angers. We were all studying abroad and had heard of Bordeaux back in the states. Alcoholics that we were, we decided to give it a go since its claim to fame is wine.

In short, we were disappointed. Bordeaux is not an attractive city (to say the very least). It has the potential: anything else I ever encountered that was old, French, and on a river, was either quaint or gorgeous. Bordeaux is nothing but gray as far as the eye can see: gray buildings, gray streets, gray skies. The architecture is plain and functional. There aren’t many parks, the museum is substandard, and the food was adequate but not exceptional.

We started visiting France in 1980, at which time it was far more affordable and exotic as cafes had zinc bars and lighting fixtures were covered with cloths. There was more of a mama/papa feel to neighborhood places though some, happily, still exist. Going to the same cafe in the morning for a “creme” (strong coffee with boiled milk)is part of the experience of feeling like a Parisian. And back then school children looked very different from their American counterparts. That’s no longer so true. But you’ll still find some quirks (lights that go on and off with sensors), so go sooner, rather than later.

I just came back from a two weeks vacation in France. I have spent one week in the South, near the Azur Coast, where my grand-parents live. I have been there a few times and I will here give you a little information about the little towns where I spent this year”s week.

Fréjus

Fréjus is the town where my grand-parents actually live. They have recently bought a little apartment closer to downtown. They used to live in a house far enough that you could not do anything without your car. Now it is much better, although they are still far from the town in my opinion!

We used At Home In France in Ashland, Oregon to rent a centuries-old stone hunting lodge in the Vézère Valley in the Périgord (I’m having fun with accents!), and we could not be happier.

Allyn Kaufmann & Bruce Dicoskey, the proprietors, were extremely friendly and helpful. We found them first through there website (http://www.athomeinfrance.com), ordered the catalog, and uttered sighs of joy at the descriptions and photos of the various houses. Of course, the Dordogne fills up quick in the summer, and Allyn worked hard to give us options regarding times, locations, and prices.

We are fortunate enough to have spent 2 weeks

this past summer in an old farm house on 75

acres in the Dordogne, or Perigord, region of

France. The house is just outside of the village

of Bourdeilles and as soon as we drove onto the

property, we knew that we had found heaven on

earth.

The Dordogne is a “department” in the

Southwest of France and is known for many

things such as walnuts, foie gras and truffles.

It is often called the “Land of 1000 Chateaux”,

Epinions seems fairly down on Bordeaux as a city. Everyone likes the wine, but the general consensus seems to be that the city is a bit grey and drab, with not enough parks.

I can’t understand this! I spent the last year living there as a European Exchange student, and I found it a vibrant and lively place with fantastic restaurants, glorious bars and several huge parks. This town is in need of major re-evaluation by Epinions.

…he told us the botrytis cinerea-infested grapes are “like candy” to eat…

First it”s little brown dots. The fungus has snuck inside the white Semillon grape. Next, a darker color with itsy bitsy brown and green mold patches. The rot progresses through the fruit from the inside out, shriveling up the pulp and destroying the skin. And finally, the fully shrunk, fully rotten final-stage grape. The fungus has devoured most of the fruit”s moisture and left a shriveled, used-to-be grape with a furry mold coat on the outside. The workers have to pick these babies off the bunch individually to avoid having the wrong grapes go into the wine, because, ya know, you wouldn”t want an un-shriveled, un-moldy grape to go into a glass of Sauternes, now would you?

Don”t you just love it when you stumble across a great “find”? I have one for you - Restaurant La Cordonnerie in Paris.

While I was in Paris, I didn”t make reservations for my meals. I wasn”t really looking to go to any place fancy and I thought if one bistro didn”t have a table for me, another one would. I also figured that small neighborhood places would probably be good values and would be easiest to get to at the end of a long day of running all over Paris.

Have you ever wanted to get away from it all and go someplace that is so beautiful that you had to blink to be sure you’re not dreaming? Then I suggest going to Bordeaux France. I arrived there on Friday, May 12th and I just couldn’t believe my eyes. Nestled in a small valley surounded by vineyards and palm trees is a quaint little village of Bordeaux. The temperature was 80 degrees with low humidity.

Although I am not going to give you a blow by blow account of every place I ate while I was in Paris, there are just some places that need to be mentioned. La Fermette Marbeuf is one of them. I had a long and lovely lunch here on Saturday afternoon but I am sure that they would make your dinner every bit as nice.

I can”t remember which of my sources of information told me about this restaurant. It may have been a book or it may have been on line but it was an excellent suggestion.