Fantasy French Farmhouse via The Countrypolitian

Have you found The Countrypolitian blog yet?

Check out her post on this lovely house that belongs to the owners of Domaine de Mourchon

Thank God, this magnificent country house isn't actually for sale
because I would covet it so.

Fantasy French Farmhouse

Oh why did Sharon at My French Country Home have to post this charming property?

you have 187,000 spare euros and

a truck load of energy and ideas;

you like to ski;

you like to surf;

you like to live in the country;

you would enjoy life near a small rural French town;

you like good wine...

I know, it needs a little work

But look at the view!

90 minutes from Biarritz...hmmm
if I only had the 187,000 euros....
and another 250,000 euros to fix it up...
and the time to move there and supervise the remodel....
if only.

In My Dreams - Luscious Luberon

I just read on the Provence Post that "A Year In Provence" author Peter Mayles has put his house up for sale.
Sud Luberon. A 30 minutes d’Aix-en-Provence, à deux pas d’un des plus beaux villages classés de France. Dans un lieu très privé au cœur d’un environnement rare et intact, au plus grand calme, majestueuse Demeure provençale des XVII et XVIIIème siècles s’articulant autour d’une cour intérieure. Elle comprend 600 m² habitables dont un logement d’amis et diverses dépendances sur 5,7 hectares de parc avec une magnifique oliveraie, potager, roseraie, fruitiers, étangs ainsi qu’une piscine à débordement et son pool house. Beaucoup de charme et de quiétude.

I love this lush little oasis in Luberon.

This gorgeous French Country house just seems to have BHB written all over it, don't you think?

The real estate ad shows 5 chateaux in the price category...I believe that means that it is above my budget.

But I wonder, where does one move to after living in such a beautiful place?

La France Profonde in Fall

Pretty pictures of La France Profonde shamelessly stolen from a friend on Facebook.
Pretty aren't they?
Happy Wednesday!

Business As Usual In France

For a while now I've been thinking that I wanted to sneak in a little vacation this month, after all, I've only taken one week off during the last 12 months.  For some reason, this particular Autumn, I've been thinking of travelling to Paris for a little antique shopping and museum going.

But, Paris as the rest of France, is on strike.
This isn't a little greve where the metro shuts down for 6 hours, this is a major strike.

Don't the French do this about once every decade or so?
I understand that a big part what this is about is the raising of the retirement age from 60 to 62.
Yes, that is certainly devastating, for the French.
And as we all know France, the idea if not the actual country, is all about quality of life.
Who wouldn't want to retire to a life of pastis and tarot at their country house at the age of 60?

Last night I had dinner with a group of  friends who travel often.  One was just back from Paris, another from London, and another had just returned from two months in Australia. She raved about how wonderful the quality of life is there. 
So now I'm starting to think to myself, maybe that 20 hour plane ride over the Pacific wouldn't be so bad, if Australia was on the other side of it....
And on that topic, thank you to Faux Fuchsia my favorite Australian blogger for mentioning BHB on her blog. If you are not already reading her blog, you need to start reading it today. As she would say, run don't walk.

Happy Bastille Day!

Sorry... but I just had to post a little humor at expense of the French

On the other hand I give you

10 Hot Frenchmen Who Make Bastille Day Worth Celebrating

Celebrate with a
French 75
1 1/2 oz gin

2 tsp superfine sugar
1 1/2 oz lemon juice
4 oz chilled Champagne
1 slice orange
1 maraschino cherry
In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine the gin, sugar, and lemon juice. Shake well. Pour into a collins glass. Top with the champagne. Stir well and garnish with the orange slice and the cherry.

Vive La France!

Wherever You Go - There You Are

Yesterday, a happy Sunday
Racing down the 405 freeway in the morning to get to Laguna Beach where the sky was blue and the tide was crazy high
Cafe creme and croissants at Jean Paul's bakery
Later lunch with an ocean view at the Coyote Grill
And then a quiet afternoon, sitting in the sun in my mother's spring garden

admiring her rosesand her blackberries

and her lavender

My mother had just returned from her vacation in Europe and she had a bunch of French magazines that she had bought for the flight home from Paris.

You know the usual Marie Claire, Vogue etc.

But in the group was a magazine that I had never seen before

Envy

with the tag line

Toutes Vos Envies Sont dans Envy

Sadly, it was frenchified version of OK or US magazine, complete with the usual celebrity nonsense....Kim Kardashian, Rachel Bilson, Victoria Beckham, Jessica Simpson, Beyonce, Jennifer Aniston,Tori Spelling, Lindsey Lohan, Jessica Alba...et al.

Kate Hudson & Cameron Diaz

La guerre est déclarée!
Belles et célibattantes: elles ont beaucoup en commun. Sûrement même un peu trop! Car depuis que Cameron sort avec l’ex de Kate, rien ne va plus...

So even France is polluted with B and C list American celebrities.

Wherever you to...there you are. You can't escape the cult of celebrity worship.

Sad, non?

If Only - En Vacance à Villeneuve-les-Avignon

Something strange always happens at this time of year...my personal space-time continuum seems to go into warp speed.
I have so much to do to get ready for the Antique and Estate Jewelry Show in Las Vegas, which is coming up in a matter of days, yet my mind keeps lingering on the idea of getting away from it all and relaxing in a peaceful pretty place.

And then there is the matter of the Euro. Will it finally fall enough against the dollar so that I can start planning a summer vacation in France?


Because I would like to visit the Fort Saint Andre in Villeneuve-les-Avignon

Because the history of Avignon is fascinating

and because Vicky Archer posted these enticing photos on her beautiful blog French Essence

which of course I have shamelessly stolen and posted here

Yes I know that wisteria and iris season will be long over by summer, but the green in this garden will still evoke a serene oasis, the perfect antidote to a busy business life.

OK...enough of the dream...Vicky has already monopolized it at her Mas de Berard which I enjoy vicariously through her blog...and back to the reality of current projects at Beladora.

France as Viewed by the French

I tried to embed this slide show but it took to long to load
so instead
go here and enjoy

h/t Just Another American In Paris

Happy To Be Home For The Holidays

Another reason why I'm happy to be home for the holidays

Thousands freed from Channel Tunnel after trains fail

Where to put this story? In the global warming department, in the French hospitality department, or in the let's-turn-everything-over-to-government-run-services department?
More than 2,000 people spent hours trapped inside the Channel Tunnel after five Eurostar trains broke down due to cold weather.

The trains failed as they left the cold air in northern France and entered the warmer tunnel.Some passengers were evacuated via service tunnels to car trains, while others were kept on their trains. Many have faced gruelling 15-hour journeys.

…Lee Godfree, a passenger evacuated from one of the stranded trains, said he and his family had arrived in Folkestone at 0500 GMT, having left Disneyland Paris at 1837 GMT.He said their journey had been a "complete nightmare"."We were without power. We ran out of water, we ran out of food and there was very, very poor communication from the staff," he told the BBC."We lost air conditioning when we lost the power. We had to open the emergency doors ourselves."The evacuation procedure we followed was one that we set down ourselves."

ht/no pasaran

No Pants For Parisiennes

George Sand (in trousers) listening to Chopin

From the telegraph

Women banned from wearing trousers in Paris

who knew?

The rule banning women from dressing like men – namely by wearing trousers - was first introduced in 1800 by Paris' police chief and has survived repeated attempts to repeal it.

The 1800 rule stipulated than any Parisienne wishing to dress like a man "must present herself to Paris' main police station to obtain authorisation".

Did anyone tell George Sand about this law?

In 1892 it was slightly relaxed thanks to an amendment which said trousers were permitted "as long as the woman is holding the reins of a horse".

Then in 1909, the decree was further watered down when an extra clause was added to allow women in trousers on condition they were "on a bicycle or holding it by the handlebars".

In 1969, amid a global movement towards gender equality, the Paris council asked the city's police chief to bin the decree. His response was: "It is unwise to change texts which foreseen or unforeseen variations in fashion can return to the fore."

Can someone have really said that in 1969?

The latest attempt to remove the outmoded rule was in 2003, when a Right-wing MP from President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party wrote to the minister in charge of gender equality. The minister's response was: "Disuse is sometimes more efficient than (state) intervention in adapting the law to changing morays."

As Evelyne Pisier, a law professor whose book Le Droit des Femmes (The Rights of Women) unearthed the curious decree points out, given that trousers are compulsory for Parisian policewoman, they are all breaking the law.

Should arcane laws like this one be repealed or just stay on the books, but not be upheld, because of historical significance.

And isn't it just so French to have a law which everyone routinely ignores.

Already Fall

Why is it that every year when the Fall arrives I am shocked, SHOCKED.
How can the Summer be over so soon?

I know that most people love the change of seasons and look forward to that crispness in the air.
But not me.
It is dark when I wake up in the morning, overcast, gray and often damp when I drive to work, heavily air conditioned and dark in my office, and dark when I leave in the evening to drive home.
And I do hate the cold and the overcast and the damp and the dark.

But the change of seasons does make me appreciate the sweet summer vacation that I had, sitting by the pool and reading books, sipping pastis, playing scrabble, admiring the view and chatting about all things great and small in Aix en Provence.

And here are the gratuitous pretty pictures from Provence.

I'm still trying to figure out how I ended up here and not there. A decision here and a decision there and your entire life changes.

Yeah, it's going to be a long winter....

Modern Manners - French Style

Le Petit Journal : Jacques Chirac gaulé
by CANALPLUS

No understanding of french is necessary

The look on Madame Chirac's face...priceless

and in case you missed this from the Huffington Post

French Divorce Ruling Allows Text Messages As Evidence

AP - Unfaithful spouses in France beware: Passionate text messages sent to mistresses and lovers can now be used as evidence against you in a divorce.
Experts say the recent ruling by France's Supreme Court to accept phone exchanges as legitimate proof of adultery will make it easier for the French to get divorced. Previously, French husbands and wives often had to wait for years to escape a marriage if they could not prove that their spouse was misbehaving or mistreating them.

At least Chirac wasn't texting

Film, France, Friends and Food

I finally got around to seeing Julie & Julia, a charming film,
and it made me wistful for France
OK maybe not the real France of strikes, traffic jams and car-b-cues
but certainly my fantasy of France
which is all about L'Art de Vivre
fine cuisine, elegant decor, chic fashion, intelligent conversation, fun people
and a strong dollar
you know what I mean
the France of post war Paris where Julia Child lived and learned
like I said...it's a fantasy
Fortunately, on my vacation last month, my fantasy became my reality
with fun people, intelligent conversation, chic fashion, elegant decor
and of course fine cuisine
so here comes the food porn

Let's just start with my stop over at Charles de Gaulle airport where I ignored the Hermes scarves and the Dior perfume and went straight for the food.

The choices were just astounding

how could I not linger over the Ladurée counter with luscious treats in pretty pastels

And jarred yumminess of foie gras

and vin et fromage

Certainly a large part of the pleasure of L'Art de Vivre is L'Art de la Table

where the table setting and presentation is as important as the food being served

White linens, good stemware and Christofle silver add so much to the ambiance

Even this simple lunch of mélon et jambon, at the antique filled apartment of my dear friend Patrick, a retired business consultant and chef extraordinaire, was made sumptuous by virtue of his beautiful table.

Perhaps it it time for me to consider dusting off my old tattered copy of Mastering The Art of French Cooking, pressing some napkins, polishing some silver and getting to the task of entertaining a few friends in my petit pied-à-terre.

Aix en Provence - At The Aquabella

My travel journal continues with my summer sojourn in Aix en Provence
where I stayed at the Aquabella Hotel & Spa which was well situated right in town and easy walking distance to the plane tree lined Cours Mirabeau and winding streets of the old town with its charming maisons de ville dating back to the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries.

My room was just so-so and the entire hotel needed redecoration, but I liked my balcony and my view

And the 14th Century tower that was part of the ancient city walls next to the pool

Like in Spain, the temperature was extraordinarily hot, almost too hot to walk around the town at mid day, but the evenings were lovely.

And I would certainly recommend the hotel to anyone going to Aix but only a top floor room where there is an expansive view of the surrounding hills.

La Belle France - C'est Chaud!

Ah...finally in the south of France where it is 100 degrees in the shade.
It is too hot to do anything more than sit in the shade by the pool and sip pastis so perhaps I will do just that....after all, do I really need to hike up Mount St Victoire in the middle of the summer? Je pense que non.
Three more days here, then to Madrid for a couple of days and then back home to reality.
I'm begininng to enjoy this whole vacation thing...perhaps I will do it more often.

Bastille Day - Pas BOF

The military air show

The Mounted Republican Guard

The always fabulously uniformed French Foreign Legion

The annual Bastille Day Parade down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées always reminds me some of the many reasons for why I love the French.

It's all a matter of Style