I Prefer Paris

Etretat Houses And Gardens

While I was preparing for the Lupin tour for Facebook, I snapped photos of the charming houses and gardens in Etretat. The climbing rosebushes were doing a great job of decorating the facades of the houses and the lush shrubs and bushes blanketed the front and side yards. I also loved the various materials and details of the houses such as thatched roofs, brick, and half-timber. 

CLICK HERE to watch the Lupin 2 video from Etretat, in case you missed it. 

Les Jardins d’Etretat

When I was in Etretat in June filming the Lupin video for Atout France, I was fortunate to visit the Les Jardins d’Etretat. 

The gardens were launched in 2017 but date back to 1905, when they were part of Villa Roxelane, owned by Madame Thébault. She was good friends with Monet and so inspired by his work that she designed the garden to reflect his artistry. 

The beautiful gardens are on top of one of the cliffs of Etretat and the site where Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Eugène Delacroix, Edouard Manet and Vasily Polenov were inspired by the views and landscape. 

The stunning landscape of the gardens has won many awards including the European Garden Award for “Best development of a historic park or garden” and also a Michelin star in their Green Guide. 

Besides the gorgeous greenery of the gardens, there’s also contemporary sculptures and artworks dotting the grounds by world-renowned artists. There are seven gardens nestled within the multi-level main garden including Avatar, Impressions, Amont, Aval, Emotions, Zen, and La Manche. 

https://etretatgarden.fr/en/

Loire Valley Château Week: Chateau La Ferté-Saint-Aubin

I am ending this series of Loire chateaux with La Ferté-Saint-Aubin. It’s my favorite of the three, not so much because of the chateau itself, although it’s beautiful, but because of the young, energetic owner, Lancelot Guyot (is that not the perfect name for an owner of a 17^th century chateau?). 

Before I say more about Lancelot, here’s a brief history of the chateau. Although there is a history of the family from the Middle Ages, the current chateau was constructed in the late 17^th century for Henri de Saint-Nectaire, who was a general and a diplomat. The chateau was later sold to different owners over the next three centuries, and in 1987, Jacques Guyot bought the chateau from his brother Michel, and opened it to the public to help fund the restoration and renovation. 

Fast forward to 2016, when his son Lancelot, who had gone to business school and started a web company, became bored and wanted a more challenging career. He bought the chateau from his father with the desire to do something innovative, rather than just retain the chateau as an historic monument. 

I met the dashing Lancelot, who I believe is in his early 30s, with sandy blond hair and blue eyes, as he was busily setting up the chateau for a live rock concert that night. As busy as he was, Lancelot was kind enough to personally give me a tour of the chateau and share his vision for the future of it. His desire is to transform the chateau experience, which usually caters to an older visitor, into a living, breathing place, which young people and children can also enjoy. His ideas (some of which are already in place) include fun activities visitors can participate in. 

On site games are a big part of the activities, taking place inside the chateau and the in the gardens and forest. They include the Escape Game, where a team of guests are locked in the chateau and have 60 minutes to escape while finding clues and solving puzzles, and the Poison Trail, which dates back from 1682, when there was a rash of poisonings of the royals and the aristocracy under the reign of King Louis XIV, and participants have two hours to either to create their own poison or choose to solve the mystery of poisoner. Every year the chateau sponsors a giant murder mystery where participants try and solve a murder in the chateau and for 2021, the name of the hunt is The Case of the Suitors.

Sir Lancelot

May I take a nap? 

The inside of the chateau has fifteen, sumptuously decorated rooms open to the public. Unlike most other chateaus which have the rooms roped off, many of the rooms of Chateau La Ferté-Saint-Aubin are unencumbered and embrace people using the furniture and using the rooms. When Lancelot explained that to me, I jokingly said “May I take a nap” on the four-poster bed in front of me, and he replied “Why not? On the second floor is a large game room where guests are invited to stay and play. The attic rooms, which were once the servant’s quarters, now have tools and ancient industrial objects from local artisans. 

Chateau La Ferté-Saint-Aubin also likes to make use of its kitchen and in summer a specialty of the chateau, Madeleines with honey, are baked in the oven, while visitors can learn how the old kitchen operated and they can also participate in a Madeleine making lesson, where they receive a copy of the secret recipe.  

Pavillon de Cerfs (serfs’ quarters) is an historic building on the property turned into a cottage for rent with five bedrooms, kitchen, living room, dining room, and three bathrooms. The chateau also has a beautifully decorated space for wedding receptions. 

CLICK HERE to watch the video on Facebook I did for Atout France last month that includes footage of my interview with Lancelot. 

Did you like Loire Valley Château Week?

https://www.chateau-ferte.com/fr/ 

Looks very Downton Abbey 

Game room
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Loire Valley Château Week : Château de Villesavin

Continuing with Loire Valley Château Week, today I am writing about Château de Villesavin, which is located on the Sologne region of the Loire on the Beuvron River. Originally a manor house was constructed on the site in the 14^th century, but the present-day building was built by Jean La Breton, Lord of Villandry, (he also owned Chateau Villandry) who was the finance minister under the reign of King Francois I. Breton oversaw the construction of the extravagant Chateau de Chambord and taking a cue from it, he used the same French and Italian architects and craftsmen. The chateau was purchased in 1937 by Count and Countess de Sparre, and their direct descendants Lars and Véronique de Sparre own and run it today. 

The main part of the handsome chateau is horse show shaped along with two other buildings on each side with similar architectural. The structure on the right side had an enormous tree in the middle, creating much needed shaded for the warm weather. 

There are two museums in the chateau. What began as a collection of globes has blossomed into The Marriage Museum which now has over 1500 objects related to weddings. Vitrines with reimagined wedding settings between 1890 and 1950 proliferate the museum along with other significant wedding souvenirs and memorabilia. The second museum exhibits a collection of antique horse drawn buggies and carriages. 

One standout feature is a dovecote, which is a tower used to house pigeons or doves, and the one at Château de Villesavin can hold up to 1500 birds. Inside the tower are hundreds of perches for the birds to collect. 

There’s 27 acres of forest and open meadows surrounding the estate and there’s a small farm tailored for children where children could feed and play with goats, sheep, cows, rabbits, chickens, and donkeys. Another offering for children is a hunt to find the ghost that’s haunting the chateau and on Halloween they offer a special hunt. 

https://www.chateau-de-villesavin.fr/

CLICK HERE to watch the video on Facebook I did for Atout France last month that includes footage of the chateau, which includes the inside of the dovecote.

 

Loire Valley Château Week: Château de Troussay

Dear Subscribers, my apologies if you received my last blog post twice in your email. I was testing out my new subscription delivery service with Feedblitz. 

Last month when I was in the Loire Valley, I had the good fortune to visit three smaller, less known chateaux. I am writing about each one in a separate blog post this week and calling it Loire Valley Chateau Week. 

The first chateau I visited was Château de Troussay, which has the distinction of being the smallest of the Loire chateaux. Located in Cheverny, it sits in the shadow of the mega Chateau Cheverny, which I wrote about in 2017 (CLICK HERE to read). 

First built in 1450 as a simple manor house for Robert Bugy, a councilman of the town of Blois, the first recorded property deed is from 1545. Later descendants of Bugy expanded and improved the house, turning it into a chateau. 

The first sale of the chateau was in 1732 to the Pelluys, a well-respected family from Blois. Part of their daughter’s dowry when she married the knight Christophe de Réméon, a descendant of a companion of Henri IV, was the domain of Troussay, hence the name of the chateau. In 1900, the chateau was sold to Count Maurice Delamarre de Monchaux, which he bought for his wife Isore Hurault de Vibraye, and it is still inhabited and owned by the family. Major changes were made to the chateau in 1900, giving it the current look. 

I liked the architectural quirkiness of Château de Troussay, especially with the formal chateau juxtaposed with the manor house buildings, which housed a winery, horse stables, and food storage. Also, the chateau has English style gardens rather than the formal French, symmetrical gardens. However, there are four formal garden pavilions made of stone from the 1500s that stored gardening tools and in another quirky feature of the chateau, is the “museum”, which in fact was a tiny room inside one of the towers which displays a collection of antique dolls. 

Another distinction the chateau has, is that it has the best-preserved porcupine carved out of stone in France, which is proudly displayed on rear part of the chateau. 

The rooms inside the chateau were a mix of period furniture and antiques from the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th century, and a round room which was a mixture of a salon and playroom was the most interesting. 

The chateau also sells honey form their own beehives, and other local food products plus they can prepare a picnic basket to have lunch on the grounds. You can also stay at the chateau which has two suites and two cottages for rent. 

Chateau de Troussay is open weekdays and weekends at 11with guided tours only, but you are free to explore the grounds after the tour. 

https://chateaudetroussay.com/?page_id=1225&lang=en

CLICK HERE to watch the video on Facebook I did for Atout France last month that includes footage of the chateau. 

Visit to Martin-Pouret Vinegar Factory in Orleans

The last stop on my visit to the Loire Valley and the Sologne region in July was the Martin-Pouret Vinegar Factory and shop in Orleans. 

I met one of the two owners, David Matheron, at the offices of the factory. He and his business partner bought Martin-Pouret in 2019, from the last generation of the family-owned business that was started in 1797. He and his partner both worked for many years for other large corporations but wanted to create their own business by buying an existing, established company rather than starting from scratch. The former owner, who was in his mid-60s, wanted to retire and none of his children had the desire to take over the company. David explained to me that it was still a virtually small business, but it had enough prestige to give it an extra boost and expand it without losing its brand identity. He also told me the history of the vinegar industry in Orleans and the surrounding area. Orleans was the main gateway for the Loire winemakers to ship and transport their wines to other parts of France. Since vinegar is a by-product of wine, it was a natural happenstance that Orleans became the largest and most significant city to produce it. At the tipping point, Orleans had over 400 vinegar companies but by the late 20^th century they all but disappeared to a handful, thus including Martin-Pouret, one of the last survivors. 

David walked me through the old factory, where the main production is now, although they will be moving to a larger, more up to date, newly built facility in the next few years. He took me through each process, first showing me the oak barrels that hold and age the vinegar, an almost identical process to wine. Next was the storage process in these huge vats, then the assembly line where the vinegar is bottled, then adhering the labels to the full bottles, and finally packing them into boxes for shipping. 

Once we were done with the factory visit, David was kind enough to take me to their retail shop a few minutes away from the factory by car. The store is located in the center of the city on rue Jeanne d’Arc, a wide avenue decorated with lovely, vertical flower beds that leads to the Orleans cathedral. The well curated and designed shop showcases the products including a long list of vinegar types and flavors, mustards, cornichons, jellies and jams, and oils. David and his partner updated the packaging and labeling, creating an appealing color palette, along with humorous illustrations. David said another thing they added was new products to enhance and compliment the vinegar and mustard, which included the jams and jellies and the cornichons and dared to even add balsamic vinegar, imported from Italy, rather than made in the factory. 

In the back of the shop, there are three taps which dispense three different types of mustard and David donned an apron, and personally pumped mustard into a handsome, white ceramic pot, put a lid on it, and handed it to me to take home. There’s a refrigerated case that contains daily, freshly made lunch meals that include an appetizer, main course, and dessert, cleverly packaged in glass Mason jars. Another offering at the shop is a cooking class, taught by a well-known, local chef, using ingredients from the items sold in the store. 

Another fun activity the store offers is vinegar and mustard tastings, and David was kind enough to do a mini-crash course to introduce me to the various vinegars. Much like wine tasting, each vinegar had its own distinct flavor and aftertaste, and the top-of-the-line vinegar was aged for seven years and packaged in a perfume-like, shaped bottle. The mustards were also fun to sample and by the end of the tasting, my nose and sinuses were clearer than they had been in years. 

When we finished the vinegar and mustard tasting it was lunchtime and David and I had lunch together with dishes we selected from the prepared foods in the refrigerated case. The most divine dish was the dessert of strawberry and cranberry jelly panna cotta.

Just as I was leaving, David took a large shopping bag and stuffed it with all kinds of vinegars, mustards, and pickles, and it was so heavy, I could hardly carry it with my luggage on the train. I now have enough stock of vinegar to last me perhaps a few years. 

Thanks so much David for such a fun and informative experience.

Checkout the enticing food recipes on their website. https://martin-pouret.com/blog/category/les-recettes.html

Orleans is only an hour train ride from Paris.

Martin-Pouret 

11 rue Jeanne d’Arc

Orleans, France 45000

https://martin-pouret.com/

 

 

Maison Tatin

Maison Tatin is the original hotel where the recipe for tarte Tatin was first invented. I stayed at the hotel for two nights during the first week of July to prepare for and do my live video for Atout France, which was recorded on July 8. (CLICK HERE to view the video in case you missed it). 

I arrived at the tiny Lamotte-Beuvron train station at 9:30am, after taking a 7:07am train from Gare d’Austerlitz in Paris. The hotel was conveniently located just across from the train station. As I was walking toward the hotel, a painted sign on a wall spelled out in bold letters “PAYS DE LA TARTE TATIN”. This is when I realized the tarte Tatin was more significant than I thought. 

Originally named Hotel Terminus, because it was next to the railroad station, the hotel was opened in 1830. It was popular with hunters during the fleeting hunting season, which lasts for approximately a month, beginning in September. Two sisters, Caroline and Stephanie Tatin, owned the hotel in the mid-1800s and it became renowned in the area for its restaurant, earning the honor of being selected for first Michelin guide as one of the best restaurants in the Sologne region where it’s located. 

The story behind how the tarte Tatin came to be is a bit along the lines of the chocolate chip cookie, somewhat of a culinary mistake that then became history. One busy Sunday in the height of hunting season, the restaurant was packed with hungry, local hunters. One of the sisters started to prepare an apple tart, leaving the apples on the stovetop to cook in butter and sugar. She became distracted with other duties in the restaurant and when she returned to the stove, the apples were overcooked and starting to burn. To save the tart from ruin, she quickly made her crust, putting it on top of the apples. She then baked it, and when it came out of the oven, she flipped it on to a serving platter, and low and behold, the tart Tatin was inaugurated. The original recipe was given to a family member, Fanny Tatin, who passed on the recipe to the subsequent owners. 

The hotel was bought by a group of investors in 2019, and significant renovations were done to upgrade the facilities, including the addition of a spa. The reopening was supposed to happen in 2021 but was delayed to May of this year. The owners renamed the hotel Maison Tatin, to make the guests feel more at home than at a hotel. 

The outside looked quaint with handsome, new awnings in midnight blue canvas along with a brick and plaster façade. Inside, the newly designed restaurant looked inviting with plush, velvet dining chairs in jewel tone colors, a pink marble fireplace mantle, milk chocolate color banquettes, and a quirky carpet pattern made to look like a wood parquet floor. 

My cozy attic room on the third floor had slanted ceilings and a nice view of the weeping willow trees in the garden area behind the hotel. The queen size bed was super comfy, and the air conditioning was so cool, I had to lower the temperature on the thermostat. 

That evening I had dinner in the lovely garden in the rear of the hotel under the weeping willow trees. My first course was a refreshing dorade ceviche, dotted with colorful edible flowers, followed by an excellent dish of an updated version of a Shepherd’s but with a much lighter lamb ragout, topped with a thin, crispy layer of a potato crepe. As much as I enjoyed the meal, I was full of anticipation about the grand finale, which I had been dreaming about since I got off the train early that morning. The tarte Tatin was served unadorned but elegantly on a large white plate, with just a whisper of caramel swirled on it. Taking the first bite, the intense, smoky flavor of the caramel and apples titillated my palate and the light, cookie like crust was just the right accompaniment. It also wasn’t too sweet and or sticky like some tart Tatin’s I’ve had in the past. It definitely lived up to its legendary status.

The next day after the video was over, I indulged in another slice of heaven. 

Maison Tatin has 14 rooms on three floors (no elevator), and two have wheelchair access. Prices start at a mere 75€ a night for a smaller room. 

Next week I will post about the three chateaux I visited in the area.

Maison Tatin

5 rue de Vierzon

41600 Lamotte Beuvron 

https://www.lamaisontatin.fr/en/

Tel. +33 2 54 88 00 03 

Excellent local red wine

The Star of the Show! 

 

 

Return to the Luberon: La Tour d’Aigues and Mirabeau

After visiting the village of Ansouis, which I posted about yesterday, we went to La Tour d’Aigues. Outdoor cafes and restaurants had just reopened in France the week before, so we had lunch at a sweet outdoor café and enjoyed some fresh salads. Across the street from the café was the ruins of the Chateau La Tour d’Aigues, a Renaissance architectural wonder from the 16^th century which was influenced by the triumphal arches of Roman Antiquity. The chateau has been repurposed since 1985 as a concert and event venue. Next up was a stroll through the village of Mirabeau, where the popular French movie Manon des Sources was filmed in 1985, which was followed by Jean de Florette. 

This is my last post in the Return to the Luberon series. Did you enjoy it and is there a favorite village you liked? 

Return to the Luberon: Ansouis

Another lovely village we visited in the Luberon was Ansouis. Officially named one of the most beautiful villages in France, Ansouis is the Luberon at its best.

 

The population is just over 1,000 people, and the residents take much pride in the upkeep of limestone facades of their ancient homes by maintaining beautiful vines, plants and flowerpots.  

Two other highlights of Ansouis is the impressive 12^th century chateau and the Saint Martin Church. 

Return to Etretat 2021

 I want to thank everyone for watching my live Lupin 2 tour yesterday and also for your generous tips to my PayPal account. I'm sorry I couldn't thank all of you individually, but know I really appreciate it. CLICK HERE to watch the video and CLICK HERE if you would like to leave a tip in my PayPal account (you don’t have to have a PayPal account), which I would greatly appreciate, as I do these tours free of charge for France.fr  Enjoy!

I arrived in Etertat on Tuesday morning, a day early to prepare for my Lupin 2 Facebook live tour on Wednesday. The last time I was in Etretat was July 2016 and upon returning after a five-year absence, I remembered why I loved it so much. I arrived at about 10:30am and quickly checked into my hotel and headed straight to the beach. Again, like before, the view of the cliffs and the water was astounding, but this time around there was an added treat. There was a fog covering the tops of the cliffs and the tide was low, which exposed the white boulders and stones covered in seaweed, which gave it a whole new dimension. This new discovery was a feast for my camera “eye”, and I snapped away as you can see below. 

I can see why Monet would paint the same landscapes at different times of the day and year, especially in Etretat, because of the variation of light and other natural element changes. 

If you missed watching my Lupin 2 tour yesterday, CLICK HERE  to watch, so you can experience the stunning cliffs and charming village of Etretat. Next Monday I will do another post about Etretat. CLICK HERE  if you would like to make a Paypal donation for the tour. 

 

Trip to Nimes

In the beginning of October, I took a last minute trip to Nimes because another trip I was supposed to go on was cancelled. The train fare was only 40€ round trip and the ride was an easy three-hour voyage from the Gare de Lyon station, which is two metro stops from my apartment.  

Nimes was a significant city of the Roman Empire dating back from 28 B.C. with a population of close to 55,000 people. A major number of  structures from the Roman reign in France are still standing including an arena and a temple. The city of Nimes has taken great measures to restore and maintain them.

I arrived fairly early, at about 9:30am, but luckily, I was able to check into my hotel early.  L’Imperator Hotel, is an Art Deco jewel that opened in the 1930s and was a hideaway for celebrity guests such as Ava Gardner, Ernest Hemingway, and Pablo Picasso in its heyday. The hotel had a head to toe makeover in 2018, and when I entered the lobby, I could feel the spirit of the Art Deco era but with a modern touch, of a sculpted, royal blue velvet couch, and circles of glass dangling from the ceiling in hues of emerald green, amber, and aqua blue. 

The original elevator of an iron and wrought iron cage and a wood inner car had been restored, and I closed the wire gates, and whisked myself up to the third floor to my room. The room had light fixtures similar to those in the lobby, maintaining the Art Deco theme, and I liked the soothing palate of slate gray and white bed linens and the contrasting sculptured rug in teal blue, pink, marigold, and vanilla. I settled into the room and took a long, hot shower using the rain shower head and pampering myself with Codage bath and body products. 

Feeling refreshed, I went back to the lobby and was given a tour of the hotel. First was the lobby lounge area with smartly appointed club chairs and marble top tables. The super cool bar was embellished with more of the glass colored circles, and white marble counter. Next was the lush garden area with cypress trees, and a fountain, accompanied by green iron dining tables, and natural color wicker sofas with cream color cushions. The Codage spa is serene and zen-like space with a sizable indoor pool. 

L’Imperator has a separate building with two and three-bedroom apartments with full kitchens and dining areas and a private entrance, with one of them named the Ava Gardner. Finally, the elevated outdoor pool surrounded by the plush chaise lounges was so inviting along with the sunny and warm weather, I was totally tempted to spend the day there and ditch the highlights of Nimes. But I didn’t. 

The first stop when I left the hotel was the fabulous and stunning Jardins de La Fontaine, which was inaugurated in 1745, and was one of the first public parks to open in Europe. The 37-acre, neo-classical designed garden combines elements of some of my favorite parks such as the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, and the Pitti Palace in Florence. I wandered through the park in awe of the cascading, stone staircases, marble vases, formidable statues with chubby cherubs, and extensive rows of balustrades. The waterways and aqueducts that run below the park, originally came from a spring from Roman times and the remainder of the garden has pine, cypress, and oak trees along with grottos, a pool with aquatic plants and rock garden. 

It was pretty hard to top the beauty and joy of the Jardins De La Fontaine, as I toured the rest of the city. I spent the remainder of the day visiting the arena, the centerpiece of the city, which is a Roman amphitheater, built in approximately in 70CE, just after the Coliseum of Rome, and Maison Carré, a spectacular limestone temple surrounded by towering Roman columns. 

My last stop of the day was the impressive Roman Museum. The interesting thing about the newly opened museum is the contrast of having ancient relics and artifacts that are over 5,000 years old, in a super modern and technologically advanced space. The Roman Museum has 65 interactive, multimedia displays covering 25 centuries, including the pre-Roman, Roman, and medieval periods. The rooftop has a great view of the Nimes skyline with a 360-degree view, and features markings for the important monuments of the city. In the rear of the museum, is an expansive garden and plantings on three levels with pre-Roman, Roman, and Post Roman periods, with each level displaying plants and fauna.

I returned to the hotel and rested a bit from my long day and had an early dinner at the hotel. Because of the lockdown, I hadn’t had the pleasure of eating in a restaurant since early March. It was so nice to sit down and be served by someone else, and not have to think about cleaning the kitchen and washing dishes after dinner. I dined at the L’Impe Brasserie in the lobby of the hotel and was seated at a quiet table in front of a glass wall that faced the lovely garden area. The restaurant is under the direction of Michelin star chef, Pierre Gagnaire, and the chef is Nicolas Fontaine. The starter was a fantastic foie gras dish, followed by a daube of the moistest and tender beef with dreamy, buttery, whipped potatoes. Best of all the service was impeccable and the staff couldn’t have been more accommodating. 

I was feeling under the weather the next day, and returned to Paris in the morning, rather than coming home in the early evening, so I didn’t get a chance to explore more of Nimes, but for sure will do soon. 

L’Imperator Hotel https://www.maison-albar-hotels-l-imperator.com/en/

 

It’s holiday gift time, and what could be better than the gift of Paris. Most people were denied the joy of visiting Paris this year with the travel restrictions, so what better way to remind you or people on your gift list of the city than a great photo. 

I have updated my Etsy shop with 15 new photos in addition to my other classic photos from before. In addition, I can make a print of almost every photo you see on Eye Prefer Paris.

Below are sizes and prices.

10x13 inches $60

11x14 inches $80

16x20 inches $115

I am offering free shipping- a $14 savings- on any photo order until December 18, 2020.

Click here to go to my Etsy shop. 

Photos are printed on Fuji crystal Archive metallic paper with rich satin gloss finish and is unframed.

Prints are printed in N.J. and sent by USPS. Delivery time is 2-5 days.

If you have any questions about the photos, please email me at [email protected]

Thanks in advance for your support.

Click here to go to my Etsy shop. 

Below are some of my new photos I’ve posted in my Etsy shop.