Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
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TERRY WOGAN ON WHY FRENCH CYCLING PEDAL THE LANES OF
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TREATS NEVER TASTE THE SAME AT HOME SLEEPY LOT-ET-GARONNE AND DORDOGNE
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TRAVEL | FOOD & WINE | CULTURE | HISTORY June 2015 | Issue 201
Cte dAzur
Walk the stunning coastal path of the French Riviera
for its blue seas, pine trees and ocean breeze
England
vs France
Why guns are still
firing at Waterloo,
200 years on Jenni Murray
Ive been to the Moulin
Rouge more than any
other Englishwoman!
YOUR
E
ULTIMATE GUID
TO FRANaCE
d trip
Take a ro nce
around Proveseafood THE BEST
est
Find the b in Ste
restaurants amazing
HOTELS FOR
s
Visit Lyon eum
new mus
GREAT FOOD
Eat street
in Nice
food
AND WINE
Britain and North Americas
PESTO OR PISTOU? LE DOLRON best-selling magazine about France
Bonjour summer!
F
or dazzling sunshine, turquoise water and month marks the 200th anniversary of Waterloo,
a long history as a glamorous destination, the where he met his downfall. For this issue, Anthony
Cte dAzur is a favourite place for many of Lambert digs down into the detail of the battle to
us. But if strutting your stuff along the reveal how it played out. We also meet some of
Croisette in Cannes doesnt appeal, why not strap on the modern-day troops who re-enact the battle
your hiking boots for a walk of a different nature? as a hobby, going to great lengths to make the
Tristan Rutherford did just that with a stroll between costumes and artillery as authentic as possible.
Cap Martin and the resort of Cap-dAil and in doing This year also sees the 150th anniversary of
so uncovered some of the key sites of Eileen Gray and the golden age of mountaineering in the Alps,
Le Corbusiers stay on the coast in the 1930s; their when most of the peaks were conquered by British
story is depicted in the new film The Price of Desire. climbers. The Alpine town of Chamonix sees
We stay close to the sea with our story about the a number of events to mark the anniversary and
islands of Olron and Aix, which reveals how these our History Trail article maps out the best.
fascinating islands make for great summer Finally, if youre not yet a subscriber, dont miss Carolyn Boyd
destinations. The le dAix was, of course, where out on our fantastic offer on page 43. Whatever Editor
Napolon spent his final days on French soil before youre doing this summer, dont forget to drop us
PHOTOGRAPHS: SYLVAIN SONNET/HEMIS.FR; CRAIG SHEPHEARD
being exiled on the island of Saint Helena, and this a line and share your tips. Bon voyage et bientt!
CONTRIBUTORS
Tristan Rutherford Amanda Pollard Terry Wogan
Tristan knew from an early age Freelance journalist Amanda The celebrated broadcaster
he wanted to be a travel writer. has just returned to the UK has had a holiday home in the
A train ride along the Riviera after three years in Montpellier. Gers dpartement for nearly
coast in his early twenties The beauty of the Languedoc 20 years. Sir Terry brings us
inspired him to write about the deserted bays, inspired her to start a website, www.family- the latest of his bi-monthly columns on page
lapping waves and Aleppo pines. His story friendlyfrance.com. On page 82 she susses 15, musing on the differences between France
about walking the Cte dAzur is on page 44. out the best places to eat in Ste. and Britain when it comes to food and drink.
74
WIN
GREAT PRIZES
TO BE WON
FIND SERGE THE SNAIL 20
TAKE A PHOTO 34
WRITE A LETTER 34
77
DO A CROSSWORD 97
TRAVEL
.
BON APPTIT
08 FRANCE AT A GLANCE 77 FRUITS OF SUMMER
Let our stunning images take you on 58 WATERLOO Pick up a punnet of early-season
a whistle-stop tour of France. Find out what happened when Napolon strawberries to make a delicious tart.
met Wellington 200 years ago.
17 PRT PARTIR 78 FOOD & WINE
70
37
106
58 EVERY MONTH
23 HOLIDAY PLANNER
Organise your next trip with PAGE 17
PAGE 22
LA CULTURE
. our handy guide to travel routes.
PAGE 10
PAGE 33
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inadvertent inaccuracies or omissions. Judy Armstrong Eve Middleton
SOUTHERN SUNSET
The sun leaves a peachy hue as it sets over the popular seaside resort
of Biarritz on Frances Atlantic coast
PHOTOGRAPH: DREAMSTIME
SUMMERTIME SPECIAL
Visitors enjoy Mediterranean dining during the annual
12 FRANCE MAGAZINE Fria de Srignan in the Hrault dpartement
www.completefrance.com
PHOTOGRAPH: JEAN-PIERRE DEGAS/HEMIS.FR
COLUMN
In the country
Terry Wogan
From his holiday home in the Gers, our columnist muses on the great
divide between Britain and France when it comes to food and drink
S
urely it cant be too much to hope that this spring and carrying a couple of tomatoes, a packet of cooked ham and
into summer, the sun will at least peek furtively from a sliced pan loaf. It was as close as I could get, he apologised.
behind the clouds and give the male of the species his On my friends request for the more exotic provender of his
hour of glory amid the charcoal and the smoke, to holidays, the shopkeeper had smiled and said: Sure, if we had
produce the traditional sausage, burned to a crisp on the outside food like that, wed be eating it ourselves.
and raw on the inside; the hamburger cooked to the consistency Apart from La Manche, nothing separates our two great
of a paving stone. Ah, the joy of eating in the open air, where nations more than food and drink. Our delightful little
everything tastes so much better. Its why, on holiday abroad in supermarket, Huit Huit, caters for every whim, but in flagrant
sunnier climes, even that boring Greek salad and those tough, and typically French disdain for its proclaimed 12-hour
stuffed vine-leaves seem delightful as we quaff the local wine opening, closes for lunch between noon and 2pm. The British
with its elusive hint of tarmacadam. snatch a sandwich and a coffee on the run at lunchtime, but all
When we bring it home and pour a glass of reminiscence on France must sit down to lunch. The French, with baguette and
a dull autumn day, it doesnt seem to have travelled all that croissant, demand their bread fresh daily, while the British will
well, any more than the ouzo, or the Pernod and the sparkling keep a sliced white loaf in the bread bin until the crusts grow
ros we discovered in the hills behind Villefranche. Only a fool green. The French buy long-life milk in the supermarket; the
tries to recapture those lazy, hazy days with a Bacardi and coke British insist it be delivered daily, fresh, to their doors.
in the summer rains of home. Even a Pousse Rapire, the heady The British allow great wines to sit in their cellars, maturing
mixture of orange liqueur and sparkling wine native to our and improving with age, while the French smile knowingly,
beloved Gers and a cheering addition to any djeuner there, drink their wine when its younger and even, to the
doesnt lift the spirits in the same way in the Thames Valley. astonishment of their British friends, pour red wine without
ILLUSTRATION: TIM WESSON
Good friends of ours, visiting France, became entranced with bringing it to room temperature, and sometimes chill it!
the daily fresh baguette and croissant, with a simple breakfast All together now, Vive la diffrence!
of local ham and figs. Returning to their rural Irish home, they
thought to repeat the pleasure. On the first morning, the NEXT MONTH: Stephen Clarke gives a humorous take on
husband came back from an early visit to their local shop French city life. Terry Wogan is back in August.
Glorious gardens
T
he month of June sees heavy unlock their gates to garden lovers for Stroll along the neatly arranged lawn
spring rain give way to soft one weekend only in June. paths and marvel at the profusion of
and often uninterrupted rays One of many beautiful gardens fragrant fresh blooms filling the bright
of sunshine, the result of available to view is that of the Chteau mixed borders. Flowers as colourful as
which is the appearance of an de Miromesnil on the edge of Tourville- an artists palette lead on to the more
abundance of beautiful flowers which sur-Arques in Haute-Normandie. The practical beds of home-grown produce,
bedeck the many wonderful gardens chteau, built on the site of the old which you can sample should you wish
scattered throughout France. fortified castle, which was destroyed to stay in one of the chteaus well-
PHOTOGRAPH: ALAN AUBRY/CG 76
In 2003, in an effort to do justice to during the Battle of Arques in 1589, appointed guest rooms and admire the
the work of gardeners across boasts an elegant potager, or kitchen garden for just that little bit longer.
lHexagone, the Ministry of Culture garden. Restored to its former glory in
introduced the Rendez-Vous aux 1950, the garden was intended to be Chteau de Miromesnil
Jardins. Twelve years on and the event a source of great pleasure to the owner 76550 Tourville-sur-Arques
now attracts the participation of more and it continues to provide an enjoyable Tel: (Fr) 2 35 85 02 80
than 2,000 parks and gardens, which visitor experience even today. www.chateaumiromesnil.com
BATTLEFIELD TRIO
Mark the anniversaries of the
battles of Agincourt, Crcy and
Waterloo on a fascinating trip with
history tour specialist Martin
Randall, taking place on 6-10 July
and 2-6 September. Led by military
historian Major Gordon Corrigan,
June
the trip costs 1,760pp (based on
culturecommunication.gouv.fr the region. clock up more than 5,000 by 10,000 vendors offering anything
Tel: 08456 430 860 kilometres. from vintage clothes to antiques.
WINE AWAY www.grapeescapes.net Tel: (Fr) 2 43 40 80 00 Check in at the city-centre Htel
Join tour company Grape www.24h-lemans.com Brueghel, itself scattered with
Escapes on a trip to GET YOUR antiques. Doubles from 82.
Hautvillers, in Champagne, GROOVE ON Tel: (Fr) 3 20 06 06 69
to mark the 300th Head to the chic southern www.hotel-brueghel-lille.com
French city of Montpellier
274M
for its internationally
acclaimed dance festival.
Taking place in various
venues from 24 June until The number o
f
9 July, the event attracts people who
dancers and choreographers speak French
a first or seco as
nd
language
18 FRANCE MAGAZINE
READY TO GO
MUSEUM OF
CURIOSITIES
Lyons newest attraction looks like a starship with
out-of-this-world exhibits, says Paul Shearer
T
ravelling through the centre of futurist design resembling a floating cloud Origins Room, you are greeted by
Lyon youll find a shiny new of glass and steel that could have just spookily lifelike wax models of three
landmark looming into view. landed from a Star Trek convention. different female ancestors: Femme
Its the 180-metre-long, Once inside, however, the building Sapiens, Femme Flores and Neanderthal
37-metre-high Muse des Confluences, charms as a light and airy space with vast Woman. For dinosaur fans there are eggs
occupying a prime spot on the banks of exhibition rooms that show off Lyons as well as an impressive 14-metre-long
Lyons two majestic rivers, the Rhne treasured collection of scientific and skeleton of a Camarasaurus unearthed in
and the Sane. These meet in the anthropological curiosities. the Plains of Wyoming.
Confluence district, just south of the citys Items from five centuries of different During my visit to the temporary
historic centre. collections have been bequeathed to the exhibition dedicated to mile Guimet,
Around the new museum landscaped city along with a vast collection put a group of teenagers was animated by the
gardens demonstrate how this former together by lyonnais industrialist and charming room display which reinvents
industrial neighbourhood is being philanthropist mile Guimet (1836-1918), the cabinet of curiosities for the new
re-imagined as a cool quartier and who took over his fathers artificial millennium and features a dazzling line of
also something of a contemporary ultramarine factory and devoted himself butterflies snaking around the walls.
architecture theme park. to travel, especially to the Far East. I want the exhibitions to be enjoyed by
The museum is the star attraction, its With more than two million items to everyone, whether you are a child or
choose from in the permanent display, an expert, explained Hlne Lafont-
the curatorial team decided against Couturier, the museum director.
clustering the objects by date or geography, Lyon is also justly proud of its
but rather themed them around Mans gastronomic history, and there is
relationship to the planet. Their aim is to a fabulous brasserie on the ground floor
pose questions with juxtapositions: run by renowned two-Michelin-star chef
Where do we come from? How do we Guy Lassausaie. It adds to the Muse des
relate to other species? How do societies Confluences as a great place to feed both
work? What happens when we die? the mind and the body.
In the Species Room there are vibrant
displays of birds, insects and shells. One Muse des Confluences
long cabinet is filled with different kinds 86 Quai Perrache, 69002 Lyon
of antelopes of all shapes and sizes. Tel: (Fr) 4 28 38 11 90
Another has skeletons of extinct species www.museedesconfluences.fr
such as the dodo and the sea cow. In the Open Tuesday until Sunday.
B
ritains second city, formal, head over to Le Truc Collection (tel: 01564 772 paintings by
Birmingham, has (tel: 0121 622 7050, www. 124, www.breadcollection. French artists,
much in common letruc.co.uk) in the citys co.uk) for traditional French including Edgar
with its twinned city Arcadian complex a chic bread and ptisseries. For Dgas, Claude
in France, Lyon both were Parisian brasserie with a decadent dessert, try Monet, Pierre-Auguste
industrial powerhouses of adventurous cocktails. Chouchoute Chocolateries Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec.
their respective countries, both To stock up on French luxury artisan chocolates Finish the day at Mac,
have seen much regeneration treats, visit the Great Western (tel: 0121 314 3472, a cinema and theatre complex
in recent years and both boast Arcade, in the city centre www.chouchoute.co.uk). in Cannon Hill Park (tel:
thriving cultural scenes. (www.greatwesternarcade.co. After eating your way 01214 463 232, www.mac
For those seeking a taste of uk). Start with some delicious across the city hop on birmingham.co.uk). The
France in Birmingham there cheeses and charcuterie at Birminghams answer to the cinema screens French films,
are several restaurants from Anderson and Hill mtro for a ten-minute ride to so you can practise your
which to choose. Chef Didier delicatessen (tel: 0121 236 the university in the leafy language skills and soak up
Philpot serves up a fine dining 2829, www.andersonandhill. suburb of Edgbaston. Here some Gallic culture.
experience at Edmunds co.uk), with its cheese counter the Barber Institute of Fine Emma Rawle
(tel: 01216 334 944, www. you cant fail to drool over, Arts (tel: 0121 414 7333, For more on the city go to
edmundsrestaurant.co.uk) then move on to The Bread www.barber.org.uk) has http://visitbirmingham.com
ROUTE PLANNER
Plan your journey to France with our handy map and directory
FERRIES MyFerryLink Eurotunnel Aurigny Air Services easyJet Norwegian
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Tel: 0871 244 1400 www.myferrylink.com
www.brittany P&O Ferries Voyages-sncf.com Blue Islands Flybe Ryanair
ferries.co.uk Tel: 0871 664 2121 Tel: 0844 848 5848 Tel: 0845 620 2122 Tel: 0371 700 2000 Tel: 0871 246 0000
www.poferries.com www.voyages- www.blueislands.com www.flybe.com www.ryanair.com
Condor Ferries sncf.com
Tel: 0845 609 1024 bmi regional Jet2 Swiss Int. Air
Stena Line
www.condor Tel: 0330 333 7998 Tel: 0800 408 1350 Tel: 0845 601 0956
Tel: (ROI) 1 204 7777
ferries.co.uk www.bmiregional.com www.jet2.com www.swiss.com
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DFDS Seaways Aer Lingus British Airways Lyddair Titan Airways
Tel: 0871 574 7235 Tel: 0871 718 2020 Tel: 0844 493 0787 Tel: 01797 322 207 Tel: 01279 680 616
www.dfdsseaways.co.uk RAIL www.aerlingus.com www.britishairways.com www.lyddair.com www.titan-
Eurostar airways.co.uk
Irish Ferries Air France CityJet Monarch
Tel: (ROI) 818 300 400 Tel: 0843 218 6186 Tel: 0871 663 3777 Tel: 0871 405 2020 Tel: 0871 940 5040
www.irishferries.com www.eurostar.com www.airfrance.co.uk www.cityjet.com www.monarch.co.uk
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1 3
2 4
Round TRIP Fly into Nice before taking a scenic drive around
Provences picturesque villages and plunging
gorges, with plenty of gourmet stops en route
Moustiers Sainte-Marie When you reach the Plus Beau an hour to the Gorges du Verdon (D19,
Aiguines Village, park at the bottom; the hilltop D955 to the D7); Frances very own
PHOTOGRAPHS: MICHEL CAVALIER/HEMIS.FR; DREAMSTIME; CAMILLE MOIRENC;
Gorges du
Nice location and narrow medieval streets Grand Canyon 2 . At the D71, take the
Verdon Seillans make the centre tricky to navigate by car. road signed Rive Gauche and prepare for
Mougins Nice
airport A good spot is beside the ptanque pitch a dramatic journey along the hairpin
on Place de la Rpublique. road that hugs the edge of the precipice.
Draguignan
Stroll towards the central Place du After about 15 kilometres, between
Thouron for lunch under the shade of the villages of Comps-sur-Artuby and
plane trees at La Gloire de Mon Pre 1 Aiguines, youll find the Htel du Grand
DAY ONE (tel: (Fr) 4 94 60 18 65, www.lagloirede Canyon, overhanging a cliff edge (tel:
Arrive early morning at Nice airport, monpere.fr). The tourist office is just (Fr) 4 94 76 91 31, http://reservation-
iSTOCKPHOTO; FOTOLIA; OT NICE
where you can pick up the hire car opposite and is next to a museum and hotel.logishotels.com). Enjoy supper in
before making a quick getaway out of gallery dedicated to the artist Max Ernst, the panoramic restaurant before bed.
the city on the A8 autoroute. Leave at who lived in Seillans for more than
junction 39 and take the D37 and D19, a decade (tel: (Fr) 4 94 76 85 91, DAY TWO
following directions to Seillans. The www.seillans.fr). After breakfast, drive 20 minutes via the
65-kilometre drive takes about an hour. Return to the car and drive for D19 and D957 around the dazzling Lac
5 7
Austerity backlash
From the airwaves to the airways, French workers are walking out in
protest at cutbacks and economic reforms, says Paul Lamarra
F
or almost one month in the the austerity measures introduced to appealed to the public for support.
spring, listeners to public cut the annual budget deficit from four We are the voices that talk to your ears
service broadcaster Radio per cent to less than the three per cent every day, through our interviews,
France had to make do with required by European Union rules and chronicles, reportages and documentaries.
replacement music and terse news with the so-called Macron Law, which We try our best to fulfil the missions of
bulletins as staff walked out on strike aims to liberalise the French economy public radio: to inform, to educate, to
over budgets cuts and job losses. and boost employment. entertain, wrote radio presenters in
During that time thousands of At Radio France, where the strike an open letter to their listeners. Public
workers took to the streets in a so-called lasted a record 28 days, the unions were service has no vocation or possibility of
general strike that coincided with the challenging 330 job losses and the axing being profitable Radio France is
second day of an air traffic controllers of one of its two orchestras. Employees a heritage to be defended just as much
dispute. On 9 April, children were kept also feared that their enviable package of as the wood in the Presidents office,
home from school, hospitals operated benefits, which includes 68 days annual they added.
with a skeleton staff and many trains did holiday, could be under threat. Mathieu The government, which has made it
not run. Even the Eiffel Tower closed its Gallet, chief executive of Radio France, clear that there is no more money
doors and turned away tourists. claimed the cost-cutting measures were available, brought the strike to an end by
It is a phenomenon that is considered essential to eradicate the broadcasters appointing a mediator.
as French as the long lunch and every unsustainable 21 million annual Similarly, the air traffic controllers are
government has had to face the budget deficit. angry at moves to reduce pension costs
apparently all-powerful unions. On this Under a banner of This Strike is for by increasing the retirement age from 57,
occasion their gripe was two-fold: with You, the unions at Radio France the second lowest in Europe, to 59.
it marks a total loss of all the benefits is never less than half and in the UK one Louis XIV.
of the working class obtained through in four employees is represented by An entrepreneur and co-founder
the years. a union. In terms of days lost to strike of the Vieilles Charrues music
Union leaders stressed that the strike action, France is well below levels in Italy festival, Troadec has stated: We
was not called on a whim. For months and Scandinavia. must stop passing through Paris to
find out what to do in Brittany.
Since 2001 he has been the
Carving
a career
with soap
In her regular series, Carol
Drinkwater meets a sculptor
using everyday materials
B
uried in the back streets of Paris, behind
the towering Colonne de Juillet in Place
de la Bastille, is the untidy, unassuming
studio of Sylvain Gaudenzi. Sylvain,
a Frenchman of Italian descent and married to familys never-ending questions, he said he would
an Italian, is an art teacher and sculptor with become an artist.
a difference. He sculpts, not with stone, metal, During the years that Sylvain was an apprentice
ceramics or any of the matriaux nobles (an in the early 1980s, traditions within the art world
expression he uses regularly), but with soap, bits were changing rapidly. Picasso had created
of reclaimed wood and food. He has worked in this a sculpture out of old bits of bicyles, for example
same cramped atelier since the age of 17, when and Sylvain chose domestic, rejected materials.
he was apprenticed to an Argentinian sculptor who Carol Drinkwater I asked him about his soap artwork. It must be
occupied this space until Sylvain inherited it. is the best-selling used soap, never new.
The 11th arrondissment, where he works, was author of The He rubs the used sliver of soap between the palms
famous for its furniture-makers. From the 18th to Olive Farm series. of his hands until it begins to gain the consistency of
the 20th centuries, the passageways between the Her latest works ivory or bone. Then he cuts into it, carving out its
Bastille and Nation were flanked by ateliers set include the design he never knows in advance what the results
cheek by jowl, each occupied by a craftsman. paperback The will be. Afterwards, he paints the drawing with a
Anyone could stroll by and watch them at work. Only Girl in the mixture of oil and black ink. The result is delicate
Sylvain says it was once possible to walk between World, set during black lines against pale tones, like an exquisite
the two great squares using only these narrow World War I. engraving. Before a piece is offered for sale, it needs
passageways and never passing by the main streets. Contact Carol at a frame. Sometimes it takes months for Sylvain to
Many have been closed off now, but some still www.carol find the ideal piece of wood or plaster to house the
exist and it remains a district where artists and drinkwater.com tiny object, which is protected beneath glass. In
craftsmen continue to ply their trades. With the total, he has created fewer than 400 of his soap
crepuscular, almost secret aspects of these alleys and oeuvres. They take time.
their access from one part of town to another, it is easy to see Most of his evenings are dedicated to teaching young
how the French Revolution really got under way in this part children; and for five years he worked with patients in
of the capital; messages were passed and meetings arranged a psychiatric hospital. He aims to unlock the creativity in his
under cover of these hidden corridors. students. He is passionate about this work and recalls his own
It was Sylvains aunt who brought him here. He was childhood locked within his dyslexia.
a dyslexic, rebellious boy who refused to learn. At the Before I leave, he leaps to his feet and produces half a dozen
college opposite his school, students were studying design. black-ink drawings, painted on what I take to be parchment.
ILLUSTRATION: RICHARD COLE
He liked them and, for want of a better response to his No, not parchment, he grins, enjoying the game. I take one
of the miniatures between my fingers; it measures approximately
Sylvain rubs the used sliver of 3in by 2in. I turn it over. The unpainted reverse is opaque and
soap between his palms to certainly looks like parchment. His face is gleeful.
Think again. I cannot. Lasagne, he cries triumphantly.
gain the consistency of ivory Dried strips of lasagne. I am celebrating my Italian heritage.
As a child I asked for French lessons, generous and unnecessary thank you for
not ballet lessons. When I was 16 and opening our home to Auriana some
a notice went up at my high school, 20 years ago. The gift of an amiti
announcing the need for host families to franaise is a gift like no other. In my life,
welcome French students that summer, its unanticipated benefits continue to You can find FRANCE Magazines
I ordered my parents to volunteer our unfold in the most miraculous of ways. new updated index for issues 100-200
home. Later, I spent a year and a half June Battersby on our website via this link:
abroad in Paris and only came back Sarasota, Florida, US www.completefrance.com/FMIndex
LE SAINT-JAMES, at Bouliac (known as the balcony of indeed it doesnt. The building itself is
Bouliac, Bordeaux Bordeaux) was nothing but calming and also an impressive sight, and so from the
Remote controls are a modern staple of I was spoiled by the notion that I could pool, or the small vineyard at the front,
hotel rooms, now that TVs and DVD enjoy the phenomenal sight in a number you can stare up at its red-iron faade
players are de rigueur. But there cant of ways; from the rooms sofa, where and marvel at how, in 1989, this top
be many remote controls that give you a plate of fruit was waiting for me on architect transformed an 18th-century
power over one of Frances most the coffee table; from the balcony the farmhouse into one of the regions
sensational views. As I woke from one night before, the city lights twinkling leading hotel-restaurants. Its current
of the best nights sleep Ive had in years under the inky sky; from the sun- success is due to chef Nicolas Magie,
(thanks to the supremely comfy bed and loungers, or even better still, from the whose one-Michelin-star cuisine must be
crisp linen sheets), I immediately reached private hot tub on same said balcony. tasted to be believed and, if you can take
for the switch that slowly raised the Inside the ber-modern room, Jean your eyes off his sumptuous dishes, the
automatic blind on the window at the Nouvels minimalist design seemed restaurant offers its own amazing views.
foot of the bed. As I lay with my head a little stark on arrival, but absolutely Carolyn Boyd
propped on the downy pillow, the sight fitting once wed settled in nothing 3 Place Camille Hostein
PHOTOGRAPHS: NICOLAS CLARIS
of the River Garonne dappled with should detract from that view, and 33270 Bouliac
morning mist, and the city of Bordeaux Tel: (Fr) 5 57 97 06 00
beyond it, came into view. www.saintjames-bouliac.com
While the city itself was undoubtedly Price 450 (for two) for a one-night stay,
frenetic somewhere out there in the breakfast and dinner, with the five-course
distance, the view of it from this hotel Saint-James Menu with beverages).
HTEL RIBERACH,
Languedoc-Roussillon
Wine-lovers will love a stay at the Htel
Riberach. This former wine co-operative,
sitting at the foot of a medieval castle,
has been transformed into a unique wine vats, the others above, where there
hotel-cum-wine cellar with architecture are fantastic views over the surrounding
that has a naval feel to it. In turning the vineyards. In the grounds there is
industrial buildings into chic living a natural swimming pool and decking
accommodation, the designers joined that forms the shape of the bow of
together batches of two or three of the a ship. The restaurant, with its lofty
original vats to make each of the lower ceiling and seven-metre-high window, is
rooms. Four conjoined vats form the run by Laurent Lemal who was a
kitchen area, and the restaurant is runner-up in the prestigious four-yearly
positioned in the centre of the building Meilleur Ouvrier de France competition.
where the old presses once stood. The He is poetic in his description of his
communal rooms have cool, industrial- food: A piquant cuisine, sharp and
style decor, while the bedrooms are stimulating but always with a certain Tel: (Fr) 4 68 50 30 10
warmed with splashes of bright colour in sense of balance, a search for precision. www.chateauxhotels.co.uk
the furnishings and fabrics. Seven of the 2a Route de Caladroy Doubles above the wine vats from 130;
18 bedrooms are situated in the former 66720 Belesta in the vats from 170.
guests. The floral bedecked terrace and vineyard with a heritage stretching wedding anniversary; Ive told my
gleaming outdoor pool are a natural back to Roman times. There are many husband Im worth it...
draw, both for a morning swim or when things that make La Rserve truly Judy Armstrong
you simply want to relax, watching the special, from the warm service to that 13 Rue Jean Mermoz
sunlight bounce off the water. inviting, sun-drenched terrace. Its the 74940 Annecy-le-Vieux
Each of the 20 rooms is individually sort of place where even a humble Tel: (Fr) 4 50 23 07 90
and comfortably furnished. My Junior visitor like me can feel like royalty, even www.closdessens.com
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: SHEENA HARVEY
Suite had an art-deco feel, which added if just for a few days. Doubles from 206, breakfast 25.
to the air of indulgence that pervades Eleanor OKane Menus from 100.
La Rserves cool air. My room was 81 Route de Cordes
sumptuous and welcoming and its large 81000 Albi
terrace proved an irresistible spot for Tel: (Fr) 5 63 60 80 80
sipping morning coffee while watching www.lareservealbi.com
a boat peacefully make its way along Doubles from 298 per night.
CHTEAU CORDEILLAN-BAGES
superb restaurant, Ct Mas. estate with a small river running through
From this summer, the hotel will it. You can stay in an 18th-century LA CHAUMIRE, Dole
offer a different activity for each day convent or a 19th-century colonial With his trademark red glasses, chef Jol
of the week, including vineyard visits mansion in rooms and suites that are Csari has been bringing his love of colour
and tours of artisans workshops. sumptuously furnished. The gardens and passion for local flavours to La
Dominic Rippon are there to explore, and everywhere Chaumire since 2004. The contemporary
5 Rue Pzenas, 34120 Pzenas you go youll find places to stop for
Tel: (Fr) 4 67 35 14 88 delicious refreshments. It is
http://hoteldevigniamont.com an all-round treat for the senses.
Doubles from 95, buffet breakfast 40320 Eugnie-les-Bains, Landes
9, minimum stay two nights. Tel: (Fr) 5 58 05 06 07
www.michelguerard.com
Doubles from 360 per night.
www.hotel-lesflorets.com The vineyards stretch to 1,000 and they offer a wine buffet with the
Doubles from 82.50, breakfast 16.50, hectares and surround the chteau, option to try eight, 16 or 24 wines with
menus from 36. meaning most of the bedrooms have your meal from the innovative wine
views of the vines and on a clear day vending machine.
you can even catch a glimpse of the Emma Rawle
Mediterranean sea. If your room Route de Narbonne Plage
doesnt have a vineyard view then you 11100 Narbonne
will be looking out over the pretty Tel: (Fr) 4 68 45 28 50
courtyard which is home to the www.chateau-hospitalet.com
NEXT
restaurant LArt de Vivre and several Doubles from 60
MONTH
artisan shops. per night. G R E AT PL ACE S
TO STAY BY
TH E SE A
I
ts pain-au-choc-oclock in the sunniest corner of France. appears as a carbuncle on the coast. Le Corbusier would
with Gray. She was a fabulous member of les annes folles Roquebrune-Cap-Martins little station. (Likierman and team
[the 1920s] and much courted for designing elegant apartments are refurbishing the unused sidings into another cultural space,
in Paris, before she decided to build a villa for herself by the due to open in stages until 2017.) Beaches become coves, and
sea. The Swiss architect rented the Irishwomans Cap Martin coves become nameless creeks, until I find four square metres of
villa in the late 1930s. The fascination turned into jealousy, shingle beside Monaco for a snack/siesta/swim. I need it, as my
however, and there was a sense that the unassuming Gray had coastal walk is only half done.
pipped him to the modernist post. In 1938 Le Corbusier daubed Like a fool, I choose to hike the four kilometres across
stunning if inappropriate frescoes on Grays clean pastel Monaco (non-masochists can take the No. 6 bus across the
walls. She was furious and never entered her house again. country for just 2). The Principalitys reclaimed seaside suburb
Le Corbusier died in 1965 while swimming below the villa and of Fontvieille abuts the French border. Surprisingly it hosts an
is buried nearby. Gray passed away in 1976 and was laid to rest international airport, where scheduled seven-minute helicopter
in Pre Lachaise cemetery in Paris. shuttles to Nice Airport depart every 15 minutes. Such
It was such a drama that they turned the story into a film, exuberance created the glorious French suburb of Cap-dAil
says Likierman. He assisted with the recent Cap Martin filming next door. I cross the street into France to find out more.
previously enjoyed only by those with a private yacht. An Evian-style accoutrement was never built. As I walk in the setting sun to
mineral water source seeps out 100 metres from the beach, resulting Plage Mala, the remains of a small turret are visible on the
in a profusion of sub-tropical fish. Its also possible to weave below beach. Believe it or not, an alpine-style funicular cable car was
the villas of The Rock and LErmitage du Cap Fleuri along Cap-dAils once planned between beach and hotel.
Sentier du Littoral, most of which are best seen from afar. Precipitous cliffs block my onward route. The Sentier du
Mentons Centre Nautique (tel: (Fr) 4 93 35 49 70, www.voile- Littoral begins again at Beaulieu-sur-Mer seven kilometres
menton.fr) rents SUPs for 13 per hour from the protected bay further on and continues around the French coast for thousands
of kilometres. But thats a story for another day.
beside the La Pergola beach club. Paddle out to see Jean Cocteaus
Muse du Bastion. Youll have to return to dry land, though, to see Turn to page 50 for travel information.
the oceanfront Muse Cocteau, which houses 1,800 exhibits donated
by Belgian-American collector Sverin Wunderman. The building was See our next issue for an interview with architectural expert
designed by Rudy Ricciotti, the architect behind Marseilles new Jonathan Meades, who lives in Le Corbusiers Cit Radieuse
MuCEM (tel: (Fr) 4 89 81 52 5 http://museecocteaumenton.fr). in Marseille. Our August issue will feature a trail of
Le Corbusiers best French sites.
Francofile
GETTING THERE
Making your way along the Cte dAzur trail
Tel: (Fr) 4 93 78 18 58 Le Roquebrune WHERE TO EAT
By train: The rail journey www.clajsud.fr 100 Avenue Jean Jaurs Le Piccadilly
from London to Cap-dAil Only in France: a hostel 06190 Roquebrune- 16 Avenue Franois
and Cap Martin via Paris sited within a multi-million- Cap-Martin de Monlon
and Nice takes ten hours. euro villa, surrounded by Tel: (Fr) 4 93 35 00 16 06190 Cap Martin
Fares start from 123 the worlds most expensive www.le-roquebrune.com Tel: (Fr) 4 93 35 87 16 Lden
return through Voyages- real estate. The genial This htel de charme has www.lepiccadilly.com Alle Mala
sncf.com (tel: 0844 848 trilingual manager Paolo just six guestrooms and Visit this locals favourite 06320 Cap dAil
5848, www.voyagessncf. is an expert on the enjoys spectacular sea for a slap-up Provenal Tel: (Fr) 4 93 78 17 06
com). surrounding villas and views as well as the meal. Admittedly, the Sit on cushioned booths
By air: The nearest airport coastline. The knockout set benefit of private parking. cloakroom dates from the perched on Plage Mala,
is Nice. dinner served on a sea Doubles from 120. 1970s (complete with while waiters shuffle back
By road: Cap-dAil is around view terrace costs just 12. vintage phone booth), but and forth with platters of
an 11-hour drive from the Dormitory beds from 20; FOR AN APRO for cod aoli, linguine frutti tuna tataki and bottles of
northern ferry ports. private double rooms also La Pinde di mare and bargain pichets Bandol. Mains from 15.
available. 10 Avenue Raymond of wine, its unsurpassed.
WHERE TO STAY Gramaglia Menus from 17.50. ATTRACTIONS
Hotel Victoria Hotel Miramar 06320 Cap-dAil Villa E-1027 and
7 Promenade du 126 Avenue du 3 Septembre Tel: (Fr) 4 93 78 37 10 Le Cabanon Le Cabanon
Cap Martin 06320 Cap-dAil www.restaurant Pointe des Douaniers Avenue de la Gare
06190 Roquebrune- Tel: (Fr) 4 93 78 06 60 lapinede.com 06320 Cap-dAil 06190 Roquebrune-
Cap-Martin www.miramarhotel.fr. Although pricey for eating Tel: (Fr) 4 93 78 01 94 Cap-Martin
Tel: (Fr) 4 93 35 65 90 Arguably the French (the delicious three-course www.capresort.com/ Tel: (Fr) 6 48 72 90 53
www.hotel-victoria.fr Rivieras best bargain. menu with tartare de boeuf cabanon www.capmoderne.com
Stupendous sea-view hotel The two-star Miramar weighs in at 34), this Its not cheap, but the Guided visits Tue-Sun,
at the sunny start point of commands views across restaurant is a dream for shabby-chic location of this 10am and 2pm (3.30pm
the Cap Martin coastal the entire coast from its aperitifs, especially as the beach shack diner on July and Aug). Entry 15.
trail. The 32 rooms are perched location off the chic beach cabin sits on a rocky outcrop jutting
PHOTOGRAPH: RUTHERFORD TOMASETTI PARTNERS
styled in homage to Nice-Monaco basse the Cap-dAil coastal trail. into the Mediterranean Villa les Camlias
local greats, including corniche coastal road. The 5 glasses of ros slip is sublime. Grab a Ricard 17 Avenue Raymond
Le Corbusier, Eileen Gray, Doubles from 68; terrace back easily as the sun and set of boules, or order Gramaglia
Picasso and Henri Matisse. rooms and family rooms sinks on the lapping a grilled bream. Mains 06320 Cap-dAil
Doubles from 79. are a little extra. Mediterranean below. from 18. Tel: (Fr) 4 93 98 36 57
www.villalescamelias.com
Villa Thalassa TOURIST INFORMATION: Cap dAil tourist office, tel: (Fr) 4 93 78 02 33, Entry 9, under-12s free.
2 Avenue Raymond www.cap-dail.com; Roquebrune-Cap-Martin tourist office, tel: (Fr) 4 93 35 62 87, Open Apr-Oct, except Mon
Gramaglia www.roquebrune-cap-martin.com; Cte dAzur regional tourist board and Sat; Dec-Mar, Sun, Tue
06320 Cap-dAil www.cotedazur-tourisme.com and Thu.
Send a cheque made payable to Archant Community Media Ltd to: Complete Guide to Living in
France, CDS Global, Tower House, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 9EF
Free delivery to the UK. Please add 1 for P+P for Europe and 2.50 to the rest of the world
W
hen youre on the le dOlron, its sometimes
difficult to remember that you are on an island.
Of course it was separated from le continent
for a long time before a spectacular arched
road bridge opened in 1966 which forever connected it to the
Atlantic coast, just near the port of Rochefort. As you drive
over the strait, the bridge brings you to the heart of a flat,
watery landscape, where disused salt basins, some of which are
now oyster beds, stretch away on each side. You lose sight of
the sea and pass rows of one-storey suburban villas, eventually
arriving at Le Grand-Village-Plage, a 1950s seaside resort,
tucked between the sea, the marshes and the pine forests.
This is the le dOlron, the lesser-visited neighbour of the le
de R, and it is Frances second-largest island after Corsica. With
long sandy beaches, pine forests and salt pans as far as the eye can
see, it is a wilder place than R where the fishing and salt industries
play as much a part in the islands culture as the tourism does.
At Le Port des Salines, just outside Le Grand-Village-Plage,
they have reconstructed an area of marsh, so salt is being
produced once again. The original marshes were created in the
Middle Ages and because salt was so essential for the
preservation of food, there were hundreds of workers (sauniers)
and gatherers (paludiers) producing thousands of tons a year.
Now, once again in the summer, you can watch the salt gatherers
at work and buy some of their harvest from the cabin shop. You
can walk round the marshes and the saltpans or take a boat trip. pointing out the menus on the chalkboards. Objects hang
Black winged stilts stand stock still in the water, a buzzard sits on everywhere: photos of fishermen holding their unbelievable
a gorse bush and shelducks gather together for company. catches, a pair of boots, several seafaring caps, cuddly toys and
lots of bons mots, such as: If you listen too much to the
Appetising stop weather forecast, youll just stay in the restaurant. Then theres
A museum, located in a series of colourful cabins, recounts the the food, which is as quirky and individual as the setting,
lives of the people, their clothes and their tools. In their 12 to beautiful to look at and delicious. I have hake with chorizo
14-hour day, workers would scrape the crust of salt that forms cream and lightly battered carrots.
on the surface of the water. This is fleur de sel, the finest of the After a walk along the vast Grande-Plage, which, on this
salt. The large grains (gros sel) were extracted from the bottom. spring day, is wild and windswept but still busy with intrepid
The salt would then drain slowly until ready for storing. surfers, I visit Le Chteau-dOlron on the east-facing coast.
The museum is just yards from an unusual restaurant, Le This pretty little town is enclosed within the walls of a citadel,
Relais des Salines, which is made up of green, blue and black completed during Louis XIVs reign by celebrated military
cabins set on a wooden pier, with a sun terrace at one end. engineer Vauban in order to protect Rochefort, Frances main
Friendly staff move among the customers, welcoming them and naval port, across the water.
a 12-kilometre round trip by a squat but colourful diesel engine, terrapins and deer, and the treetops are
which runs partly on used frying oil from local restaurants. populated with egrets, herons and storks.
The train trundles through a forest of parasol pines and ilex The early evening is spent strolling
past a beach with its golden sands sheltered by the Gulf Stream, around Saint-Pierre-dOlron, the islands
but as we approach La Pointe de Maumusson at the southern capital, with its museum, the church of
extremity of La Grande-Plage, we pass through a petrified Saint-Pierre and a medieval tower where
forest, with twisted, leafless branches and gnarled tree trunks. The Lantern of the Dead was lit every night
We stand on the immense, windswept beach and the conductor to celebrate the departed.
explains that there are always heavy rollers here; the salt spray The next day, I head to the northern tip of the island to visit
kills the trees and the dunes are constantly in retreat. He points the Phare de Chassiron, which was built in 1836, making it the
to where the station was six months ago, 60 metres away. Ten second oldest lighthouse in France after Cordouan in the
years ago, the station was a kilometre further out to sea. Gironde Estuary. Climb the 224 steps to the top and youll be
I spend most of the afternoon at Les Marais aux Oiseaux, rewarded with views of La Rochelle, the le de R and the le
a bird and animal reserve and a sanctuary for injured birds. dAix. Immediately below is a beautiful garden laid out in the
Napolon Gourgaud, great-grandson of the general Charming B&B a few fish stew (pictured). ATTRACTIONS
who was by the emperors side in exile. You can see yards from the beach, Muses Napolonien
the bedroom where Napolon slept and a collection port and restaurants. ATTRACTIONS et Africain
of paintings, cartoons, busts, clocks, letters and Doubles from 70. Le Port des Salines Rue Napolon
objets relating to his life. The house also contains Petit Village 17123 le dAix
Le Muse Africain, which has a weird collection of Htel Novotel Rue des Anciennes Tel: (Fr) 5 46 84 66 40
stuffed animals and birds including a camel used by Thalassa le dOlron Salines See tourist office
Napolon during his Egyptian campaigns. Plage de Gatseau 17370 Le Grand-Village- website for details of
My visit to the island is nearly over. After 17370 Saint-Trojan-les- Plage other attractions on the
devouring eight oysters washed down with a dry Bains Tel: (Fr) 5 46 75 82 28 island.
white wine at a hut on the seashore, its time to
catch the ferry. I watch the le dAix getting smaller TOURIST INFORMATION: le dOlron tourist office, tel: (Fr) 5 46 85 65
as the boat moves towards Fouras, and vow to 23, www.ile-oleron-marennes.com; le dAix tourist office, tel: (Fr) 5 46
return for a longer spell on this tranquil little island. 84 66 09, www.iledaix.fr
B
elieve me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so
melancholy as a battle won. No words better
encapsulate the events of 18 June, 1815, than the
Duke of Wellingtons. He may have commanded the
allied forces in the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your
life, but he was appalled by slaughter on a scale that
anticipated World War I; in fact a higher proportion of British
servicemen died in the wars between 1792 and 1815 than
during the later conflict.
The events leading up to the battle began with Napolons
escape from exile on the island of Elba in February 1815. After
landing at Golfe-Juan between Cannes and Antibes, Napolon
used his charisma, promises and lies to win over entire
regiments as he made for Paris. Louis XVIII fled to Ghent and
the Seventh Coalition of Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia
assembled its forces to be rid of this enemy of world peace.
Napolons only hope against such an allied force was to
engage each army separately, which dictated an
offensive strategy. Only the Prussians and a mixed
army of British, Belgian, Dutch and German
soldiers were mobilised quickly. Napolon decided
to attack in present-day Belgium, then in the
Netherlands, and crossed the border on 15 June.
Though Napolons forces defeated the Prussians
under Marshal von Blcher at Ligny on the 16th,
the majority of the Prussians retreated in good
enough order for Blcher to promise Wellington
two days later that he would join up with him as
soon as possible.
Also on the 16th, Wellington had fought
a more inconclusive engagement at Quatre Bras
against Marshal Ney, who had succeeded in
preventing the two allied armies joining. But
Napolon couldnt have it both ways: by dividing
his forces to prevent the enemy uniting, he
diminished the chances of quick, decisive victories.
Hearing of the Prussians withdrawal, Wellington
had no option but to make a tactical, fighting
retreat. Seasoned by campaigns in India and
Iberia, Wellington had reconnoitred the country
south of Brussels the previous September and had
identified a site south of Waterloo as the best defensive position.
Wellington may have secured the ground he wanted, but
other cards were stacked against him. Most of his seasoned
Iberian Peninsula soldiers were still in Canada after the war
against the United States had ended in December 1814. In the
PHOTOGRAPHS: GEORGES GOBET/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; FOTOLIA
in artillery the allies had only 156 guns to Frances 252 defended by 360 men of the Kings German Legion; and
would be diminished by soil that absorbed cannon shot rather Hougoumont, larger and grander than La Haie-Sainte with
than helped it to ricochet. a chteau and extensive farm buildings. Detachments of
Wellington had risen at 2am, received Blchers promise to the Coldstream and Scots Guards were charged with defending
attack Napolons right flank as soon as he could, mounted his the position at all costs to prevent the French outflanking
stallion Copenhagen and rode to the crossroads of the Brussels the right of the allied line.
ABOVE AND LEFT: The the fiction of Hornblower and Sharpe piece, Jerry is taking a period forge to
Napoleonic that captures the imagination. Waterloo with historic tools and anvil
Association during The Napoleonic era is full of heroes, to demonstrate the skills of a sergeant
re-enactments at gallantry, courage and adventure; armourer. This will be part of the living
Spetchley Park near Boys Own stuff. Then one starts to history camp, which also includes
Worcester and take an interest in a regiment and kitchens, a surgeons tent and a tavern.
Ickworth House in you get in touch with other people, Two rocket launchers are planned to
Suffolk; Mike Haynes, which is much easier with the internet accompany Jerrys artillery. Wellington
who will command than in the days of library file cards. didnt want the rockets on the field of
the British forces at A friend and I were hooked by the battle, intending them to be used to set
Waterloo, is pictured uniforms and weaponry, and all the fire to urban areas. But a Capt
above with his drama of the period. To stand in a line Whinyates took them anyway and
aide-de-camp Tino of fusiliers with muskets blazing away, when an attack by the Scots Greys was
Richter (right): you get the smell of the gunpowder and repelled, the troop fired 100 rockets,
BELOW: the heat of the flash in the pan from the creating havoc among the French.
Chairman person next to you, and all visibility is Re-enactments also shed light on
Martyn gone you get a real tactile, immersive practicalities. Martyn Monks says it is
Monks in experience of what youve read about. difficult to march in a straight line and
full uniform For Jerry Spearing, it was having maintain formation, especially when
three ancestors in the army during the the ground is wet, as in 1815. What if
Napoleonic Wars: one at Waterloo in its wet on the bicentenary? As long as
the 12th Light Dragoons and two in we can get the tents up and take them
the Peninsular War. Besides his artillery down in the dry, that will be fine.
The danger this represented became apparent at about form lines to penetrate the hedge, 3,000 British muskets fired,
11.30am when fighting began here two hours before anywhere followed by a charge of the Scottish infantry and two cavalry
else. Although intended by Napolon as a diversionary attack, forces. The French infantry retreated, but the British cavalry
it soon developed into a full-scale struggle. Repeated assaults pursued them too close to the French guns and were mauled.
were driven back, but not until the French had penetrated Napolon had read an intercepted message to Wellington
a courtyard through the north gate, left open for supplies and about the Prussian advance and sent infantry and cavalry units
reinforcement; fierce hand-to-hand fighting left only a French to counter the move. Papelotte was retaken. Misinterpreting
drummer boy on his feet and the gates were closed. Though the wounded British soldiers heading for Brussels as a retreat, Ney
orchard was overrun once and had to be retaken and French ordered the cavalry to make the second main attack, made up
mortars set the buildings alight, Hougoumont never fell, its of 12 ranks of 500 abreast but without any infantry support, as
2,500 defenders repulsing more than five times that number and tactical wisdom demanded. Behind the allied ridge were infantry
immobilising about 8,000. squares of three ranks in chequerboard pattern to give covering
At 1pm the French artillery opened fire before the first of the fire. In front was the artillery so that the gunners could fire at
three main attacks, with 17,000 men under Ney advancing in the last moment and retreat within the squares.
three columns. It took little time for mud to slow them as men Horses cannot be made to charge a hedge of glittering
slipped or even lost their boots to the sucking mud. Despite bayonets, and their riders could not see the allied squares until
heavy casualties from artillery and musket fire, the French they were almost on top of them. The combination of artillery
surrounded La Haie-Sainte and captured the farm of Papelotte grapeshot and musket fire whittled their numbers but they
on Wellingtons extreme left. The British forces in the lane were charged past the squares to meet Lord Uxbridges cavalry,
hidden by the holly hedge, and as the French columns halted to leading to a swirling mass of horses around the infantry
Factfile
Explore the battlefield of
BELGIUM
GETTING WHERE
THERE TO EAT
VISITING THE BATTLEFIELD By rail: Services run Restaurant 1815
The town of Waterloo is the obvious starting point. from London to Route de Lion 367
Opposite one another beside the main crossroads are the Brussels, and it is 1410 Waterloo History, Brussels:
Wellington Museum and the Baroque-style church of then 25 minutes by Tel: (Bel) 2 384 98 84 Visit a gallery
Saint-Joseph with its imposing rotunda and dome. The train to Braine- www.restaurant1815.be devoted to Napolon
museum occupies the inn where Wellington had his lAlleud (tel: 0844 and his time
headquarters. Besides Wellingtons bedroom and office, 848 5848, www. TIME FOR (www.klm-mra.be).
and the room where his aide-de-camp, Lieut-Col Sir voyages-sncf.com). AN APRO Apsley House: The
Alexander Gordon, died, there are memorabilia and By road: Waterloo Le Wellington Caf London town house
pictures of the battle. The church has many memorials. is 2hr from the Route du Lion of the Dukes of
The battlefield gained legal protection in March 1914, northern ferry ports. 1410 Braine-lAlleud Wellington includes
and little harm had been done in the intervening 99 years. Tel: (Bel) 2 387 38 11 two exhibitions
The only major change was the creation of the conical WHERE TO STAY www.restaurant exploring the life of
Lion Hill monument marking the spot where the Prince Martins Grand dulion.be Wellington and the
of Orange was wounded. This entailed scraping the soil Hotel Sample more than 15 battle, including his
off the surrounding land, making it harder to appreciate Chausse de beers on tap and 120 sword and a pair of
the value to the allies of the sunken lane where many Tervuren 198 in bottle. original Wellington
French cavalry came to grief. Almost in the middle of 1410 Waterloo boots. The Wellington
Wellingtons line, the Hill was opened in 1826 with Tel: (Bel) 2 352 18 15 ON THE Arch stands opposite
a 28-ton lion cast in Lige standing on a plinth at the top www.martins BATTLEFIELD (www.english-
of 226 steps. The surrounding platform provides hotels.com Route du Lion heritage.org.uk).
an unrivalled view over the battlefield. Modern hotel built 252-254 Stratfield Saye,
Adjacent to the Lion Hill is the Panorama, a rotunda around an 1830s 1420 Braine-lAlleud Hampshire: The
housing a 360-degree painting commissioned in 1912 for brick-vaulted sugar Tel: (Bel) 2 385 19 12 house was acquired
the centenary of the battle and painted by Louis-Jules factory, with a www.waterloo1815.be by the Duke of
Dumoulin. Measuring 110 metres long and nearly 12 restaurant serving An 1815 Waterloo Wellington with the
metres high, it portrays a composite view of the forces of haute cuisine. Pass (13.50) covers 600,000 given him
the battlefield with foreground mannequins and stage Doubles from 115. the Wellington by Parliament. His
props. Connected to the Panorama by a tunnel is the large Museum, Le Caillou horse Copenhagen is
new visitor centre opening for the bicentenary. Hougoumont and Lions Mound. buried under an oak
Around the crossroads where Wellington issued orders 1410 Waterloo in the grounds (www.
are the Belgian and Hanoverian monuments, and opposite Tel: 01628 825925 WATERLOO stratfield-saye.co.uk).
is the monument to Lieut-Col Sir Alexander Gordon. www.landmarktrust. CONNECTIONS Plas Newydd House,
La Haie-Sainte can be seen from the opposite side of the org.uk Muse de lArme, Gwynedd: The cavalry
busy road, but is privately owned. Further along the road The Landmark Trust Les Invalides, Paris: museum at the home
towards Charleroi is La Belle Alliance, the inn where has created a simple The location of of the Marquesses
Napolon reviewed his troops before the battle and where apartment in the Napolons tomb and of Anglesey displays
in the evening Wellington and Blcher greeted one another former gardeners one of his 19 the artificial leg
on horseback. Just beyond is the monument to Victor cottage beside the surviving bicorne made for the 1st
Hugo, who described the battlefield in Les Misrables, south gates of this cocked hats, one of Marquess to replace
and opposite that, in the form of a wounded eagle, walled farmyard, a which sold for 1.2 the one lost at
a memorial to the Imperial Guard of the Grande Arme. key battle location. million in 2014 (www. Waterloo, and Denis
Two kilometres south towards Charleroi, Le Caillou is Furnishings evoke musee-armee.fr). Dightons vast
the farmhouse where Napolon spent the night before the the Napoleonic era. Royal Museum of painting of the battle
battle. It has been restored and contains memorabilia Sleeps four, from the Armed Forces (www.nationaltrust.
about the Emperor. Perhaps the most evocative site is 482 for four nights. and of Military org.uk).
Hougoumont, which has been restored with British help.
You can see the loops cut out of the brickwork for TOURIST INFORMATION: Waterloo tourist office, tel: (Bel)
muskets to fire through and trees still line the orchard. 2 352 09 10, www.waterloo-tourisme.com; Brussels tourist
board, www.visitbrussels.be
Cycle of life in
the Dordogne
Quiet roads and abundant culinary delights gave Paul Lamarra
a different view of an organised biking holiday
W
hen I had cycled to the top of the crest of the Despite having stayed one night and cycled fewer than
first hill between Monestier and the small town five kilometres I also understood what a gourmet cycling
of Loubs-Bernac I stopped and had my first holiday with Cycling for Softies was likely to entail. Before
glimpse of the Dordogne landscape. Looking I arrived I was uneasy with the idea of a cycling softie and
north towards Bergerac, where the River Dordogne flowed, was loath to admit to being one, but here I was standing
similar low and rounded ridges unfurled like rolls of fat. Indeed astride my bike looking at the map while planning a gentle
it had all the qualities I would look for in a rustic cook. route and earmarking a likely lunch stop.
Such a first impression was entirely bogus because the It is an old idea, cycling in such a landscape as the
metaphor and my view of the Dordogne had already been Dordogne, and Susi Madron, co-founder of Cycling for
coloured by my first night at the Chteau des Baudry at nearby Softies, was among the first to spot the pleasures of bringing
Monestier, where I had eaten and drunk some of the finest together quiet roads, gourmet food, fine wine and just
produce that these rolling, fertile hills could produce. enough exercise to feel more virtuous than gluttonous. It is
Most hillsides were clad in vines hanging with deep red also an idea that has stood the test of time, but did it still
grapes. Where there were no vines there was woodland and this have the potential to surprise and delight?
being a Sunday morning in late September the woods were I am used to planning my own cycling routes and enjoy
ringing to the sound of hunters gunfire. the sense of self-reliance I get from a cycle tour where I have
of confit de canard. I had been warned to expect duck in the appearing to have no impact on a lazy Sunday afternoon routine.
Dordogne. The dessert was a simple rhubarb and raspberry At the top of a sweeping bend out of the valley Monsgur,
gratin with a pale quenelle of almond ice cream. All carefully the bastide established in the 12th century by Eleanor of
prepared by Francoiss partner Hlne. Provence, wife of Henry III, was also in a languid state. Young
Franois neednt have been dismayed. The fog soon burned children cycled under the extensive iron and glass market hall
off and, with the sunshine, the warm breeze had returned. and despite the efforts of the Caf du Commerce to entice
When I arrived in Duras the wind was whipping the chestnut customers with accordion music, most people were gathered in
leaves into little vortexes and knocking the conkers from the the shade under the stone arcade at the Caf des Lys, which
trees. At first the town appeared deserted but everyone was to be specialised in ptisseries, viennoisseries and glaces artisanales.
found in the restaurants down by the 12th-century chteau that I hadnt had lunch but I was happy to skip to
overlooks the valley of the River Dropt. A pageant evoking the an ice-cream dessert. The climb had justified it.
court of Louis XIV would take place after lunch, and much to I was hot and coated in yellow dust by the time I had located
my dismay every table was taken. I resolved to eat in Monsgur. the Chteau de Carbonneau in the low hills to the east of
I descended to the Dropt and although the cycling was easy Gensac, and was glad there was time for a swim in the
refreshingly cold pool before dinner. Similar to the Chteau des
We sat on the south-facing Baudry, the Chteau de Carbonneau has been selected by
Cycling for Softies for its friendly intimacy, and where the
terrace before dinner drinking owners live on site. Here my hosts were Jacquie and Wilfred
Franc de Ferrire and we sat on the south-facing terrace before
fresh and citrusy white wine dinner drinking their own fresh and citrusy white wine and a
deep tannic red straight from its oak barrel.
the now-hot sun sapped my energy. It wasnt necessary but On day two I was beginning to wonder if I was more suited
I opted for the short steep climb to Dieulivol and found refuge to softie cycling than I had first thought. I opted to descend to
from the heat, as a pilgrim might, in the porch of the Romanesque the river for the level cycle into Sainte-Foy-la-Grande where,
parish church. It was an excellent viewpoint and I looked out having been slow to leave that morning, I arrived just in time for
over the varied yet harmonious landscape of spear-like cypress lunch. This was taken under the stone arches that support the
trees, fields of drooping sunflowers, poplars heavy with half-timbered houses on Rue Louis Pasteur. For the rest of the
mistletoe, and disciplined rows of vines, and then I dozed. day I stayed close to the river, taking care to avoid the big climb
Continuing my journey in the direction of the hilltop spire at over Monbazillac that could wait.
Monsgur I encountered a big game of boules at Le Puy, while The sting in the tale, however, was the improbably steep
on the Dropt fishermen spun slowly on small boats that ascent at the very end of the dead-end road that led to the
resembled large inner tubes. My presence was incidental, Chartreuse de Bignac, and it was all I could do to regain my
GETTING courtyard, a
THERE swimming pool
Pauls Dordogne trip and characterful
was organised by reception rooms.
ABOVE, FROM LEFT: The Chteau de Monbazillac, home of the famous Susi Madrons Doubles from 130, formal air with
sweet wine; Cottage-style accommodation at La Chartreuse de Bignac Cycling for Softies breakfast 14, light-hearted
(tel: 0161 248 8282, dinner 35. fibreglass sculptures
composure as I pushed the bicycle over the carefully combed www.cycling-for- of cows. Also has a
gravel driveway before presenting myself at the reception of the softies.co.uk). Chteau swimming pool with
rather posh 17th century chteau-hotel. Although I was hot, A five-night break Carbonneau an impressive view.
sweaty and probably very red in the face, softie cyclists are based on two 33890 Gensac Doubles from 158,
thankfully not turned away. sharing is 1,080. Tel: (Fr) 5 57 47 46 46 breakfast 23,
In gourmet terms, the Chartreuse de Bignac was the climax. By rail: Paul www.chateau- dinner menus
After a glass of the sweet Monbazillac as an aperitif in the travelled from carbonneau.com from 39.
drawing room, I was shown to the small dining room for a meal London to Bergerac A 19th-century
prepared by chef Rmy Le Charpentier. With exacting via Libourne and chteau that is part Chteau des
presentation, Rmy offered foie gras with a smear of Paris with Voyages- of a working farm Merles
concentrated fig jam and thin strip of jellied raspberry, followed sncf.com (tel: 0844 and vineyard. The Tuilires
by sea bass with giant roasted spring onions and perfect spheres 848 5848, www. chteau produces its 24520 Mouleydier
of turnip. Dessert was a simple but exquisite crme caramel. voyages-sncf.com). own AOP wines. Tel: (Fr) 5 53 63 13 42
The final day in the saddle started with the bittersweet Single fare from 67. Doubles from 95, www.lesmerles.com
pleasure of the fast downhill into the wooded valley below the including breakfast, A corporate deluxe
Chartreuse de Bignac. Once down you have to reverse this loss WHERE TO dinner 30. chteau hotel, with
of altitude first by climbing into Saint-Nexans and then to the STAY AND EAT nine-hole golf
summit of Monbazillac and the 16th-century chteau. Here, they Chteau des La Chartreuse de course and spa.
harbour much of the honeyed wine in cellars carved from the Baudry Bignac Doubles from 140.
bedrock. Similar to sauternes, it owes its sweetness to the careful Lieu-dit Baudry 24520 Saint-Nexans
harvesting of grapes infected by botrytis, or the noble rot. 24240 Monestier Tel: (Fr) 5 53 22 12 80 ATTRACTION
Cycling through the precious rows of neat vines that carefully Tel: (Fr) 5 53 23 46 42 www.abignac.com Chteau de
follow the contours of the outcrop, I could detect a sticky yet www.chateaudes Rather posh chteau Monbazillac
PHOTOGRAPHS: PAUL LAMARRA; PATRICK VINCHI
yeasty smell rising from the grapes, suggesting it was a process baudry.com on a hilltop with 24240 Monbazillac
that was already well under way. Modest chteau 360-degree views of Tel: (Fr) 5 53 61 52 52
As I cycled off into the woodlands to the west in search of close to Bergerac the countryside. The www.chateau-
cooler roads and the medieval Chteau Bridoire, it seemed that with a charming edge is taken off the monbazillac.com
the Dordogne landscape truly reeked of good living. It is an old
idea and not really surprising that cycling peaceful old roads that TOURIST INFORMATION: Aquitaine tourist board, www.
move with the landscape combines well with the food and wine tourisme-aquitaine.fr; Pays de Bergerac, www.pays-de-
that emerge from it. Yet its seductive. Despite my best efforts bergerac.com; Bergerac tourist information office, tel: (Fr) 5 53
I had become a cycling softie and a slightly fatter one at that. 57 03 11, www.bergerac-tourisme.com
68 FRANCE MAGAZINE
Apremont-
sur-Allier
In the historical region of Berry, Alison Hughes
wanders around a restored medieval village
with a glorious floral garden at its heart
T
he village is in the parc and the parc is in the
village, was how Madame Elvire de Brissac, author
and chatelaine of Apremont-sur-Allier summed up
the essence of this Plus Beau Village situated on the
far eastern side of the Cher dpartement. The River Allier marks
the border between the Loire region and Burgundy, making
Nevers the nearest large town to Apremont, although the
capital of Cher is Bourges, some 60 kilometres away.
Mme de Brissac has been looking after the estate, which
comprises the chteau, the parc and the majority of the village,
since the death of her brother Gilles 12 years ago. It was Gilles
de Brissacs vision to create the parc floral, but the story of the
village goes back several generations to the siblings grandfather
Eugne II Schneider (of the Creusot industrial dynasty) who,
during his honeymoon in the
1890s, fell in love with the village,
the chteau and the setting. Good
thing then that his new wife,
Antoinette de Raflis de Saint-
Sauveur, was set to come into
a large inheritance.
Some of the properties in the
village already belonged to the
estate and Eugne gradually
bought up all the rest save one.
Gradually he remodelled
Apremont, renovating here,
starting afresh there, but all with
the aim of creating a harmonious
look. Indeed, it is difficult for
the untrained eye to distinguish
between the medieval and
20th-century houses.
LEFT: The village of Apremont has a stunning location beside the River Allier;
ABOVE, FROM TOP: Three aspects of the parc floral: the wisteria walk, the
belvedere and the white garden with head gardener Tony Poupin at work
CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT: The white garden in the parc floral; The Chinese
bridge, one of the gardens three follies; The chteau and rooftops
APREMONT AT Stay the night at... the Chteau du Ducs de Bourgogne and was of vital
A GLANCE Marais (tel: (Fr) 3 86 21 04 10, strategic importance. Charles VII
The village is compact and easy to stroll www.chateau-du-marais.com) in the partially dismantled the castle in the
around. Parking is at the foot of the neighbouring village of Gimouille. This 1400s and only five of the 15 medieval
chteau, right next to the river. moated medieval castle has been towers remain. The present faade was
converted into a chambre dhtes with rebuilt between the two world wars in
Stop for a coffee at the three guestrooms in the keep. local stone. The chteaus cobblestoned
Carpe Frite (pictured left), Doubles 98. stables contain a permanent collection
which serves salads, of 19th-century carriages and are also
sandwiches, home-made WHAT TO SEE the venue for a temporary exhibition
cakes and pastries. The The parc floral (tel: (Fr) 2 48 77 55 06, every year. In 2015 it is dedicated to
caf is reached via a broad www.apremont-sur-allier.com) was six fairy tales by Charles Perrault, who
walkway along the opened in 1976 and is the creation of is credited with creating the genre.
riverbank from the parking Gilles de Brissac, who took seven years Admission to the garden, the carriage
area. Open May to Oct. to transform a former stone quarry into museum, the exhibition and the castle
(tel: (Fr) 2 48 77 64 72, the garden that we see today. Open surroundings costs 10.
www.lacarpefrite.com). mid-April to end-Sept. Head into the
village (rather than along the riverbank) Just down from the Carpe Frite caf
Stop for lunch at Brasserie du Lavoir and the entrance is halfway down the is an intriguing roofed structure with
(tel: (Fr) 2 48 80 25 76) between the main street. For a list of Jardins chains. It was once used to tie up
chteau and the entrance to the Remarquables in the Berry region visit the oxen and horses which helped to
parc floral. You will have wonderful www.jardinssecretsenberry.com. transport wood from the surrounding
glimpses of the gardens from the forests to the river. It has now become
terrace, and there is a choice of a set In medieval times the chteau of a stopping place for those exploring the
menu or la carte. Apremont was owned by the powerful area by bike.
GETTING THERE: Alison travelled from Portsmouth to Caen TOURIST INFORMATION: Pays Loire Val dAubois tourist office
with Brittany Ferries (tel: 0871 244 1400, www.brittany (tel: (Fr) 2 48 74 25 60, www.paysloirevaldaubois.com);
ferries.co.uk). Single fares from 105 for a car and two Loire Valley tourist board (www.loirevalleytourism.com);
passengers. Apremont is a 4hr 30min drive from Caen. Berry tourist board (www.berryprovince.com)
IN THE AREA
The Cher and Indre dpartements Nevers and you will arrive at
make up the historical province of Sancerre. The village is famous
Berry and the area around for its white wines and there are
Apremont is characterised by great views from the Saint-Jean
water and wood; the village is bell tower (tel: (Fr) 2 48 54 08
surrounded by forest on three 21, www.tourisme-sancerre.com).
sides and by the River Allier on The Chteau dAinay-le-Vieil,
the fourth. The Allier is 50 kilometres south-west of
a tributary of the Loire and both Apremont, has been in the same
were used to transport wood, family since 1467 and is known
mainly oak, for the construction as the little Carcassonne of
industry, and to make railway Berry. The gardens are famous
sleepers and furniture. This is also for their old varieties of roses
a great area for fishing, with (tel: (Fr) 2 48 63 50 03,
several lakes nearby, and the river www.chateau-ainaylevieil.fr).
itself being known for its carp. It lies on the Route Jacques
Coeur, which links 16 chteaux
and abbeys associated with
Charles VIIs right-hand-man
(tel: (Fr) 2 48 65 31 55,
www.route-jacques-coeur.org).
Beautiful gardens can also be
found at the Prieur Notre-Dame
dOrsan (tel: (Fr) 2 48 56 27 50,
North-west of Apremont, www.prieuredorsan.com),
the city of Bourges classed as a 12th-century monastery near
a Ville dArt et dHistoire has Maisonnais that has been
an imposing Gothic cathedral converted into a boutique hotel.
(pictured above) with splendid The gardens are set out in
stained glass. Other attractions monastic style, with green arches
PHOTOGRAPHS: ALISON HUGHES; FOTOLIA
ALPINE
HIGH
One hundred and fifty years ago
British mountaineers made
history in the French Alps.
Judy Armstrong
follows their footsteps
T
his summer Chamonix Valley Alpine Club, the worlds first use of the rope; no axe cuts more
celebrates 150 years since the mountaineering organisation, founded in commodious steps in an ice-wall; he has
climax of the golden age of London in 1857. They include 19th- a natural gift for topography and has
mountaineering. Victorian century mountain art, archives and acquired the facility of an educated man
climbers or voyageurs, as they were artefacts, with photographs, engravings, in the use of large-scale maps.
known in the valley spent a decade oils, watercolours and guides diaries. Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, as it is now
pioneering new routes on the vast, snowy Edward Whymper, who died in known, was at the time an Alpine village,
domes that surround this famous Alpine Chamonix in 1911 aged 71, is and early mountaineers could never
resort. It culminated in 1865 with 65 probably the best-known Victorian have realised that their sleepy base
ascents of virgin peaks seven in the pioneer, famed for his sketches, would become a year-round
Mont-Blanc Massif included the engravings and photography as magnet for international
Aiguille Verte, the highest all-French well as his climbing prowess. visitors. In 1865, railways
mountain. Glaciers and Mont Blanc were His 1865 ascents of the were developing, a new road
in vogue, and mountaineers, the majority Grandes Jorasses, renamed would improve access to the
of them British, arrived in great numbers Pointe Whymper (4,184m), valley and the hotel industry
to climb and map untouched territory. and Aiguille Verte (4,122m) was expanding to cater for
Photographs show Victorian ladies in were monumental. Sadly, the many summer tourists.
long skirts, clutching wooden ice-axes, his Matterhorn conquest While Chamonix is today
PHOTOGRAPHS: GILLES LANSARD; J-C POIROT; OT CHAMONIX-MONT-BLANC
being escorted on the Mer de Glace, and turned to tragedy when three one of the worlds most
intrepid men in woollen breeches, linked British mountaineers and aspirational destinations for
by heavy hemp ropes, making progress Chamonix guide Michel Croz elite climbers, it is also
along rock spires. Exquisite illustrations, (pictured) died on the descent. accessible. Mountain guides
detailed maps and notes on Alpine Nevertheless, Whymper is lead gentle walks and lower-
topography all came to light in this era. celebrated alongside Croz (1830- grade climbs, and walkers trek the
From late June until September, 1865) and other talented guides Christian long-distance Tour du Mont Blanc.
tribute is being paid to the mountaineers, Almer (1826-1898) and Franois The celebrations in Chamonix this
guides and artists of the time in a series Devouassoud (1831-1905), as well as summer offer an insight into the intrepid
of exhibitions, memorial climbs, events, the latters English client, Douglas individuals who shouldered ropes,
films, conferences and book publications. Freshfield (1845-1934). Freshfield, cameras and ice axes and led the way.
A highlight is an exhibition of rarely seen regarded as one of the 19th centurys
documents and images from private greatest mountain explorers, said of his For more information visit http://1865.
collections and in particular from the guide: Franois makes a science of the chamonix.fr; www.chamonix.com
festival in mid-May, while we celebrate trampoline when the strawberry crops are celebrating the new seasons strawberry!
the berries arrival around Wimbledon ready this month, you might like to treat
time. Of course, if youre going to stage them to a classic tarte aux fraises. What Find a delicious tarte aux fraises recipe
such a big festival you really have to offer sets this confection apart from its heavier, on our website via this shortened link
visitors a giant strawberry pie eight redcurrant-glazed British cousin is the (http://bit.ly/1K51tLh).
How to...
JUDGE THE AGE
OF ARMAGNAC
BY SOMMELIER DAVID
GALETTI
Armagnac, like wine, is
produced with the mention
of a vintage, i.e. the date of
harvest and its production.
However, unlike wine, it is
not always the vintage
that determines the real age of an
Armagnac. There is a real difference
behind the vintage and the actual
NICE BITES
Blettes (Swiss chard), age of the product inside.
a staple of niois cooking, To calculate the real age of your
go into tourte de blettes, Armagnac, you must consider how
a double-crusted tart. long the product has been kept in
Our columnist and Nice resident Rosa Jackson takes us
In the dessert version, the barrel before being bottled.
on a tour of the best street food to try in the city
which is sprinkled with Calculating a wines age is
U
nlike the rest icing sugar, the spinach- determined by the length of time
of France, like leaves are mixed with between its bottling after harvest
Nice isnt raisins, pine nuts, rum and and when the bottle is opened; for
really a knife sometimes apple, while example, a 1982 bottle of wine that
and fork kind of place. rice and bacon fill the is opened in 2015 would make the
Here, it is not only savoury version. wine 33 years of age. However,
acceptable but encouraged Fritters are another Armagnacs ageing process stops
to eat standing up common sight: they may completely once the product has
between meals, just like consist of battered and left the barrel to be bottled. To
the Genoese, who came to fried courgette blossoms determine the real age of Armagnac
work in the shipyards (pictured left), aubergine you must consider how long it has
centuries ago, bringing Pipo sets the standard in slices or sardines. For been kept ageing in its barrel by
with them the tradition the area around the port a more substantial snack, calculating its vintage against its
of the merenda. This and SoccaTram keeps the try pan bagnat, a kind of bottling date. This information is on
substantial snack, taken local clientele happy at salade nioise in a bun the back label of the bottle.
mid-morning or in late Libration food market. drizzled with olive oil and For instance, an Armagnac with
afternoon, was designed Named after the local red wine vinegar. Bite into a 1982 vintage that was bottled in
to keep workers going spiced anchovy paste this sandwich filled with 2008, but opened in 2015, is in
during a long days called pissala, the crunchy vegetables, fact only 26 years old, compared to
labour; today the tradition caramelised onion tart sun-ripened tomato, tuna, a wine, which would be 33 years
is open to anyone who known as pissaladire anchovy and hard-boiled old. You could also have a 1959
feels a hunger pang, (pictured top left) is egg, and you will appreciate vintage Armagnac that sounds
whatever the time. closely tied to the niois the resourcefulness of much older, but, if bottled in 1979,
The king of local street identity. Available in any niois cooks, who is only 20 years old. So, in
foods is socca, a savoury bakery, it tastes best when developed this recipe to terms of quality, the 82
chickpea pancake freshly made and still use up stale bread. would be older and certainly
(pictured top right). warm: try it at La Socca La Socca du Cours, facing more complex, due to an extra
Thinner than its Italian du Cours, where it comes 1 Cours Saleya on market six years of ageing, and
cousins, the niois version with or without anchovies. days (no phone) possibly be better value.
should be crisp on the Marie-Thrse also sells Chez Pipo, 13 Rue Bavastro
outside and soft inside: a lesser-known fresh (tel: (Fr) 4 93 55 88 82, David Galetti is head sommelier at
in the Old Town, Marie- tomato tart topped with www.chezpipo.fr) the Michelin-two-star Le Gavroche
Thrse of La Socca du a mixture of chopped SoccaTram, 6 bis Avenue in London. Tel: 0207 408 0881,
Cours in Cours Saleya gets garlic and parsley, a kind Alfred Borriglione www.le-gavroche.co.uk
it just right, while Chez of precursor to pizza. (tel: (Fr) 4 93 52 54 84)
For a taste of Paris in London, book a table at the new Les Gourmets
des Ternes in Knightsbridge. It serves authentic Parisian food and its
cocktail bar is ideal for an aperitif. See www.lesgourmetslondon.com
2014, IGP Coteaux de lArdche La Rosine Syrah 2011, Blanc, 2010, Rhne
The famous Burgundy producer has IGP Collines Rhodaniennes The Chave family have been farming the
been working in Ardche since the late Stphane Ogier is a leading producer in hill of Hermitage in the northern Rhne
1970s. The vineyards are at a similar the Cte Rtie in the northern Rhne for around 500 years. This 85 per cent
altitude to the Cte dOr (270 metres) Valley, although this humble IGP (vin de marsanne, 15 per cent roussanne,
and also on clay-limestone soils, but pays) comes from just outside the famous created specially for the Wine Society,
being further south means its a bit appellation. It is grown on similar granite has apricot and honey on the nose,
CONTACT SALLY EASTON AT WWW.WINEWISDOM.COM
warmer. This white wine is made in soils and from the same grape melding into a crme fraiche
stainless steel vats to focus on variety as Cte Rtie and tastes like texture with lemon syllabub and
a crisp style, with citrus and peachy it too, with pepper and sweet violet ginger spiced notes. Its rounded
notes and hints of lemon curd perfume, a silky texture and plum texture and rich layering is
smoothness through the palate. and black fruit notes. accentuated by modest acidity.
Drink with: Lighter fish dishes or Drink with: Gentle game or Drink with: Rich pork or chicken
as an aperitif. aromatically spiced dishes. dishes; semi-soft cheese.
Tanners, 9.60 O.W. Loeb, 17.96 The Wine Society, 35
Tel: 01743 234 455 Tel: 0207 234 0385 Tel: 01438 741 177
www.tanners-wines.co.uk www.owloeb.com www.thewinesociety.com
Around Nice, where pine nuts were processors and immersion blenders, both of soupe au pistou (pictured left)
less readily available (perhaps because of which can give good results. Pesto is a variation on Italian minestrone.
they were being exported to Liguria for thought to predate tomato sauce, though This sauce always tastes best when its
their pesto), pistou developed using the the first recipes appeared in Genoese freshly made, but to preserve the green
potent basil that grows in the hills, along cookbooks at the end of the 19th century. colour as long as possible I add the salt
with garlic, olive oil and perhaps cheese, Setting aside Genoese pesto, what just before serving, and cover the surface
but no pine nuts. Parmesan being a rare makes for a great pistou? Fresh young with a little oil. If you cant do without
commodity, the locals often used Sprinz, basil leaves are essential, and I have found pine nuts, there is no actual law in Nice
a similar aged cheese from Switzerland, that the tender leaves grown in the against using them, so feel free as long as
or the readily available Emmental. greenhouse make for a brighter and they taste fresh and sweet.
PTES AU PISTOU
SERVES 1 small bunch basil (about Separate the basil leaves so add more oil if necessary.
4. Bring a large pot of water
2-3 This is the closest I could
come to the delicious pasta
two cups of leaves)
50ml/1 4 cup high-quality
from the stems and discard
the stems (or save to flavour to the boil. While its heating,
with pistou served at the small bistro olive oil a tomato sauce). If youre warm your serving bowl in
La Merenda in Nice. A good pinch of coarse sea patient, you can also remove the oven at the lowest
salt and a few grindings of the ribs from the basil leaves. setting. When the water boils,
1lb fresh spinach or plain pepper 2. Place the garlic, basil, oil add the salt and the pasta.
tagliatelle noodles 2tbsp finely grated and seasonings in the food Cook for two to three
A handful coarse sea salt Emmental processor and blend until you minutes, or until al dente.
1tbsp butter have a smooth paste. 5. Drain the pasta quickly,
1. Peel the garlic clove(s), 3. Transfer to a bowl and stir transfer to the bowl and toss
Pistou: cut in half and remove any in the grated Emmental. The vigorously with the butter and
1-2 cloves garlic sprouts from the centre. sauce should be fairly runny, pistou. Serve immediately.
Ste
the Cvennes. Her passion for cooking led her to become
one of the few female chefs to gain a Michelin star, an award
given to La Coquerie in 2012.
Each day Anne and her staff design their signature Menu
Les Yeux Ferms (eyes closed) after a morning visit to the
indoor food halls and the fish market at the Corniche, as
well as noting what their select group of suppliers have on
offer. The result is a constantly changing menu of wonderful
creations, such as courgette flower stuffed with crab and
basil on a red mullet millefeuille and mussels from the tang
de Thau, or smoked bonito fillet (a type of tuna) with
hazelnut oil and tomato paste, garnished with borage
flowers, peas, mint and arugula from the garden. The wine
menu, too, is high quality, each addition rigorously chosen The sea and lagoons around this
by Annes partner Jean-Luc and predominantly sourced from
the nearby vineyards of the Languedoc.
Mediterranean harbour town
La Coquerie, 1 Chemin du Cimetire Marin, 34200 Ste provide a bountiful harvest of fish
Tel: (Fr) 6 47 06 71 38, annemajourel.fr/horizon.html
and seafood, says Amanda Pollard
2 Terre et Mer
If youre not a lover of seafood, or you simply fancy something
different, a great option is Terre et Mer. This cosy restaurant is
located away from the busy canal at the west harbour and
comprises a wine shop and fine-foods picerie. Owner Tony
Vives (pictured right) grew up in Aveyron and ran restaurants
there and in Toulouse before coming to Ste. His idea was to
work in partnership with the producers of Ste and Aveyron to
marry the meaty flavours of the mountains with the salty tastes
of the Mediterranean. Head chef Cyrille Guiliani and his team
use high-quality ingredients to create quite traditional yet
delicious dishes. Try sauted ceps, or saddle of rabbit and breast
PHOTOGRAPHS: BERTRAND RIEGER/HEMIS.FR; DREAMSTIME
3 Chez Franois
The exterior of Chez Franois gives you a clue to whats on
the menu. Beautifully displayed buckets and platters of fresh
local seafood stand outside the front entrance, alongside
a terrace with a few tables. Perched right on the quayside,
the restaurant is fairly small and unassuming, but as far as
food goes it packs a big punch. There are no frills here, just
good-quality, fresh local produce cooked simply.
The family business has produced seafood since the
1950s and the restaurant has been established since the
1980s. In that time Chez Franois has built up a reputation
for delicious, fresh food, prepared and presented in a simple,
unpretentious way, so its no wonder that its popular with
locals. The place is small with just 20 or so tables, and
consequently it is almost always busy, so its advisable to
book ahead to avoid disappointment.
The restaurant produces its own oysters in the tang de
Thau nearby, so you could try some of those, as well as
mussels, clams, prawns and sea snails, or alternatively go for
grilled fish, or local speciality bourride de lotte. However, if
you simply cant decide which to choose, how about opting
for a shared assiette de fruits de mer? The waiter will bring
you a large platter full of ice, with a selection of shellfish
arranged on top. Its a lovely way to enjoy the tastes of
different seafood and sample things you might not have
tried before. Dont forget to wash it down with some crisp
white wine or a light ros, as the wine list is well stocked.
Chez Franois, 8 Quai Gnral Durand, 34200 Ste
Tel: (Fr) 4 67 74 59 69
M U ST T RY
La Ola
201 Promenade du Lido,
Plage de la Fontaine, 34200
Ste
Eating in
The indoor market and wine shops of Ste sell a delicious array of fresh
and cured meats, local seafood and vegetables, with wine to match
Tel: (Fr) 4 67 53 07 14, http
://laola.fr
Theres no better way to fini
sh the day
than enjoying a chilled glas for its seafood, but
s of ros on
the beach at one of the res there are other
taurants and
bars that pop up in summe delicacies to try as
r. La Ola has
lovely views and a selectio well. For something
n of
40 wines for your early-even sweet head to
ing
drink and nibbles. Biscuiterie Pouget in
the indoor market. In
business since 1931, the
stall moved to the food
halls in 2007. Here you
can buy madeleines,
macarons and cakes as
well as the famous
Zzette de Ste: long,
twisted biscuits
flavoured with dry
white wine and vanilla.
WINES
Caves Notre Dame
278 Avenue du
Marchal Juin
34200 Ste
Tel: (Fr) 4 67 80 32 20
MARKET CHEESE www.cavesnotre
Les Halles de Ste Fromagerie dame.com
Rue Gambetta Lou Pastrou There are a couple of
34200 Ste 5 Rue Gambetta must-try wines from
Stes indoor market is 34200 Ste the area surrounding
fabulous, containing 75 Tel: (Fr) 4 67 74 41 28 Ste, one of which is
stalls of every local You cant really come Muscat de Frontignan.
food you could possibly to France without This white vin doux
imagine. Here you can tasting some cheese, naturel is cultivated in
wander the aisles and and one of the best the vineyards around
stock up on fruit, fromageries in Ste the tang de Thau and
vegetables, olives, is Lou Pastrou, is a popular aperitif. A
tapenades, charcuterie, a little way from the perfect accompaniment
meat and countless waterside, along Rue to seafood is a fresh,
CO F F E E B R E A K other goodies. And of Gambetta. The business bone-dry glass of
Caf Lulu
course, dont forget the originated in Aveyron Picpoul de Pinet.
, 34200 Ste seafood stalls where and its speciality is Another good wine
7 Rue du 11 Novembre 1918 youll find fish and a tangy yet velvety shop is Cave de Thau
Tel: (Fr) 4 99 02 84 86
, Place Aristide shellfish fresh from the Roquefort that melts in along Quai Charles
Head to the market square mornings catch. the mouth. Lemaresquier.
deco-style Caf
Briand, to the delightful art Bouzigue oysters from
fees from
Lulu, which offers quality cof FROM TOP: A meal of the tang de Thau are BISCUITS AND
an array of
around the world, as well as CAKES
teas. If you dont fancy caf
feine, indulge cuttlefish and Provenal
vegetables in the indoor
some of the best in the
world and razor clams, Biscuiterie Pouget NEXT
in one of their delicious
kes .
smo oth ies
market; Relaxing with a regional speciality, 47 Quai de Bosc MONTH
or milksha
an apro on the beach are delicious cooked in 34200 Ste E N J OY I N G
at La Ola; Caf Lulu in butter, garlic, parsley Tel: (Fr) 4 67 74 72 38
CARCASSONNE
CUISINE
the market square and breadcrumbs. Ste might be famous
Anis de
Flavigny
In her regular column,
Clotilde Dusoulier shows
how to cook with the
produce we buy in France
J
udging from the vast number of long-
established regional specialities, France is
very much a sweet-toothed country.
Among the most cherished of these treats
are the aniseed drops from Flavigny-sur-Ozerain,
which have been manufactured in this medieval
Burgundy village (pictured inset) where parts of
the 2000 film Chocolat were shot since at least certainly make it easy to love, coupled with the
the 16th century. quaint, pretty pillboxes adorned with romantic
Anis de Flavigny are pea-sized, pearl-white illustrations of a shepherd and his sweetheart,
sweets that hide a grain of aniseed in a hard shell which young children covet to put away their
of sugar, either aniseed-flavoured or subtly treasures. The nostalgia factor plays a part, but
spiked with natural flavourings such as ginger, it is the message that they carry, one of authenticity
clementine, lavender or blackcurrant. Clotilde Dusoulier and simple pleasures, that makes these the perfect
The artisanal process, which has remained lives in Paris and souvenir: an edible postcard from a bucolic France.
virtually unchanged through the centuries, takes writes a popular Youll find Anis de Flavigny throughout
two weeks to complete. Production is carried out food blog, Burgundy, in service stations, bakeries, and
in a factory housed within the former 8th-century Chocolate & souvenir shops, but also in fine-foods shops across
Benedictine abbey, and is run by third-generation Zucchini. She France, or online (www.anis-flavigny.com). You
owner Catherine Troubat, an iconic entrepreneur has published can enjoy them as the simple, delicious sweet that
who is fiercely protective of the companys cookbooks and they are fans like to take two at a time and swirl
independence and tradition, yet manages to achieve a guide to Paris them around in their mouth or use them in your
global success: sales of the pebble-like anis extend restaurants and baking: crush them with a meat mallet or rolling
way beyond France, to China and Brazil, with an food shops. pin, and fold them into your ice creams, cakes and
annual production of 250 tons. biscuits, such as these delightful almond and
The simplicity and freshness of this sweet aniseed croquants (below).
250g flour mark 4 and line water for the mixture 2cm in thickness. 6. Return ABOUT
120g sugar
120g whole almonds
a baking sheet with
parchment paper.
to come together into
a fairly sticky, but
5. Bake for 30 to 40
minutes, until set and
the slices
to the
40
50g Flavigny aniseed 2. In a large mixing not too loose dough. golden brown. Allow to baking sheet, cut side
drops, roughly bowl, combine the 4. Coax the dough cool for five minutes, up, and bake for
crushed flour, sugar, almonds, out on to the prepared transfer to a cutting another five to ten
1/4tsp sea salt crushed drops and salt. baking sheet to form board and use a bread minutes, until baked
2 large organic eggs Add the eggs and stir two separate loaves, knife to cut the two through. Allow to
1. Preheat the oven in with a fork. roughly rectangular loaves into 1cm slices cool completely
to 175C/350F/gas 3. Add enough cold in shape and about while still hot. before serving.
F
rom the tranquil terrace of a champagne bar years, the vignerons of Mailly spent the harsh
in Reims or pernay, it is hard to imagine Champagne winters underground with picks and
the mayhem a century ago, when vine shovels, boring deep into the chalk soils, creating
growers downed their shovels and took to a labyrinth of caves that eventually stretched for
the streets in violent protest. The Champagne Riots of one kilometre beneath the village. By the 1960s,
1910-11 were triggered by four years of disastrous 25 families had joined the cooperative; their strong
harvests, compounded by the pitiful prices paid to bonds of friendship cemented by hard work.
growers for their grapes by the powerful merchant Dominic Rippon Xavier Millard, Maillys technical director, told
houses, which were accused of plumping up their has many years me: Of course, when the work began to bear fruit,
champagnes with wines bought from outside the experience in the many other growers wanted to join the party. But
region. Champagnes woes had begun in the late-19th wine trade, both the 25 original families preferred to remain a small,
century, when its vines were decimated by the in the UK and tight-knit group, vinifying their vineyard parcels
phylloxera vineyard louse. The hapless Champenois France, and separately and pushing the cooperative towards
then found themselves on the front line during World now runs the organic viticulture. Today, Champagne Mailly
War I, and when the Great Depression arrived a decade wine merchant enjoys the enviable distinction of being the only
later, its growers faced renewed hardship. business Strictly cooperative cellar in Champagne to make all of its
It was in 1929, the year of the global financial Wine. wines from the vineyards of a single grand cru
PHOTOGRAPHS: DOMINIC RIPPON; FABRICE DEHOCHE
crash, that five plucky growers in the village of village, one-third of which are farmed organically.
Mailly-Champagne, ten kilometres south-east of Champagne Maillys 70 hectares of vineyards are
Reims, pooled their resources in an attempt to planted with 75 per cent pinot noir and 25 per cent
thwart disaster, establishing the cooperative cellar chardonnay grapes, in 480 individual plots. Gently
that is now Champagne Mailly Grand Cru. One of rolling slopes ensure that its vineyards face all four
the cooperatives founding fathers, Charles Petit, had points of the compass, although the majority cling to
worked as an engineer during the Great the north-facing foothills of the Montagne de Reims,
War, so he applied what he had learned giving subtle, finely etched champagnes.
while digging trenches to the task of I accompanied Xavier on a journey
building a wine cellar. For the next 30 through the Mailly cellars, following the
JUST
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LA CULTURE
Your essential guide to French
culture and language
H
is surname may be an intrinsic part of French in that world. Since I was born Ive been living through music,
popular culture, but it turns out that musician he says. I was with my dad when I was a baby, in the studio
Lulu Gainsbourg is actually an Anglophile. I just with him. People thought he was crazy and that I would
like how British or Americans work. People are become deaf. Actually it worked because my best [attribute] in
more... pleasant to work with than French people sometimes! music is my ears. I can recognise any music through my ears
After leaving his Paris home to study in the United States at and then play it. I am a musician first of all. Music is my life.
the Berklee College of Music in Boston, 29-year-old Gainsbourg A highly personal album, Lady Luck includes a touching
now lives in London, where he has released his second album, song for his father called Destiny here I am/
Lady Luck, sung in English and his first body of original music. and wherever I stand/ and whoever Ill be/
It follows his 2011 recording debut From Gainsbourg to youll be watching over me and
Lulu, on which he collaborated with a starry selection a ballad dedicated to his mother,
of vocalists Scarlett Johansson, Iggy Pop and Rufus the model and singer Bambou,
Wainwright among them to cover songs by his whom he credits with pushing
famous father, the Parisian singer-songwriter Serge him to learn piano as a child
Gainsbourg (pictured inset), who died in 1991. because she knew that I had
It would have been an unwise debut should a gift for music.
he have been looking to forge a music career It also touches on his
without inviting comparisons with his father, experiences of love and
whose 500-plus songs and numerous albums heartbreak, using poker as
made him one of Frances most prolific artists a metaphor for relationships in
and whose Dionysian lifestyle was the upbeat title track. When
legendary. But Lulu real name [a relationship] works its
Lucien, also the given name of his like a good hand in poker, he explains,
father wasnt intending saying he was inspired to write it by a
a singing career, particularly, photograph of a girl whom he later met
as he admits: Im not the best and fell for his very own Lady Luck.
singer ever. Despite the weight of expectation
I wanted to do a gift to that comes with his surname, does he
my dad. It was a tribute to feel lucky? I can afford to eat at
[commemorate] 20 years restaurants, to have a nice place, to
since his death. I was travel. I have a great mum who
PHOTOGRAPHS: SIPA PRESS/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
T
he roaring drug trade that used to exist between France and
CINEMA RELEASE America and reached a peak in the 1960s and 1970s is a topic
that has inspired directors before. William Friedkin, for
The
instance, used the heroin highway as the backdrop to his 1971,
Oscar-winning thriller The French Connection. Newcomer Cdric Jimenez
returns to this fertile ground for The Connection, a drama that features
some fine performances set against a wonderful, sideburns-and-all
Connection
re-creation of 1970s Marseille.
Jean Dujardin stars as magistrate Pierre Michel, reassigned to the port
city to combat a drug-fuelled crime wave. His efforts to plug up the French
Connection and root out corruption brings him into conflict with crime
boss Gatan Zampa (Lellouche, pictured above). As the two men engage in
STARRING: Jean Dujardin, Gilles Lellouche a dangerous game of cat and mouse, Michels family life starts to suffer.
DIRECTOR: Cdric Jimenez
e are
We loved the Provenal
W
were lured to their deaths in the infamous
village we stayed in and
listening to...
St Bartholomews Day Massacre, leaving her with an
decided to relocate there appalling dilemma.
permanently. Although Im
a city girl at heart and do LANTERNE ROUGE: The Last
miss my vie parisienne, Champs-lyses by Man in the Tour de France
I have become attached Zaz. The lyrics (on Max Leonard, Yellow Jersey
to village life. The local www.youtube.com) Press, 16.99
community is so describe the This witty book looks at the Tour
friendly and everyone singers love for this de France from the perspective
has supported our new iconic Paris of the cyclist finishing last the
ice-cream business. I have thoroughfare. recipient of the red lantern.
Amateur cyclist Max Leonard
reveals what it must feel like to
be branded a loser after negotiating more than 3,000
DVD kilometres of calf-straining climbs in merciless weather.
Dior and I (from 15 June) Belgian designer The book is filled with humorous stories, from the
Raf Simonss first haute couture collection for the famous breakaway leader who scuppered his chances when he
fashion house comes under the spotlight in Frdric Tchengs stopped to buy wine, to a cheat whose drug cocktail
stylish documentary. had the reverse effect and slowed him down.
PHOTOGRAPHIC PIONEER
French inventor Nicphore Nipce created the first photograph, but
his achievement has been obscured, as Rgine Godfrey explains
A S
ujourdhui rendre une photo est tellement plus napping photos is so much simpler today than it was
simple que ctait pour Nicphore Nipce dans les for Nicphore Nipce in the 1820s. Just imagine!
annes 1820. Imaginez un peu! Cela a pris huit It took a full eight hours of exposure for the inventor
heures compltes de temps de pose pour que to produce The First Photograph.
linventeur produise La Premire Photographie. Nipce was born in 1765 in Chalon-sur-Sane where he
Nipce nat en 1765 Chalon-sur-Sane o il se rinstalle returned after teaching and serving in the military. His gift
aprs avoir enseign et servi dans larme. Son don pour les for sciences led him to work with his brother Claude on
sciences le conduit travailler avec son frre Claude sur un a combustion engine that propelled boats.
moteur combustion qui propulsait les bateaux. When the craze for lithography swept France in 1813
Quand lengouement pour la lithographie se rpand en Nicphore was immediately hooked by the printing technique,
1813, Nicphore est immdiatement fascin par le procd but drafting images was not his forte. Instead he concentrated
dimpression, mais esquisser des images nest pas son point on looking for a process obtained spontaneously by the
fort. Il se concentre plutt sur la recherche dun procd action of light.
obtenu spontanment par laction de la lumire. In 1826 or 1827 he bought a camera obscura,
En 1826 ou 1827 il achte une chambre an optical device consisting of a box with a hole
noire, dispositif optique fait dune bote avec on one side, which he placed at an upstairs
un trou sur un ct, quil met une fentre window at his Le Gras estate. Then he loaded
ltage de sa proprit de Le Gras. Puis il y it with a pewter plate coated with bitumen
place une plaque dtain recouverte de of Judea.
bitume de Jude. Many hours later he removed the plate
Des heures plus tard il retire la plaque et and washed it with a mixture of white
la nettoie avec un mlange de vaseline et petroleum and lavender oil to dissolve the
dhuile de lavande pour dissoudre les parties areas of bitumen that had not been
du bitume qui nont pas t durcies par la hardened by the light: the first ever
lumire: la toute premire photographie a vu photograph was born. It showed a roof,
le jour! Elle montre un toit, des dpendances, outbuildings, a tree and a fence.
un arbre et une barrire. To describe his technique he coined the term
Pour dcrire sa technique il invente le terme heliography after the Greek words helios (sun)
hliographie provenant du Grec helios (soleil) et and graphein (to write) and with the support of
graphein (crire), et avec le soutien de lillustrateur botanical illustrator Francis Bauer he presented a paper
botanique Francis Bauer il prsente un mmoire la Royal to the Royal Society in London. Curiously, Nipce chose not
Society de Londres. Curieusement Nipce choisit de ne pas to fully disclose his method, and so the heliographs were
entirement divulguer sa mthode, donc les hliographes sont rejected. This prompted him to sign a ten-year partnership
rejets. Ceci lincite signer un partenariat de dix ans avec with Parisian artist Louis-Jacques-Mand Daguerre, who
lartiste parisien Louis-Jacques-Mand Daguerre, dj had already had commercial success with the Diorama,
couronn de succs commercial avec Diorama, un thtre a theatre of illusions.
dillusions. Nipce died in 1833 before recognition was achieved.
Nipce meurt en 1833 avant que la reconnaissance ne Four years later, Daguerre abandoned pewter in favour of
saccomplisse. Quatre ans plus tard, Daguerre abandonne polished silver and claimed the invention as his own by
ltain pour de largent poli et sapproprie linvention en la naming it the daguerreotype. Isidore Nipce, Nicphores
nommant daguerrotype. Isidore Nipce, fils de Nicphore et son and heir to the ten-year agreement, did not challenge
hritier du contrat dcennal, ne contestera pas lappropriation. the appropriation.
PHOTOGRAPHS: INTERFOTO/ALAMY; FOTOLIA
5o
le pouce.
a) To stuff
ones face
b) To wolf WAYS
something
down TO
SAY...
N
c) To eat on
the run
Non
This is the
standard word
for No.
Ah non
This is often used
to express
disappointment
and translates as
Oh no!
Mais non
Cassis Cinnamon
This translates as
Of course not.
Griotte Hazelnut
Non, non et
WHATS
non!
Pastque Morello
This is a stronger
PHOTOGRAPHS: FOTOLIA; ILLUSTRATIONS: TIM WESSON; DREAMSTIME
cherry
phrase and means
ON THE
Absolutely not.
MENU?
This phrase is
often used in
Fun French
which retails at 100,
CD-audio course, contains ten hours of
published by Hodder & audio learning on CD,
Stoughton. It will help more than three hours of
ANAGRAMS intermediates take their
French to the next level
extra vocabulary help, a
visual learning review and
Find the French words and gain confidence interactive exercises.
for these islands
1 Hitiat
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815,648( /81,9(56,7e
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To enter: Complete Les Mots Flchs grid and note all the letters in the grey squares.
$ 1 7 2 , 6 ( 1 7
Rearrange these letters to spell a French town or city and send this answer, together with
( & 2 1 2 0 , 6 ( (
your name, telephone number and address, to: FRANCE Magazine, Les Mots Flchs,
Mots Flchs winner Archant House, Oriel Road, Cheltenham GL50 1BB. Entries close 3 June, 2015.
The April Mots Flchs quiz winner Last months Les Mots Flchs answers will be posted on our website www.francemag.com/quiz and
(solution above) is Kim Willing, from
Hornchurch, Essex. The mystery town appear in the July issue, on sale on 3 June, 2015. The answers to this months competition will be on
was Limoges. the website from 10 June, 2015 and in the August issue on sale on 8 July, 2015.
www.justramblefrance.com
Email: justramblefrance@gmail.com
Tel: 0033 (0)4 70 03 14 90
Be seen by
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98 FRANCE MAGAZINE www.completefrance.com
HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION
66 2
KEY
1 Full colour picture
2 Dpartement number 1
3 Nearest town
PARIS 4 Dpartement name
NORTH EAST 5 Sleeping capacity
NORTH WEST 6 Property description
7 Weekly rental range ( in or ) 3 COLLIOURE, PYRNESORIENTALES 4
8 Contact details 5 CAPACITY: 24
Five regions of This homely villa is in a quiet corner of a traditional
village surrounded by countryside, vineyards and Les
Alberes mountains. The mediterranean coast is 15 mins
property to let by Numbers 9 - 16 are distances in drive, St. Cyprien, Argeles sur mer, Canet plage all
popular beach resorts. Collioure is a delight with
km, O/S for On-site and N/P 6
colour code cobbled lanes, artisan galleries and beach front
restaurants. Visit Carcassonne, the wonderful UNESCO
for details Not Provided. world heritage city. Drive along the beautiful rugged
coast into Spain, visit vineyards, cathar castles and pretty
South East harbour towns. Enjoy wine tasting, walking and sight
SOUTH EAST 9 Nearest supermarket seeing. You will feel relaxed as soon as you arrive at Belle
Vue, with its simple stylish decor and the peaceful
setting! Nearest airport Perpignan 20km.
South West 10 Nearest airport
SOUTH WEST 11 Nearest beach/swimming 7 545-945 p/w
Contact Jo Staples
North East 12 Nearest tennis
4 Tel: 07801 440605
Email: bellevuemaisonvilla@yahoo.co.uk
13 Nearest golf www.holidaylettings.co.uk/76428
North West 14 Nearest horseriding
15 Nearest restaurant 1 20 10 1 20 5 1 1
61 50 61
5 145 10 10 10 10 8 10 7 30 7 10 12 10 2 3 10 113 10 3 25 5 5 16
CAPACITY: 5
FE
700-1300 p/w
Contact Anne Hubbard
Tel: 001-406-849-5151 (USA, 7 hours behind
UK) www.our-riviera-rental.com
Email: lecottagedominic@gmail.com
www.france-rental.com, I.D. #310
69
Are you looking
for a second home
in France?
Whether you are looking for a place
in the sun or peace and quiet in the
PLACE DES CLESTINS country, you are bound to find your perfect
retreat at www.francepropertyshop.com
CAPACITY: 4
Place des Clestins: one of Lyons most beautiful views
and a superb furnished two-bedroom apartment.
This apartment, located on the 8th and top floor of a
lovely bourgeois building, features a western exposure
and offers a 180 view. You can enjoy a coffee or a drink
on the terrace, where you will have lovely vistas of the
Clestins Theater and the Fourvire Basilica.
This upscale apartment will charm you with its view,
its brightness, its quiet and its comfort. Blending Advertise sale
te
various eras, this decor lends true warmth to a
one-of-a-kind flat.
your priva tle as
Rent this apartment with AppartAmbiance is perfect from as lit
for enjoying sunny days in Lyon! 65+VAT
1120 p/w
Contact Juliette Roux
Tel : +33 (0)4 78 29 82 47
www.appart-ambiance.com
www.francepropertyshop.com
contact@appartambiance.com Your essential guide to buying property in France
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03 11 06
BETWEEN VICHY & ROANNE, ALLIER LE VIEUX RELAIS, CARCASSONNE NR MONTELIMAR, PROVENCE
CAPACITY: 4 CAPACITY: 214 CAPACITY: 26
GENESTE PETITE GRANGE. Superbly converted stone Near Carcassonne, Minerve & the Canal du Midi in the heart Rent our Petite Maison (sleeps 6), Sunflower Residence
barn in the Bourbonnais Mts between Vichy and of the Languedoc, we offer B&B, table dhtes dinner and (sleeps 4) or Atelier (sleeps 2) in ancient hilltop village.
Roanne. Extremely comfortable accommodation, oak self-catering weekly lets at our beautifully restored 18c We greet you with a welcome meal of Provenal
fitted kitchen with new appliances. French-style, coaching inn with flower filled courtyard garden and a flavours. Enjoy rustic charm, comfortable spacious
designer-made furniture, Moroccan details. swimming pool. The perfect base for exploring this accommodations, parking, private terraces with view,
Romantic gallery bedroom (double) and pretty twin beautiful and up and coming corner of France. shady gardens, a painters paradise. We offer fully
bedroom, superb views. Italian shower, separate loo. New for 2015: During July and August 2015 the house equipped kitchens (dishwasher, microwave, teakettle
Private terraces, BBQ, sunbeds. Quiet, unspoilt rural will be available on either a catered or self-catering etc.), A/C/heating, laundry facility, (meal, linen, towels,
location. Great walking, riding and sightseeing. basis, contact us for more details. energy included in price). Chteauneuf du Pape,
Resident English owners. Free WIFI. Gigondas, Die, Hermitage, within easy reach, discover
PRICING INFORMATION: colourful markets, history, art, lavender fields, potteries,
Awarded maximum 3 STARS by Regional Tourist Board. B&B 75-85 for 2; 120-135 for 4 Extra bed 20
LAST YEARS PRICES HELD. hike or bike.
Dinner from 20 per person Picnic lunches available
PACKAGE INCLUDES:
6 months print advertising in our classied rental section
12 months digital advertising via:
- www.completefrance.com/holidays-in-france
- An advert slot four times a year in one of
our relevant e-newsletters
- A prole on our Holidays in France rentals app
06
France & Monaco Rentals
66
The Summer
House La Ruche
Our latest addition, A brilliantly restored
completely village house of great
refurbished and character, near Sarlat,
re-furnished to and very quietly
provide holiday
comfort.
Perfection situated with no
passing traffic.
for two
The Old in the Dordogne Les Rosiers
Courthouse
A beautifully Your choice of high A recent ground-up
Just perfect
with antiques, a sun-deck off the
Kingsize bed, and a bedroom.
private garden.
47 12 81
82
My France
airport bus, I smelled Paris;
the aromas of coffee and Not So Dutiful Daughter
croissants on every street plays on the title of a book
corner. The caf culture, the by Simone de Beauvoir. Was
open doors it was summer, she an inspiration to you?
it was glorious. We went to She was and that was thanks
Montmartre for that to my teacher, Madame
fantastic view and up all
the steps in Notre-Dame
cathedral. I just loved it.
Jenni Short, who made us read
Memoirs of a Dutiful
Daughter in French. What
Murray
struck me was de Beauvoirs
Did you stay in France description of how different
as a student? she was from her mother.
I spent a year there, most of And it wasnt her mothers
it in Paris working as a tour The presenter of Radio 4s Womans fault. I was a teenage girl in
operator for an American
company. Wed pick up
Hour talks to Zo McIntyre about the 1960s and I wanted to
wear makeup and put my
hordes of tourists on a coach beach shacks and Paris cabarets hair down, and everything
to take round Paris. All I was a battle because my
had to do was sell tours and who were very charming and a shack with a covering but mother had been brought up
accompany them. I think Ive drove us around in their open to the sea and sand. in a completely different era.
been to the Lido and Moulin [Citron] deux chevaux. The only food was fresh So de Beauvoir saved me
Rouge more than any other One evening we went to bread, moules marinires, really, because I managed
Englishwoman. But it was Palavas which, in the 1970s, chocolate mousse and local not to blame my mother.
great! I remember in spring was just a long stretch of wine. It was the most perfect
walking across the Pont golden sand. On it was evening of my life; just Is there anywhere else in
Alexandre III (pictured) to France you want to visit?
the office on the Champs- Ive never been up the Eiffel
lyses and thinking: Oh Tower! Every time I go,
my goodness, I am in Paris there are queues a mile long
its the most beautiful and I cant be bothered. So
place on Earth. I think for my 70th birthday
PHOTOGRAPHS: EMILIE SANDY; FOTOLIA
Rocamadour
Take a stroll in this iconic village that
has drawn pilgrims for centuries
PLUS
Great places to stay
beside the seaside
See the sights that so
inspired Vincent Van Gogh
Find the best places
to eat in Carcassonne
All the best history,
culture and language
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