The world of travel to all of our outstanding destinations
Tour France: Photograph Provence!
Tour France: Photograph Provence.Our photographer, Anthony Bianciella, has a student photograph us.
Off the beaten path, and exploring the light! Leave home. Step out of your normal comfort zone, and see things you might have missed!
After an afternoon of photography --and the vines lead us to a wine tasting at an organic (bio) vineyard.
Having a great time --even if the Mistral does blow --You could say they were "blown away by Provence"
Fall foliage and photography in the Luberon in October. And May 2013 --booking now.
Tour France: Off The Beaten Track in Provence
Tour France: Off the Beaten Track in Provence...If you do enough research and talk to enough people, you can find stunning villages to wonder through all on your own. No problem. Provence is a region of Beauty. Touring Provence is a great way to spend your vacation. Just make your visit to France special by getting off the "beaten track" and enjoy some sights with local color! It's even more special when you can do and learn things you'd never get access to on your own. Over the next few posts, we'll highlight some of these exclusive access activities.Can you find a newly discovered excavation site? Bliss did!
And, have a private tour of a closed Provencal church --one with origins from before the year 500 ?
Visit a Roman bridge and learn to photograph with a professional photographer?
An
And Make sure to find time to enjoy the local dining and wonderful people!
It's truly Bliss!
A Bientôt....let us know when you want to do something off the beaten track.
Tour France: Spring in Paris & Provence
Tour France: Spring in Paris and ProvenceWhat a whirlwind arrival. Talk about "hitting the ground running". What a beautiful day! Sights galore. Wonderful views. It was bliss!
Let's orient ourselves to Paris.
Two of our professional photographers. Anthony's trips with us are great!! And Michel is tops! They are both enjoying the mid day sunshine!
Of course, they might be smiling because of their lunch!
Then, of course, the photographers in our group started snapping away --while the rest of us admired our surroundings.
To finish the day, we enjoy a non touristy rooftop view and a glass of rose....It was Bliss!What us to save you a space on one of our summer trips --Bastille Day? August Lavender season? Let us know now! wendy@blisstravels.com
Tour France (& the world) with Bliss and other Bloggers!
An Award! Love it! Thank you Backyard in Provence. We find your posts "blissful" to read as well! Ashley is living the dream, having moved to Provence with her husband and daughter. She gets to spend all of her time on exploring this amazing region - imagine if your vacation in Provence didn't end after a week or two!! We love her posts, and know that every single one of our readers and clients are jealous@The "how to" of this award is:
- Thank the person who gave this award and write a post about it.
- Answer the questions on your favorites below.
- Pass on the award to 10 fabulous bloggers, link their blogs, and let them know you awarded them.
Here are my favorites:
Favorite Color – Red in Spring (for poppies) and Purple/lavender in summer for you know what! And, of course, oranges in fall....Do I have to pick one color for the entire year?Favorite Animal – Emmy the wonder dog (all of my clients know why that is....the rest of you will have to come on a trip to find out!) --any clients who wish to comment on Emmy may do so freely below!Favorite Number – right now, 5 --the number of exciting summer trips we have planned!Favorite Drink – Rose in Provence and Burgundy anywhere else!Facebook or Twitter – Facebook --I like photos!Your Passion – That's easy --France--mostly Provence, the Med and Burgundy. That's why the business is named BLISS travels!Giving or getting presents – Giving. Love to see happy surprised people!Favorite Day – Any day spent in Provencal sunshine.Favorite Flowers – Poppies and anything growing in the Luxembourg gardens.Backyard in Provence "stole" some of my favorite blogger's names. So please know you also would have been nominated.Please click away and check out some of these blogs. If you’re on the list, please pay it forward….1. bobbieconti2. ENOFLYZ3. Foodimentary4. Lot18 Blog5. Rantings of an Amateur Chef6. Leslie Carterand related 7. Bucket List Publications8. FrenchWeddingStyle (Monique Mariage)9. My World of Food Adventures10. Travel Destination Bucket ListAll great writers, adventurers, diners --as well as visually exciting! Share the Bliss
Tour France: Recipes from Locals & Insider Experiences during Vacations in Provence
Tour France: Recipes from Locals & Insider Experiences during Vacations in Provence I've been touring France and leading small custom groups on "insider vacations" for a while now. Some of what we do is haute cuisine and grand chefs with Michelin stars. But, some of the best, most authentic experiences occur in the countryside and about country cooking and local lore. I have been collecting recipes, adapting them and teaching French cuisine for almost as long as I have been leading trips.Each recipe has a story. This one is very special. The story is as deliciously amusing as this country recipe is tasty. So for a casual Provencal experience, try this story on for size!
Everybody should meet their local French butcher. He is charming, funny, full of advice and local color. One day several years ago, while attempting to test some new recipes as well as research an area winery, and be very efficient by accomplishing this in one afternoon, a woman who worked for me and I decided to visit the local butcher of Menerbes instead of the one in our nearby town. The weather was quite hot and we needed to order meat, but didn’t want to cart it around with us all day, to roast in the strong provencal sun. In this way, we two American women, entered the Boucherie in Menerbes, requesting, ever so politely, in French, to please have a chicken (and rabbit, if one was available) prepared for us. We asked if he would be so kind as to hold it for us in refrigeration for several hours. This was no problem. He would be glad to help us, but it’s not possible that we are American he says. He is convinced that since we speak French and wish to cook…..well, clearly we must be English or Australian or just simply confused. No, we assure him we are sure of our origins. To make conversation, we inquired politely about several of the prepared foods he has in his case.
In France, it is quite common for Butcher to also sell certain prepared items such as ratatouille, grated carrot salad, stuffed vegetables, roasted tomatoes/eggplants, and the like. He starts waxing poetic about his ratatouille, which, coincidentally, he is in the process of making at this very moment.
When we mention that we also are planning to make this dish later that day, he insists that we follow him through his shop (which he cavalierly leaves unattended) through his living quarters, and laundry area to his kitchen where he is making the biggest vat of ratatouille known to mankind. As we look around, we see not only the vat of simmering fragrant vegetables, but colanders of cooked vegetables, tilted this way and that, and a large fry pan still warm and oily from before we entered the shop. Next to the stove was a small metal framed kitchen table, with an ashtray, a water glass ½ full of red wine, and the corked bottle. Clearly this was the perch from which Monsieur le Boucher watched his ratatouille simmer. The Butcher painstakingly describes the secret to his ratatouille, which is that one must first cook each vegetable separately, and then drain them before finally creating the mélange. He thoughtfully stirs the pot. After we thank him, showing our appreciation for his generosity, he guided us through the doors of the now reopened Boucherie, and bellows into the street a hearty "a bientot". When we return several hours later, the butcher is in the shop, but comes to the street with our bird, to chat with us. That we are stopped in the middle of a tiny one lane winding road (one of only two that exit the entire village) is of no consequence to him. He chats boisterously with us, asking us about our day, the recipes, whether we’d like to take some ratatouille and nobody seems bothered by the fact that they are held up in ‘traffic’. Nobody other than us, that is. The car behind us is content to wait. After all, this is important. We are discussing dinner!
Ratatouille recipe* It must be stated that Ratatouille is to the Provencale what meatloaf is to the typical American family. Every family has their own recipe with it’s own special ingredients. More often than not it is made with a handful of this and a handful of that. Like meatloaf here, it is the sort of dish that non-cooks, cook. And like meatloaf, it is often best the next day served cold, or even reheated. Sitting overnight allows the flavors to meld nicely. Below is my favorite recipe. It seems to be what works best both in France and the United States, with their different sorts and size s of produce. But that doesn’t mean you can’t alter the proportion of vegetables, or even substitute them….Just make sure to take the butcher’s advice, and cook each one separately before creating the mélange.1 Red Pepper10oz Eggplant, cut into ¾ inch cubes2 lb small green zucchini, cut into ¾ inch cubes2 lb ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped1 ib sweet onion, coarsely chopped12 T olive oil or peanut oil (peanut oil can be heated hotter, but olive oil lends a nice flavor)1 bay leaf2-3 sprigs of fresh Thyme4 cloves garlic, minced1 teaspoon sugarSalt and pepper6 leaves of basil, chopped.Heat 2 T of oil, cook peppers for a couple minutes. Drain peppers and transfer peppers to a colander. Wipe pan clean of excess oil,.Add 3 T of oil to the pan and sauté onions on medium heat for several minutes until lightly browned. Transfer onions to colander, and wipe pan. Add 2 T of oil and reheat pan. Brown zucchini at medium high heat and drain, and add to colander. Last, add 2 more T oil to pan, heat at medium high heat and brown eggplant for several minutes, stirring as needed, and drain and add to colander. Heat a large pan, one large enough to accommodate all the vegetables. Add the remaining oil and heat. Add garlic and sauté for one minute. Add tomatoes, sprinkle with sugar (if you have very sweet, ripe, flavorful tomatoes, the sugar will be unnecessary) and add herbs, except basil. Bring the the tomatoes and their liquid to a boil. Add salt and pepper and all the other vegetables, stir, reduce heat and cover. Cook for 30 minutes or more until very tender. Stir occasionally to avoid burning. When finished, remove the pot from the heat and remove Thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Add the fresh basil. This dish is best the longer you let it sit, so the flavors of the vegetables can meld properly. Let the ratatouille sit in the pot off of the heat at least another 30 minutes, or better yet, cool the pot down and refrigerate overnight.So, if you can't attend one of our amazing trips to Provence, and experience Bliss with us, then at least visit your local farm and enjoy some freshly made ratatouille!
Tour France: What is Bastille Day in Provence?
Tour France: What is Bastille Day in Provence?Bastille Day --July 14, is the day the peasantry stormed the Bastille (Paris prison). The revolutionary spark was presumably lit by Marie Antoinette's suggestion about the starving peasantry to "let them eat cake." Of course, we'll never know her real intent. And, truthfully, by the time the Bastille was "stormed", there weren't many prisoners left. However, the day has become a major celebration in France, much like July 4th is for us in America.Paris is lit up. There are parades, military services and fireworks over the Eiffel Tower. It's truly a sight. But, we find our Bliss in Bastille Day in Provence.If you tour France and have the chance to visit Provence on Bastille Day --you can find:Stupendous special markets with special street fairs and fun fair attached to them
Group meals with Provencal specialties that entire towns attend (and you can too)
Running of the bulls through the streets
Bull fights (but not the kind that hurt the bulls)Outdoor "toasts"Parades
We have one such trip planned --and it's going to be a once in a lifetime --probably 6 person --visit to Provence --where we spend a weekend doing all of these things--as well as wine tastings and a stay in the Luberon --the most beautiful part of Provence.Tour France: Find Out About Summer Vacation in Provence (Bastille Day)
Tour France: Summer Vacation in Provence is spectacular.Sunflowers. We stopped by the side of the road to photograph the sunflower fields.
Provencal Markets --All sorts of great foods and treats (see our earlier blog about how to shop the markets).
This particular Lavender field was a field we walked to --it was in a hidden, off road place. Up in the hills are Roman ruins that are not excavated, and also below --about a 1/2 mile walk is a watering hold where we went swimming. Not a tourist spot at all. In fact, a local friend showed it to us.
And, Bastille Day! What is Bastille Day and what are Bastille Day celebrations like?
See our next post. We're going to tell you all about the fun activities and what you can do in France during BASTILLE DAY 2012.
A Bientôt,Bliss Travels!