Best of France This Weekend in NYC

This weekend, Times Square in Manhattan will be transformed into a huge French marketplace called Best of France.

The September 26 and 27 event is organized by the non-profit group of the same name, whose purpose is to promote the image of France and "French expertise and savoir-faire" abroad. The event is presented in conjunction with Atout France.

Entrance to Best of France is free, but tickets must be purchased for special events such as the VIP Opening Night Reception and the Grand Wine Tastings presented by top NYC sommeliers. 

Event exhibitors and programs are organized by themes: Cuisine, Lifestyle, Travel, Fashion, Culture, Technology and Innovation.  

The list of exhibitors and sponsors includes Air France, Back-Roads, Club Med, Clarins, Croisi Europe, Delta, Diptyque, Galeries Lafayette, Laguiole, Lancome, Le Boat, L'Oreal, Moulin Rouge, Parfums de France, RailEurope, Sofitel, Tartine et Chocolat, Valrhona, YSL and many more. The cities of Cannes, Lyon, Toulouse and Paris will be on hand, as will regional tourist offices (Bordeaux/Aquitaine, the Rhône Alpes the Midi-Pyrénées, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, etc.) and the islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe and Saint Martin. The full exhibitor list is here.

At the Inauguration on Saturday at 11 am (Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets), 130 French and American kids will be unraveling huge US and French flags. Following the two national anthems, they'll also unravel the largest “marinière” (the iconic striped, knitted sweater) in the world. How large you ask? It's  22' long by 44' wide.

The show highlights are listed here. On the Culinary Stage all weekend, chefs--including Christian Tetedoie, Eric Kayser, Michel Bras and others--will be doing demos.

On the main stage (Times Square at 46th St.), Francophone singers and French artists (such as 16 Moulin Rouge dancers, a first in NYC) will perform. Other offerings include art exhibits, a French book store, book signings, fashion shows on a 45-foot runway, a kids fashion show casting call, live demos by French craftsmen making artisanal products, a French market and "bistro areas."

Volunteers are still needed and can compete to win a trip to Paris; info on volunteering is here. 

The public is invited to enter to win a week in luxury rental in Chamonix (with a six-day ski pass) and a week-long French river cruise. Anyone can enter...you don't have to attend the event to win...just fill out the form here.

For all the details, visit the Best of France website here...and follow them on Facebook, Twitter,  Instagram and Pinterest.

Journées du Patrimoine is Next Weekend

It's that time again: The 32nd annual Journées du Patrimoine takes place this weekend, September 19 and 20, in cities and villages all over France. The program was created by the French Ministry of Culture in 1984 and has since spread all over Europe (where it's also called European Heritage Days). It's one of my favorite weekends of the year.

The idea is that thousands of historic sites, monuments, buildings, estates and domaines are open to the public for special weekend visits and events...along with many private sites that are normally, um, private. Most sites have a guide on hand leading tours and answering questions...and most (but not all) offer free entry. Some sites or events may require you to sign up in advance...but for the most part, you just show up. The website with all the participating venues is here but you'll do much better checking in with the Tourist Office or the tourism website of the village or city you want to visit. For example, the main Patrimoine website lists just eight participating sites in my village of St. Remy. But the village itself has published its own terrific guide and map featuring 21 participating sites...you can see it here (and a map is here). 

For other villages and cities in the South of France, here are some Patrimoine schedules I could find online: Aix, Arles, Marseille, Avignon, Carpentras/Mont Ventoux, Nimes, Uzes, Tarascon, Vaison la Romaine, Orange, the Vaucluse region, Nice, Antibes, Cannes, Cassis and St. Tropez. 

For others, here's a list of most of the Tourist Offices in Provence.

The main Patrimoine website in English is here and you can also download region-by-region schedules here. 

Finally, a bit of advice for those of you who speak little or no French: get a fluent friend to join you (offer to buy 'em lunch--that always works). While you can still enjoy the site itself--whatever it is--most of the narrations are in French only and learning from the experts on hand is a big part of the appeal. 

Vive le Patrimoine de France!

Photos: Get out there and explore! A few of the thousands of sites offering Patrimoine events include The Unterlinden Museum in Colmar (Alsace), the fantastical houses of Jacques-Emile Lecaron in Clamart, the Théâtre Antique d'Orange, La Cite Radieuse by Le Corbusier in Marseille, the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on the Cap Ferrat, the Roman Amphitheatre in Arles, the Frank Gehry-designed Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, the recently re-opened museum Hotel du Sade in St. Remy, the Jewish Cemetery in St. Remy, the Maison du Riz in the Camargue, the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh in Arles, the Heliport of Paris (photo coutesy Nicolas Gauthier), The Chateau de Thouzan in Thouzan and of course, the Eiffel Tower.

Mama Shelter Opens Today in Lyon

The owners of the Mama Shelter hotel in Paris (opened late 2008) and Marseille (opened in 2012), have done it again: the 156-room Mama Shelter Lyon opens today. It comes right on the heels of the March 15th opening of Mama Shelter Istanbul, the first Mama Shelter outside France. 

In Lyon, the hotel has once again been designed by Philippe Starck, a partner in the company. And once again former Michelin starred superchef Alain Senderens is overseeing the food, along with Jérôme Banctel. The restaurant is French and ''Lyon inspired.''

Mama Shelter Lyon is at #13, Rue Domer, a stone's throw from the Place Jean Macé district.  I love what the press materials say about the location: ''the city’s urban epicentre exudes an energy that reflects the Brooklyn of our dreams.''

Amenities at Mama Shelter Lyon include free WiFi throughout, a huge bar, six meeting rooms (some with table soccer, bars, and darts), DJs, live music and cabaret on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and occasional lectures and forums.

Rates normally begin at 79€ but special 49€ rates on certain rooms are being offered until August 31st.  For more info or to reserve, click here. Meanwhile, look out for the next Mama Shelter, launching in Bordeaux, probably in October. 

Mama Shelter Lyon
13, rue Domer 
69007 Lyon, France
Tel 04 78 02 58 00
lyon@mamashelter.com
mamashelter.com 

Photos: Mama Shelter logo; a room in the new Lyon hotel; the hotel company's founders: Benjamin Trigano, Serge Trigano, Philippe Starck, Cyril Aouizerate and Jeremie Trigano. 

Like this story? Subscribe to Provence Post here. 

Another Fine French Travel Book Giveaway!

Edwin Mullins was a young boy when he discovered Roman tile shards on a riverbank near his home in Sussex, England. This led to a lifelong obsession with Roman history and for years, he's been scrambling over and under the half-buried ancient Roman ruins of Provence with his eager dog, Star, and beleaguered wife, Anne. The results of these expeditions can be seen in his latest book, The Roman Provence Guide, where he shares his vast knowledge of both the known sites and hidden traces of this ancient empire. 

The 192-page Roman Provence Guide was designed to appeal to anyone interested in ancient Roman and French history, archaeology, travel and more. And Mullins' very-kind publisher, Interlink Books, has graciously offered me two copies to give away here. Details on entering appear below.

Although the Roman Empire was eventually vanquished, its impact on the world has never vanished of course. In Provence particularly, Julius Caesar'’s grandiose plans live on in countless ruined aqueducts, monuments, triumphal arches, roads, temples, amphitheaters, baths, ramparts and other feats of engineering and architecture. Part historical account, part traveler’s companion, The Roman Provence Guide puts in historical context Rome’'s 600-year rule of ancient Provence, which also included regions of the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Rhône Valley. The guide also includes maps, black & white and color photos of the sites, a list of museums and visitor centers and a Further Reading List.

The Roman occupation of Provence (“Provincia” in Latin), lasted six centuries, beginning more than 100 years before the birth of Christ, and surviving until well after most of Europe had become Christian. Today the region remains richer in Roman monuments than any other place in the world, with vast amphitheaters, triumphal arches, paved roads and aqueducts spanning the countryside.

Provence owes its name to Julius Caesar, who described the region as “the Province of Rome.” It was then a much larger area, stretching westwards to include Languedoc and Roussillon as far as the Pyrenees, eastward to the Riviera and the Maritimes Alps, and northwards up the Rhône Valley as far as Lyon. This book covers much of that larger area while concentrating on present-day Provence and neighboring Languedoc, the heartlands of the former Roman colony. 

In the book, Mullins tells the story of how the Romans came to invade Provence, how they stayed to colonize it, and how they transformed Provençal cities into imitations of Rome. He relates how Emperor Constantine brought about the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity from his favorite city of Arles— and how the Romans were eventually driven out by the Visigoths.

The Roman Provence Guide features all the principal sites in the region as well as those rarely visited. It has separate chapters on triumphal arches, aqueducts, farming, city life, bridges and road-building, temples and shrines, theatres and amphitheaters. Another section considers the aftermath of Roman rule, the restoration of ancient ruins, and the debt we owe to the remarkable engineers who inspired the first great achievement in medieval church architecture known, appropriately, as “Romanesque.”

Mullins is a writer, journalist, filmmaker and the former art critic of London'’s Sunday Telegraph. His books include The Pilgrimage to Santiago, Avignon of the Popes, The Camargue, and the award-winning In Search of Cluny: God’s Lost Empire.  

The book is available directly from the publisher (click here or call US 800-238-5465), from Amazon and Barnes and Noble or in bookstores. But better yet, enter to win a copy by simply leaving a comment under ''comments'' below. Please be sure to leave your email address somewhere within the comment box or we won't be able to reach you; simply signing in with your website or Google account is not enough. The more creative your comment, the better. Bon Chance!

Raymond Blanc: A Very Hungry Frenchman

Raymond Blanc may be Britain’s most-famous French chef, yet he has never cooked professionally in France. (Born in Besançon, the popular television chef, cookbook author and hotelier has held two Michelin stars for 28 years at his Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire and operates a number of other restaurants as well.) In Raymond Blanc: The Very Hungry Frenchman, a five-part series beginning Thursday, Feb 2 on BBC2, Blanc has the opportunity to show us the country he loves and the French recipes that inspire him. In each episode, the chef explores the distinctive produce and cuisine of a different region of France, from world- famous Burgundy to his less well-known but much-loved home region of Franche Comte, where his 90-year-old mother still lives. We also explore Lyon, German-influenced Alsace and of course, our favorite: Provence. 

In each hour-long episode, Blanc sources the freshest ingredients, shows us how to make the dishes, and then together with his young British protégés, Katie and Kush, cooks a menu of traditional dishes at a local restaurant for one night only.

The Very Hungry Frenchman will be broadcast on BBC2 at 8 p.m U.K. time. The current airing schedule is as follows:

Thursday February 2 - Franche Comte

Thursday February 9- Burgundy

Thursday February 16 - Lyon

Thursday February 23 - Alsace

Thursday March 1 – Provence

There's no word yet on where else or when else the series might be shown but BBC2 often makes its programs available online once they've been broadcast. For more info, click here and here.

One Really Interesting Thing After Another...

The Photos Are Coming! The Rencontres Begins July 4 

I wanted to give you all the heads up on the annual international photo festival in Arles known as the Rencontres. This is one of the major events on the summer arts calendar in Provence. The Rencontres encompasses gallery exhibits, slideshows, seminars, workshops and more. I'll do a longer update soon but in the meantime, you can get all the info in English here.

Hotelier On the Loose in Provence

Lausanne-educated hotel director seeks hotel (or other exciting) position in Provence, preferably in or near St. Remy. 20-plus years experience managing four- and five-star properties. Fully bi-lingual in French and English. For more info, click here.

Cooking Class for Teens

Mas de Cornud in St. Remy has a few spaces left in their July 7 cooking class for young adults ages 12 to 18. Called "Les Jeunes dans la Cuisine,” the class starts at 9 a.m and will be taught in French by chef/owner Nito Carpita. (Nito, who is French/Egyptian, speaks excellent English but prefers for students in this class to have a reasonable grasp of French.) The menu will be based on fresh, local, seasonal ingredients, some of them harvested from the gorgeous Mas de Cornud gardens. The apero and lunch is at 12:30 and parents and friends are welcome. Students pay 150€ per person for class and lunch. Parents/friends pay 70€ for lunch with wine. I've taken classes with Nito and she's a terrific teacher. Plus, the kitchens (indoor and outdoor) at Mas du Cornud are divine. For more info: mascornud@live.com, 04 90 92 39 32 or mascornud.com.

French Government Announces Palace Hotels

The French Government announced in May that eight five-star hotels have been awarded the distinction of "Palace" meaning “among the very best among the top hotels” in France.  In Paris, they are Le Bristol, Le Meurice, le Parc Hyatt Vendome, and the Plaza-Athénée. Outside Paris, they are L l’Hotel du Palais in Biarritz, Les Airelles and Le Cheval Blanc in Courchevel and the Grand Hotel du cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (photo above). The new Palace category was officially created in November 2010 to continue the development of the new hotel classification system established in 2009. The deciding jury, headed by Académie Française member Dominique Fernandez, was comprised of members of the media, architecture, and hotel groups, among others. The rating is valid for five years. 

Discounted Pilates Getaway in St. Remy 

Carlos Stelmach and Olivier Coste Renoult have a few spots left in their weeklong Pilates-themed getaway in St. Rémy (June 25 to July 2) and to fill them they're offering a 10% discount. You'll stay in an eight-bedroom home with a large pool, nestled among olive groves and pine trees in the hills just outside town. Days begin with viennoiseries, juice, coffee, and tea, followed by a Pilates session. Then the group heads off in a mini-bus for the day, visiting sites such as L'Isle Sur la Sorgue for the Sunday market, Fontaine de Vaucluse, Les Baux, Eygalières, the ruins of a Roman town, the abbey where Vincent Van Gogh stayed and kayaking at the Pont du Gard. You return home for another Pilates session, followed by a Provençal dinner at home (most evenings). Pilates sessions are in English. For more info, click here or go to coeurdeprovence.eu. You can also see videos of some of the destinations on Facebook. 

London to Avignon in Under Six Hours

From July 9 to September 10,  Eurostar, the high-speed train service between the UK and mainland Europe, is offering direct weekly summer services from London St. Pancras to Avignon, in the heart of Provence. The Saturday-only service is direct and does not require a change; it leaves St. Pancras at 7:17 a.m. and arrives at Avignon Centre at 2:08 p.m. The return train leaves Avignon Centre at 4:24 p.m., arriving St. Pancras at 9:09 p.m. (Other days and times connect in Lille or Paris.) Eurostar says to book early "to avoid disappointment." Tickets start at £109 round trip. For more info, click here. If you plan to spend a night in London on either end, consider staying at this stunning just-reopened St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London, which I wrote about here.

Party Like an Expat in Paris

There's an Expat Boat Party happening in Paris and you're all invited! It's Friday June 24th at 8:30 p.m. and all the info is here.

Room to Rent for Festival d'Avignon

Michelle Victor has a large bedroom with private bath to rent in her gracious home in Villeneuve-les-Avignon, just across the Rhone from Avignon. It's available July 1st to 14th, 2011, which coincides somewhat with the Festival d'Avignon (July 6 to 26). The price is 1,050€ per week (7 nights), breakfast included, for two people. Michelle says that since the master bedroom and bath are upstairs, guests have privacy on the main floor. And she has a beautiful new pool for you to enjoy. Villeneuve is a small, historic village where the Pope's cardinals once lived. The house is in a quiet neighborhood, with a large garden and patio/terrace. It's about ten minutes by car to Avignon and 15 minutes to the TGV (high-speed train) station. Buses and small boats run back and forth to Avignon, Michelle says. Email to cabinetvictor@orange.fr for photos and info. 

Crillon le Brave Has a New Chef 

The lovely Hôtel Crillon le Brave has named John Ellis as its new Head Chef. Born in Ireland, John’s career has taken him all around France and also to America. In 2002, he returned to France with his wife Aurelie, who was born in nearby Bédoin. The couple now live with their two children in a nearby hamlet at the foot of Mont Ventoux. Until recently, John was the chef/owner of a small restaurant in Sainte-Colombe, a village on the road to the summit of Ventoux. John will be working closely with hotel director Christian Delteil, who is, interestingly, a Michelin-starred chef. So what's for dinner? The current (spring) menu offers duck liver foie gras with dried apricot jam and walnut bread; local Monteux asparagus with herbs and sabayon; and the best-selling gigot d’agneau, which is roasted in the large fireplace (top photo) and served with a Provençal ratatouille. A new summer menu will be out soon. In summer, the restaurant at Crillon le Brave is open to the public seven days for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A two-course lunch averages 20-25€ per person. Dinner, with a starter, main course, cheese and dessert, averages is about 70€ per person. The Crillon le Brave site is here. 


Calling All Travelin' Wine Lovers

Do you buy wine when you travel? Then you know the "shlep or ship" dilemma well. Darrell Grant invented the inflatable Wine Bearer when, on a trip to Italy, his friend bought a case of Chianti for 150€ and then spent 350€ to ship it home. For more info and to order, click here. 

Major Summer Art Show is Coming!

Ellsworth Kelly, Yves Klein, Arman, Hans Hartung and Jean Dubuffet are just a few artists in the show “Contemporary Art and the Côte d’Azur,” featuring more than 1,000 pieces from 200 painters and sculptors working on the Riviera from 1951 to 2011. The exhibition begins June 25 and sprawls across 50 museums, galleries and schools from Cannes to Menton. See the New York Times story here. And for all the info, click here. 


Discounts on Fall Tours in Provence

September is a wonderful time to be in Provence.  The weather is beautiful, the vines are at the height of their green glory and the vendage is about to begin.  If this grabs you, grab one of the remaining spaces on this 7-Day Provence Culinary Adventure, offered the week of September 5-12 and the week of September 19-26.  For a limited time only, readers of Provence Post get a 100€ discount! For info, click here. 

Just Published for Little Travelers

Finally, I just received an email from Gill Baconnier, a Provence Post reader who lived in Aix for 15 years but now lives in Grenoble. Gill writes: "I think some of your readers may be interested in my just-published children's novel. It's a time-travel book set in Aix-en-Provence. It starts in 1902 but our hero gets a bit lost, as you do, and finds himself in all sorts of odd places. It's not a 'deep' book--it's more of an Enid-Blyton-meets-Doctor-Who adventure, aimed at children going on holiday to Aix with their parents, so they'll have something fun and informative to read. A sort of travel guide in disguise, if you like. Children will have fun searching for all the places mentioned in the book (I managed to get all the main monuments in!)"

Here's the blurb Gill wrote for the back cover: "Sometimes, twelve year-old Charlie Travers wishes he’d never been born a time traveller. He never goes anywhere exciting, his mum makes him eat horrible food she brings back from the Middle Ages - and he’s still rubbish at history. Then Charlie receives a mysterious plea for help from the past and when his parents take him back to Aix-en-Provence in 1902, he’s rather hoping he’ll find out who sent it. He has no idea he is about to embark on a breath-taking journey through Time, where kidnappers, dinosaurs and a stolen painting will be the least of his worries." 

The book is available from Amazon.com here and Amazon.co.uk here.

Please note: If you try to leave a comment below and can't, please remember your brilliant bons mots and stop back later! Technical issues, not my fault.--Thanks!