It's all about France

Two museums not to miss in Paris: Musee Jacquemard and Musee Picasso

Musee Picasso: Hôtel Salé, 5, rue de Thorigny, 75003 PARIS, Métro : Saint-Paul / Saint-Sébastien Froissart / Chemin Vert - phone 01 42 71 25 21 - closed on tuesdays. 9:30am-6 pm

The Musée Picasso is situated in Le Maris, the heart of historic Paris, and has a collection of several thousand works of Pablo Picasso: so if you like Picasso, this is the museum to go. And if you are not completely found of Picasso, well it is still a great visit because it is located in a spendid mension from the 17th century that is just too great to miss. You will also be able to enjoy some nice works of Matisse, Renoir, Cezanne, Miro. And the surrondings of the museum is the greatest part of Le Marais with good restaurants and nice boutiques.
http://www.musee-picasso.fr/ (only in french)

Labels: Paris

posted by Sophie @ 12:25 PM

The Best restaurants in Le Marais (Paris, 4th arrondissement)

There are a lot of very good restaurants in Paris and it is always very difficult to choose. I used to live in the 4th arrondissement called Le Marais which is afun, lively, and full of very good restaurants. Here are the restaurants where we used to go regularly. There are also located in historical part of Paris which makes the trip even more interesting. If you know a restaurant in this area that you love, please add it in the list in the comment section.

- Au Bourguignon du Marais: 19 rue Francois Miron, Paris 4. (metro st Paul) This is one of our favorite and if you only choose one in this area, you have to go there. Excellent food and excellent wine (upper end of the price range). here you might want to reserve a table or get there early (7pm, yes that is early for the french). As an aside, leaving the restaurant to the right, there is the oldest house in Paris (around the 13th century i believe).

- les Fous de l'Ile: 33 rue St Louis en l'Ile, Paris 4 (on l'ile st louis, Metro Pont Marie).. Casual ambiance and not expensive but great ambiance. the food is very good, try the Magret de Canard in a cherry sauce if they still serve it, really good. It is on the delightful Ile st Louis, very close to Notre Dame, so you can have a very nice stroll after dinner.

- L'Enoteca: 25 rue Charles V, Paris 4. (metro st Paul). It is right across from another good louisiana restaurant called Thanksgiving (20 rue st Paul) . L'Enoteca is an excellent italian restaurant but you have to get there early or reserve a table because it is always very crowded. This is right across from the Village St Paul where there are lots of little antique shops. Nearby, rue Charlemagne, there is also the remnants of the 11th century wall that once circled Paris.

- Nos Ancetres les Gaulois: 39 rue St Louis en L'Ile, Paris 4. (metro St Michel or Pont Marie). Old 17th century ambiance, yet not formal at all. decent food but you would go there more for the fun of the ambiance. Lots of food, all you can drink and wine, very nice location. Not very expensive. Near Notre Dame

- La Rose des Sables: 105 rue Vieille du Temple, Paris 3. This is a very good small Marocan restaurant with good couscous. Ambiance is very nice but very small. The owners are very friendly. not expensive

- L'Alivi: 27 rue Roi de sicile, Paris 4. Metro St Paul. This is a corsican restaurant (corsica is a french island in the mediterranean, see my previous post on corsica). the food is very good and the ambiance very nice, casual. there are table outside.

- Au Square Trousseau: 1 r Antoine Vollon Paris 12, Metro Ledru Rollin. Ok this is not in Le marais but very close to it, near Bastille and it is such a great restaurant that I wanted to list it here. The food is excellent and the ambiance is just awsome. The service is great too. it is very popular so you need to reserve a table. It is very parisian. A dinner you will remember for sure. A restaurant not to miss.

Labels: Paris

posted by Sophie @ 11:58 AM

Travel - The Island of Corsica

The Isle of Beauty, that is how Corsica is called.
Corsica island is located southeast of France in the Mediterranee. it is the main tourist destination for the french. Unfortunately, I have met very few american knowing about this georgeous french island. You have to go. It is really, really worth it.

The natural park cover a third of the island, and if you like nature, hiking, swimming, if you enjoy the sea, the mountains, the lakes, the forests, well you will love Corsica. it has it all. The GR20 is the well-known hiking trail that crosses Corsica from north to south. but they are tons of hiking trails, which are a dream and also some impressive volcanic lakes that are just georgeous.

Corsica is not just for hikers, it is also for lovers of history. It has many historical sites like the prehistoric site of Filitosa , now a UNESCO World Heritage site, with its Menhirs which is a great day destination. It has full of monuments, churches, citadells. Napoleon was born in Corsica after all and you can visit his house in Ajaccio.

Corsica is also unique for its food, traditions, festivals which make it a country by itself. You will love its markets, its delightful villages. Sunsets in Corsica are georgeous, I have never seen anything more beautiful, especially in Porto on the west cost. And the sea, oh, so beautiful. crystal clear water, it is a dream. a postcard.

It is very easy to ge to Corsica: a little bit over 1 hour flight from Paris, a night long cruise from the south of France or even from Italy. No excuse not to go there during your next vactions in France or italy. Even for 2 or 3 days, just go, you won't regret.

Visit http://www.islands.com/corsica/ which will give you the most popular websites about Corsica. I have travelled a lot in Corsica but i always enjoy when i go back because there are so many things to see and enjoy.

Labels: Travel

posted by Sophie @ 1:44 PM

Travel: Most beautiful Villages in Provence

I am often asked which villages are a must see in Provence since there are so many of them. It is very difficult to make a selection as they all have their charms. Here is a list of the ones I really like. Some are along the cost and some are in the countryside. I indicated the name of the village and the name of the "departement" (region) where it is located:
L'Isle sur la Sorgue (Vaucluse) : very well-known for its antiques shops
Les Baux de Provence (Bouches du Rhone) : a must see, really
Gordes (Vaucluse)
Tourtour (Var)
Eygalieres (Bouches du Rhone) : the queen of the Alpille region
St Remy de Provences (Bouches du Rhone) : another must-see with its romano grecque ruines, 1000 sheeps festival in April
Cassis ((Bouches du Rhone)
Sault : Lavender festival in august (usually the 15th)
Moustiers ( Alpes de Haute Provence) : known for well-known handpainted faience: see my previous post on it. you can see some of their products on my website at http://www.sophiedepons.com/
St Tropez
Le Castellet (Var) : you will love its numerous shops and lovely streets
Entrevaux ( Alpes de Haute Provence)
Cotignac ( Var)
Roussillon: the "red" village

Labels: Provence

posted by Sophie @ 9:57 AM

French recipe: Pork with Camembert

A very simple, quick recipe, yet everybody will love it ( if you love camember of course!) . you can also use Brie or blue cheese instead of camember.

Ingredients:
- 1 pound pork tenderloin
- 3 tbsp dry white wine
- 3/4 cup creme fraiche
- 1/2 camembert cheese, rind removed, sliced
- 1 1/2 teasp of dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp of chopped fresh mixed herbs - marjoram, thyme, sage... if you don't have fresh herbs, use dry provence herbs.
- fresh parsley to garnish

1. Slice the pork corsswise into small steaks. make them as flat as possible. Season with Pepper. 2. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a pan over medium heat then add the pork. cook for 4 mn, turning once. Transfer to a warmed dish.
3. Add the wine in the pan, scraping the base. stir in creme fraiche and herbs and bring to a boil. 4. Add tge chesse and mustard and any juices from the meat. if the sauce is too thick, add a little more cream and adjust the seasonning.
5. Serve pork with the sauce on top or on the side and garnish with parsley. Excellent with rice or potatoes.

Labels: Recipe

posted by Sophie @ 6:35 PM

French home decor magazine

I love french home decor magzines: Elle decoration or Campagne decoration or Art et decoration. the difference with american siblings? much, much less adverstising. more, more pages of pictures, big pictures and articles, tips, resources on home deco. I don't want to criticise here because, let's put it right away, I love america, ok?. but really, home decor magazines here sucks. too many advertisements. small pictures. if you want true examples, i can send you french magazines, used ones of course because I read them before. "for free?" NO. let's say for $4 plus shipping, I will send you one. although i love them so much that I tend to keep them but my pile is huge so I can't keep them all. For exemple, in the last "Campagne decoration" that my girlfriend Murielle just brought me from France, there is a great "reportage" on a house in Normandie with great, big pictures of the decor inside and interesting article. and also another "reportage" on a house in le Luberon with also very nice pictures. I just love it. Even if you don't read french, it is worth it just for the pictures.

Labels: French home decor

posted by Sophie @ 6:33 PM

What you should know about Moustiers

When they enter my store, many of my customers go directly to the Quimper section of it and don't even look at the Moustiers display. That makes me very sad. because Moustiers faience is so beautiful, so elegant, so fine, so etc etc. I have always liked it better than Quimper maybe because my mother loved it and bought some nice pieces that I kept preciously. or maybe because i have always found the handpainted designs "plus raffine" than Quimper. Maybe because Moustiers is a beautiful village in the region of France where I grew up. or maybe also because I think that it is just unfair that Quimper is more well-known than Moustiers. to have more info go onto http://www.sophiedepons.com/moustiers.html or view some pieces on http://sophiedepons.com/store/moustiers.html

Labels: French home decor

posted by Sophie @ 6:27 PM

French Tablecloths you don't need to wash

You love french tablecloths but you are sick of washing them, iron them and eventually see the colors fading? throw them away, i mean, really, in the garbage, allez, there you go. next step: buy an oilcloth. I mean, really. "what do you mean, a plastic tablecloth? NEVER''. Keep cool. I mean, a french 1oo% tablecloth but a miraculous coating on it so you don't have to wash it. " what do you mean you don't have to wash it, you just throw it away each time you use it??" Mais non! you just wipe it off with a wet sponge and off you go. no need to wash, no need to iron! how super is that! oui c'est super! if you want more details on them, go visit http://www.sophiedepons.com/oilcloth.html and you will have the answers of many other questions. but I am telling you, those french oilcloths are really great. you won't beleive how great they are! if you have any experience with them, please share. (ok, even bad experiences..) either here or on our forum.

Labels: French home decor

posted by Sophie @ 6:24 PM