Results tagged “France” from Intelligent Travel Blog

Our beloved book critic Don George is back this month reviewing the latest tome from Peter Mayle, a writer who first inspired us to pack our bags two decades ago with his best-selling A Year in Provence. His latest, The Vintage Caper, revisits Provence through a story of a multi-million-dollar heist of French wines from a Hollywood collector. "As our protagonists track the precious bottles, the trail leads--naturellement! --through a succession of excellent repasts and leisurely ambles, which Mayle depicts with painterly ease and signature savoir vivre," George writes.

Check out the full review here. 

Sydney Suissa, the executive VP of content for the National Geographic Channel, joined a group of European journalists last week as they visited the beaches of Normandy where the D-Day landings took place. September 2009 marks the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II and to commemorate the event, National Geographic Channel International is launching a new series on the history of the war entitled "Apocalypse". Click through to see his photo essay.

There are 22 of us on the bus from Caen. A Tower of Babel on wheels, we speak French, English, Spanish, Greek, Turkish, Portuguese, Dutch, Estonian, Norwegian, Romanian, and Polish. The road takes us through a vast plain of rich farmland that rolls down to the sea; corn waiting for harvest, fields of wheat stubble glowing under the sun of a big sky and white gulls following tractors to feed on worms. Red poppies, the emblems of the first World War immortalized by the Canadian poet John McCrae ("In Flanders Field the poppies blow/Between the crosses row on row"), sway in the breeze along stone fences and gardens of hydrangeas, cosmos, and orange trumpet vines.

On June 6, 1944, one hundred and thirty-five thousand Allied soldiers landed on five beaches along the Normandy coast. The war that started on September 1, 1939 with Germany's invasion of Poland was now entering the endgame. The Allied beachhead in Normandy was the first step in the campaign to liberate Europe and topple Berlin. This pastoral landscape we are driving through was razed, bloodied, and gouged beyond recognition. Hundreds of lovely cobbled towns and villages like Crepon, Meuvaines, Bayeux and Creully were destroyed by artillery shelling, the march of tanks, the relentless advance of the Allies and the fierce retreat of German forces.

Today is an exciting day for Francophiles around the world: Bastille Day. Having just spent time in France, I wanted to learn more about this holiday and the history behind it.

Bastille Day became an official French holiday in 1880, but the reason for the holiday happened several years prior. On the morning of July 14, 1789, citizens of the country stormed the Bastille prison in Paris, overturning the absolute--and arbitary--power of King Louis XVI. This event marked the start of the French Revolution, forever changing the way France was governed. As the French Embassy notes on its website, by storming the Bastille, the citizens of France were stating that "the king's power was no longer absolute: power should be based on the Nation and be limited by a separation of powers."

A new exhibit opened today in the National Geographic Museum here in DC at the National Geographic Society headquarters. It's called "Kodachrome Culture: The American Tourist in Europe" and it features wonderfully retro travel images from the pages National Geographic magazine. Here's one of my favorites, a photo of people lounging on the rocky beach at Etretat, France, with the Notre Dame de la Garde chapel atop the chalk cliffs in the background.

From the exhibit:

National Geographic pioneered the use of Kodachrome film in the late 1930s and was among the first to recognize its advantages. The film produced a dye image without the grain found in other color processes, and the photographs could be enlarged without loss of detail. The film was also faster. Instead of requiring a tripod, color shots taken with a compact 35mm camera could be spontaneously composed. By the time American tourism was taking off in the 1950s, National Geographic photographers were adept at using Kodachrome. The images helped National Geographic stand out from other magazines still publishing in black-and-white.
Eventually Kodachrome became the most widely used color film in the United States.

Fast Facts:

The National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., is open Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For information on the "Kodachrome Culture" exhibit, call (202) 857-7588 or visit www.ngmuseum.org.

Read More:

Senior Photo Editor Dan Westergren discussed the story of how National Geographic Explorers came to name Kodachrome Flat in Bryce Caynon, Utah. And check out a gallery of classic Kodachrome images from the National Geographic archives here.

Photo by Howell Walker, from "Normandy Blossoms Anew," National Geographic magazine, May 1959, p. 629

Rainer Jenss and his family are currently on an around-the-world journey, and they're blogging about their experiences for us at Intelligent Travel. Keep up with the Jensses by bookmarking their posts, and follow the boys' Global Bros blog at National Geographic Kids.

It might have seemed impractical to give ourselves only two weeks to visit France, Germany, and Italy on this trip, especially since we were on a one-year journey and could theoretically allocate a lot more time for each (or go to fewer of them). But these were places we definitely wanted the boys to see, so we just decided to be well thought-out with where we'd go. Besides, when you compare this to the amount of time a typical American can allot for a vacation, this didn't seem like such a stretch.   

We left France after spending three days in Paris and two in the countryside. Euro Disney was not on our agenda. Instead, we opted for the real-life place that in part inspired Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty castle: the Neuschwanstein Castle, nestled amid the stunning landscape of southwest Bavaria. The traffic was extra light on Easter Sunday, so we got to the German border relatively quickly, but not after having to dish out over 60 euro (about $90) in tolls that covered only about 200 miles of roadway. Then I was forced to break my vow not to use any GPS on this trip, not because I wanted to, but because our rental car had it installed. This proved not to be such a bad thing since the roads around the Alps are tricky and one wrong turn could end you up in a different country. Furthermore, reading a map while trying to negotiate hairpin turns wasn't the best idea.    

After choosing one of several pleasant outdoor restaurants for lunch along the bustling shores of the Bodensee (Lake Constance), we got back in the car and followed our trusty new navigation assistant straight to the castle.  Arriving without any prearranged accommodations (which is inadvisable in the busy summer months), we discovered that the Akzent Hotel Muller right at the base of the castle had a family suite for the same price we'd pay for two modest B&B-type rooms found in town. Even though it's catered specifically for tourists, which is something we generally try to avoid, it was a treat to be within easy walking distance of the castle and not have to spend any time in the car the next day, so we booked it.

Rainer Jenss and his family are currently on an around-the-world journey, and they're blogging about their experiences for us at Intelligent Travel. Keep up with the Jensses by bookmarking their posts, and follow the boys' Global Bros blog at National Geographic Kids.

Nine months and six days after pulling out of our driveway to start this year-long journey, I found myself back in familiar territory. Since I'm originally from Germany and have traveled extensively throughout the Continent, I feel very much at home in Europe. Even though I had spent just one day in Paris prior to our arrival, there was little concern with logistics or getting oriented to what would be the seventeenth country of the trip. In fact, after spending the last three months in Africa, it felt rather comforting to be here.

With just a few exceptions, we had most of the previous sixteen countries pretty well planned out before we got there. Generally speaking, Asia is not a good place to just wing it with two kids in tow. In New Zealand, we had a camper van to call home, and since Australia is so darn big, we'd have been crazy not to map out a route in advance and make sure we hit the spots we were most interested in. Even traveling across the U.S. required advance reservations if we had any intention of staying within the national parks in the height of summer.      

The only problem was that we had just a little more than six weeks to explore Europe before we were due in South America for the final leg of our voyage. The upside was that we didn't have to subject ourselves to the high cost of being here for very long. Everything seems more expensive in Europe (the weak dollar doesn't help, even though it's strengthened about 20% against the euro since we left last July). Car rentals and gasoline prices makes traveling by train a serious option, although that's not cheap either. We even had to dish out more than 60 euros in tolls just to get from Paris to the German border. Ouch.  

Without trying to sound too much like the Griswalds from European Vacation, we embarked on an ambitious plan to cover France, Germany and Italy in two weeks. We picked France because it was pretty much the only choice we had flying from the Seychelles. Besides, we're talking Paris, so there were no complaints here. Better still, my sister and her family were just a short Eurostar train ride away from their West London home, so they planned to meet us for the long Easter weekend. This meant we had to figure out what to do with four kids, not just two.

If there's anything I particularly love about Washington, D.C., it's that most of our museums charge no admission. The City of Light seems to be following our lead and, beginning this April, 18 of Paris's national museums will be free to those under 25. The list of national museums includes favorites like Le Louvre (above) and Musee d'Orsay.

Of course, those over 25 must still pay full admission, but it beats paying admission for younger kids who might not fully appreciate the experience. For more free things to do in the city, check out Traveler's Free Cities guide to Paris.

Photo: Jennifer Kijek via the Intelligent Travel Flickr pool

Friend of IT Anastasia Kolobrodova is back to regale us with her journey to the caves of Chartreuse in Voiron, France.

Last week, when my friend was visiting me in Lyon, France, we scheduled all of the usual touristy things - sojourning to Paris, visiting every pâtisserie in town, eating crêpes at least three times daily. But the highlight by far is when we hopped on a train for a day trip to Voiron, a small town near Grenoble, to tour the cellars of Chartreuse.  Every liquor has a tale, but Chartreuse's background is particularly intriguing. Based on a 1605 recipe for the Elixir of Life, the combination of 130 herbs that create Chartreuse's uniquely medicinal flavor has been handed down for generations. At any given time only two people in the world know the recipe, and, both being silent monks of the Order of Chartreuse, they're surely not going to tell.

Quick hits from our travel radar:

• Though widespread public opinion indicates the opposite, Playmobil toys is convinced that going through the security checkpoint in airports is actually a fun game. [Amazon]

• Earlier this week, heavy rains damaged the geoglyphs known as the Nazca Lines, one of Peru's biggest tourist attractions. Officials say they should be restored relatively soon. [Jaunted, The Age]

• France's President Nicholas Sarkozy has announced that as of April of this year, the country's national museums and monuments will be free for visitors under the age of 25. [ABC]

• Perhaps the best souvenir from the Inauguration? Ojamas. [Escape from New York]

• Hidden in the midst of the city of Istanbul are historic wooden homes from the 17th century; seeing them transports you back to Ottoman times. [IHT]

Our friends at Gadling recently noted that a scientific research company is paying volunteers to fly to France and back to study the effects of jet lag. Clinilabs is paying folks $2,500 plus expenses for 4 days/3 nights for the study.

Gadling explains:

[W]hat's the catch? Well, from what I've read of firsthand accounts, here's how things loosely go: you basically have to get to [New York] City two or three times on your own for some initial tests and an overnight stay. After that, you come back to NYC, catch a private Gulfstream jet out to a facility near the French-Swiss border then hang out an in a lab staring at the bucolic countryside with electrodes attached to you for a few days. Two weeks after you get back, you get a check in the mail.

Clinilabs notes that participants cannot "leave the study center premises in France or tour France before returning home." So, that stinks. But getting paid enough money to venture back to France for a real vacation--all in the name of scientific research, mind you--sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Photo: Vahid Jahed via the Intelligent Travel Flickr pool

While trying to track down the name and address of an illustrious Parisian umbrella maker in the 14th arrondissement who may or may not have a remarkable moustache (this is what we fact-checkers do), I happened upon a concierge company called At Your Service, founded eight years ago by transplanted Boston native Christine Leonard.

Her company caters to private clients as well as corporations with newly relocated employees who need help getting settled, running errands, and generally finding their way around Paris. They can help you locate an apartment, a chef, a personal trainer, pediatrician, plumber or pet-sitter; they can create a customized itinerary, reserve a restaurant table, arrange an out-of-town weekend, provide a chauffeur or plan a shopping trip. 

Pricing (it's not cheap) is based on monthly or yearly membership plans, but they also offer on-call services with hourly rates for non-members.  Christine knew the answer I needed and responded instantly, saving me much time and bother.

The name of that famous umbrella maker, if you haven't already guessed:  Alexandra Sojfer, (above) at 218 boulevard Saint-Germain, which has been making umbrellas by hand since 1834.  Now I know.  Thanks, Christine!


Photo courtesy of Alexandra Sojfer, Paris

With an unenviable position of being stuck between wine superstars Bordeaux and Côtes du Rhône, France's Languedoc is a region whose wine just can't manage to shine. Through the years, frustrated vintners have ripped up their vines and headed for friendlier terroir and reputation. They're fed up and going broke in these tough economic times. But that may soon change, thanks to a brilliant (and may I say, entirely un-French) marketing scheme that plays to Languedoc's spiraling stance in the wine world. We'd like to introduce you to "Le Vin de Merde," or "Crap Wine."

Restauranteur Jean-Marc Speziale and winemaker Walter Valgalier concocted their devilish little PR tactic in the caves of Gignac, near Montpellier. Speziale told Just-Drinks.com that the canny name acts as a backhanded compliment to Languedoc's underappreciated wine. 

"This draws attention to the fact that we make very good wines," Speziale said.

In actuality, Vin de Merde hardly lives up to its name--thankfully. Bottles sell for 7 euros (somewhat pricey by French standards) and are flying off shelves of local carriers. It seems, for now, that this publicity stunt initiated out of angst and frustration is wholeheartedly succeeding. It remains to be seen, though, whether this will help Languedoc reshape its reputation in the wine world.

Photo: Boston.com