My Travels in France!
Hello All!
I am back from France
with lots to share about but first
Take Note:
“Escape to OUR Chateau”
A New Broadcast
Coming Up on Friday May 31st 2024
at 12:30 pm ET
And You Are All Invited!
See the Bottom of this Blog for Details
Ok, so where do I start?
I confess that I am often grumpy when I first arrive at my destination after an overnight flight to Europe. The airline food, getting only an hour or two of sleep, waiting for a connecting flight, feeling grubby and so on. Normal.
However, after a good night’s sleep, when I awaken to a crystal clear blue sky, fresh spring temperatures, and the smell of the sea a few short blocks away, that’s all forgotten.
It is this, gazing out at the azure waters of the Mediterranean with a beach beckoning for patrons to rent a chair, that gets me every time.
The Negresco Hotel, the most famous landmark along the Promenade des Anglais boardwalk.
Nice, oh how I have missed you.
What joy to walk into our apartment where we know where everything is, can settle in quickly, and have that first breakfast out on the balcony.
Three floors below, Le Grand Café de France which has restaurants on both sides of our pedestrian-only street in Vieux Nice also begins its day.
Staff in starched black and white uniforms, quietly prepare the outdoor tables and chairs, with fresh linens, cutlery and china.
Rue de France, our street with this elegant restuarant two floors below us can be very convenient!
Further along the street, the bakers at Boulangerie Armand have been up since 3 am making and baking the baquettes , buttery croissants, pain and au chocolat that patrons line up starting at 7 am. However, with jet lag those first few days, I am lucky if I make it there before 11 am.
I have a new favourite haunt that I will tell you about next time where I start the day with my coffee of choice, “decaf” these days as caffeine no longer agrees with me, a croissant or pain au chocolat. I used to be good and only have this once in a while but I have given up on that. When in France…
Then I begin my walk. Every day is different. Sometimes it’s down to the Promenade des Anglais where I stroll west along the famous Mediterranean boulevard with the sun to my back.
Early one morning on this favourite boulevard. It is teeming with people by 11 am usually for the rest of the day and evening.
Other times I walk east towards the Saleya market where it is bustling with svendors selling all the available produce. As it is early in the season most items are from southern Italy and Africa. I marvel though at things I rarely see at markets at home such as the edible zucchini flowers, and giant purple garlic. I splurge on white asparagus which has just begun to appear for its very short season (April and May). (I usually cook it in boiling water, then put it in the fridge to be eaten later as a salad with a mustard vinaigrette!)
Arrving at the Cours Saleya on market day!
Zucchini are called “courgettes” in French. Prices ARE expensive.
VERY pricey for white asparagus but I couldn’t resist. And I did not dare do the math for the exchange in Canadian dollars. Yikes.
Before I know it, it is noon and people are flocking to restaurants for lunch|le déjeuner which is often two-hour affair or more.
Once you have that perfect table, there is nothing to distract you from serious people watching.
I slow down further in the afternoons. After my ten thousand steps or more which has been the norm on this visit, it might be to do a little shopping, or home for some reading and a nap.
My favourite activity later in the day, is to return to the Promenade des Anglais for a leisurely stroll or to sit on one of the benches. One evening when it was warm it was fun to take a lawn chair down to the water and sit on the beach while the sun lowers in the sky.
Always something to get your attention in Nice. A little further down a group was doing yoga.
Nice is a place to be lazy without guilt. In fact only a North American imbued with an obsession to schedule every minute, would put it that way. Quilty!
Here though I practice and perfect the art of “flâner”, meaning to stroll or to wander without any precise destination in mind and feel content and enriched bythe experience.
What about you?
Book of the Month
Deciding to move to Paris is a dream come true for this naive young American who sets out to build a photography career in the most photographed city in the world.
However, not surprisingly, author Krystal Kenney discovers she has a mountain to conquer as she may love Paris but Paris certainly does not love her.
Krystal will have you flying through her memoir, Paris, A Life Less Ordinary, as she careens, often recklessly, from one hurdle and hardship to the next, all the while attracting celebrity and off-the-wall crazy photo shoots that will have you dropping your jaw in disbelief!
Truly, a life less ordinary lived in the City of Light.
And a testament that young women still fall in love with Paris like we did!
Next Paris Fan Club Broadcast!
Escape to OUR Château!
When?
FRIDAY MAY 31st
12:30 pm ET/9:30 am Pacific
6:30 pm Paris/
5:30 pm London
Sara and Stephen in front of the Château that captured their hearts.
In 2021, Sara and Stephen Cole sold their house in Southern Ontario and embarked on an adventure of a lifetime. They purchased a 6,500 square foot 11-bedroom château in southwest France with 37 acres of land and two outbuildings.
Quite a change for this couple whose careers included a position as a senior corporate executive, and as a marketing and graphic designer, respectively. However, their business skills would, in fact, come in handy as they organized themselves not only to prepare their château to live in themselves, but to also welcome guests, and to start of a creative new business called Manor and Maker.
Château de Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Dordogne
One of the sumptous bedrooms decorated with antiques from local markets
If you are fans of the story of Dick and Angela Strawbridge of the BBC series Escape to the Château, you will love hearing the Cole’s story and seeing their château up close and personal.
This program is open to all my subscribers and in the next blog I will have the registration link for you.
But for now, please block off the date. YOU really don’t want to miss this.
That’s all for now!
A la prochaine, mes amis!
And don’t forget to leave a comment below where indicated!
Diana Bishop the founder of The Success Story Program and A Woman of a Certain Age in Paris as well as a well-known correspondent with over 25 years working for CTV, CBC News, and NBC News. She loves travel, writing, and all things Parisienne.
White Spargel – discovered that delicacy in Heidelberg, Germany, many years ago. Even though it is pricey, there is nothing like it … and well worth the price!! That would certainly be my first choice in the market!