The Baguette
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Although I spent many years living in Tbilisi, I never took the time until now to make my own khinkali, traditional meat dumplings. I followed the recipe below and ended up with approximately 20 khinkali. I cooked ten for lunch and had the rest for dinner....
Église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul in Coigny dates from the 15th - 17th centuries and is known for its 16th century polychrome rood beam with crucifix and its 17th century altar. This is an exterior view of the nave and the seigneuriale chapel. The saddleback...
Although most people will probably say that the Cathedral is the most spectacular building in Strasbourg, I would have to say that despite its size the Protestant Church of St-Pierre-le-Jeune is equally impressive. Its charm reads like an open book with...
The neo-Gothic-style château was built by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc at the request of Antoine d'Abbadie d'Arrrast, between 1864 and 1879. Antoine d’Abbadie, member of the Academy of Sciences, was an astronomer, explorer, anthropologist and linguist...
I’m back ! After several weeks without posting, I finally have something to write about. Last weekend was Easter and I spent it in the beautiful French city of Lyon. In the next few weeks I will try posting some of the photos that I took. Meanwhile, here...
St-Jean-de-Luz, the most Basque of the towns lying north of the Spanish border, offers many wonderful attractions including its picturesque fishing port, sandy beaches, the church of St-Jean-Baptiste, Maison Louis XIV and the imposing Maison de l'Infante...
Le terme "épiphanie" est issu du grec et signifie "apparition". Célébrée le 6 janvier, cette fête correspond à la présentation de Jésus enfant aux Rois Mages. Ce jour est aussi celui du premier miracle des noces de Cana et avant tout la date de baptême...
What I Am Thankful For: For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter in the night, For health and food, For love and friends, For everything that Jesus sends ! I made all of the traditional foods including turkey, sage stuffing, mashed potatoes,...
The second English-speaking tour of Lyon that I took was of the Croix-Rousse district. It was here that the silk industry in France really took off. It was silk which, in the 16th century, made Lyon a major industrial city; until then most of the silk...
Bordeaux , built almost 100 km upriver at the first bridging point of the Garonne River, is one of the most important ports in Europe. The city boasts a wealth of Classical architecture, which contrasts with the small store houses lining the narrow cobbled...
LES GROTTES DE JOBOURG Le nez is a word derived from the Norse "ness", meaning cape and not as some would think, the French word for nose. The nez de Jobourg is one of the most visited sites along the Channel. The shoreline cliffs are the highest in Europe...
This is the Eglise Saint-Simplicien located in the town of Martigné-Briand. It has a very interesting bell tower which was originally built in the second half of the 13th century but was rebuilt in 1874. From a distance, the bell tower appears to be a...
I regret not taking more photographs of the esplanade along the Port des Flamands in Tourlaville when I was there in July. The whole area has been revitalized and cleaned up. The only reason I was here in the first place was to eat lunch at Au Noroit...
This charming fishing port, with its granite houses and its quays littered with lobster pots, is one of the most beautiful villages in France. Tradition has it that the boat which carried William, Duke of Normandy on his invasion of England was built...
Not far from Carentan within the Parc Naturel Régional des Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin is the remarkable medieval church of Saint-Étienne d’Appeville. It became an historic monument in 1950 and is one of the most interesting in the region due in part...
Another church I visited during the Clochers en fête last year was the Église Saint-Thomas in Lithaire, built in 1894. Many of these beautiful little churches are closed permanently due to the declining numbers of parishioners and the inability of local...
The monastery at Cunault along the banks of the Loire, downstream from Saumur, was founded in the fourth century by Saint-Maxenceul the area’s first evangelizer. Monks from Noirmoutier then founded an abbey here in 847 but were expelled from Cunault during...
Saint William's Church (also called Wilhelmskirche in German and église Saint-Guillaume in French) is a gothic church belonging to the Lutherans Slightly set back from the intersection of the wharfs of the shipbuilders and the fishermen, the church is...
It has been some time since my last post and I apologize for that but I've just not had the energy or the spirit to write anything for several months. That's not to say I don't like blogging anymore...I'm just not going to be at it as often as I used...
It was a beautiful day when I visited Saumur but I must admit that it was colder than I expected. I parked the car near the chateau and walked to the tourist office to see if I could get myself a walking map of the city. Strangely enough, the map misses...
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 -- Redondela to Pontevedra The three guys in the top bunks snored all night long. It was just awful. To make matters worse, I had to keep getting up to use the bathroom. Too many drinks last night ? Although I could have slept a...
Thursday, May 9, 2013 -- Pontevedra to Caldas da Reis We left town at around 07h00 and had a very nice walk over the Puente del Burgo and through the deserted town of Santa Maria de Alba. We passed quite a few interesting old hórreos along the way. In...
Some friends of mine decided to visit for a few days in July and I took them to visit several parts of the region including Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, just off the coast of Normandy. Although the sky was dark and threatened to rain, it quickly...
One afternoon, I went for lunch at a restaurant near the cathedral. I wish I could remember its name. The food was delicious: Baeckeoffe and another choucroute dish with the best tasting sauerkraut I’ve had my entire life. Afterward I went to le Musée...
It’s hard not to get upset sometimes by the unusual opening and closing times of some places in France but it seems to be more common with me when I travel because things that I really want to see are more often than not always closed. It’s so frustrating....
