Mediterranean/Catalan Food You only have to travel a few kilometers in France and you are in a different region with different cuisine and specialties. The Dordogne area is foie gras, duck, truffles, goose, mushrooms, with Cahors and Bergerac wine. These are the main products raised and served there. This area, the Roussillon region on the Mediterranean Sea, is all about seafood such as mussels, oysters, shrimp, and fresh fish notably anchovies, cod, sea bass, turbot at this time of year. Mussels and fries, plates of raw oysters, fish soup and bouillabaisse, paella, and grilled fish do [View Full Entry]

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We have left the house in the Dordogne where we very happily spent the last two months. We drove about four hours south to the Roussillon region of France where we have rented an apartment for the next ten days. We are right on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea in the Cote Vermeille. A stone’s throw from the border of Spain, the apartment is in Argeles sur Mer, the last of miles of beach towns. The snow-capped Pyrenees rise up close by in contrast to the sea and the beach. Our apartment is very comfortable and spacious. We have a [View Full Entry]

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Earlier this month we had the opportunity to share an apartment for a week in Paris with our daughter, Tracy and her husband, Randy. It was their first time to France so we re-did a lot of the things that you do on your first time to Paris, which was really fun. We visited sites that Sandra and I hadn't been to in years. The weather wasn't fabulous but we had some nice days, and it didn't stop us from doing anything. Paris is a very walkable city and we walked, walked, walked. One day we left our apartment in the [View Full Entry]

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Sarlat is the Dordogne town close to here that held the Truffle Festival. Today was the first ever Festival of the goose. "Oie" is French for goose, as well as being a French word that is almost impossible for an English speaker to say. The raising of geese for the production of foie gras (goose or duck liver) is very important in this area. When you drive in the country you pass numerous farms advertising foie gras for sale, in all of the various forms. Almost every town has one or more stores selling products of the region, of which foie [View Full Entry]

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There are many touristy things to do in Dordogne, even in winter. Some of the more popular activities such as canoeing on the Dordogne River or camping are seasonal, but others are available. Some are even better in the winter, due to the limited number of tourists. Cave Visits The cliffs of Dordogne are riddled with caves and rock dwellings that were occupied by prehistoric people for thousands of years. Humanity's beginnings are revealed by archaeological finds and in large natural caves and grottoes. Sophisticated paintings and drawings of now extinct animals have been disc [View Full Entry]

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Our daughter, Tracy, came to Dordogne to visit us for three days before the three of us went by train to Paris for a week. More of that later. Being her first time to France, we decided to take her to three different restaurants in the area. Now Tracy is not at all adventuresome in her eating. Her idea of risk-taking gastronomically, is to switch from raspberry to strawberry jam on her peanut butter sandwich! When she was a teen she once phoned a special restaurant that we were all going to, to see if they had hamburgers. She has been [View Full Entry]

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We have spent several holidays in France, including twice before in the Dordogne area in the SW of France. The last time we rented an apartment here in Carlux from a couple originally from Toronto. They manage two other properties in Sarlat as well as their own. These can be seen at www.yourfriendsinfrance.org They spend the months of January and February in South Africa and we were presented with the wonderful opportunity to stay in their home during that time. This is a large stone house set on hill among wonderful gardens, with beautiful landscaping and two pools of goldfish. There [View Full Entry]

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The storm that is remembered is the storm of 1999. Exactly 10 years later is the next great tempete. Caught unawares last time there was plenty of advance warning for this one. We are situated in the South eastern portion of Dordogne, most of the devastation was south-west of here, stretching down past Toulouse into Spain. We have experienced more severe winds in Florida and even in Northern Ontario where our cottage is located. However we were on the fringe of this one and there were trees and forests destroyed and lives lost. Our immediate neighbour had the wind catch his [View Full Entry]

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There are advantages and disadvantages of traveling to France during the winter. A lot of the tourist attractions are closed or on reduced hours. However you have the chance to share in some real life activities. In January and February almost every village has a community meal that is both a bargain and an opportunity to share in the life of the French. Looking over the Sarlat newspaper you could attend one of these each weekend in a different community. Each community has a Community Center called a Salle des Fetes. We were a little intimidated but the owners of the [View Full Entry]

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The French spend a higher proportion of their income on food than we do. Julia Child in her autobiography My Life In France suggests that their obsession with food is inbred after centuries of doing without and famines. That seems a little far-fetched but after attending the Truffle Festival in Sarlat we decided to find out more about this tuber which is so highly prized. Truffle Menu at Chateau de Haute-Serre Cahors wine is not as well-known as Bordeaux or Burgundy but it is from this area and it is a favourite of ours. Chateau de Haute-Serre is a well-respected, major [View Full Entry]

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