El Camino de Santiago was once an ancient Roman trade route, and a Christian pilgrimage journey. The Camino is also known as “The Way of St James” a series of footpaths and roads bejeweled with scallop shells. The shells are representative of those who covered the distance so many years ago with so little in the way of creature comforts. The pilgrims often used the shells as drinking vessels.
How does the unlikely combination of an Egyptian born chef and a Montana banker end up in St Remy de Provence?
In David’s own words, had they read Peter Mayle’s book before they bought the property and decrepit 200-year-old farmhouse, they probably would not have gone ahead with the transaction. The year was 1985.
Are you visiting the Canadian Rockies?
Would you like to get a taste of real, off-the-beaten paths, small mountain town spirit?
As you already know, Nutmeg is a giant fan of Canmore. When she stumbled across this concept a journey that embraces the beautiful Bow Valley area, a bit of history and some shopping she simply could not resist uncovering more about Street Sherpa.
It took 11.5 months for Ginger and Nutmeg to make it to Paris, only a 2.5 hour train ride from their Provencal home base. The capital city is one that both Ginger and Nutmeg love and have visited several times. It is entirely possible; that the relaxing rhythm of life in the sunny south had kept them from Paris for that length of time.
However, they finally had a compelling reason to venture to l’ile de France, to meet some friends in the city. After, Nutmeg managed to master, the not so intuitive, SNCF website and purchase their train tickets, the rest was easy. The trains run frequently and sometimes even on time. Departing from Avignon TGV, their goal was to feel like real Parisians for three days.
Audacious!
As part of All American Breakfast Month, National Waffle Week September 2nd – 8th is devoted just to waffles. To celebrate, Unique Belgique wants to share some interesting waffle history and ways to enjoy these delectable treats!
Waffle History: Wondering where waffles came from?
American girl meets boy from Brittany, France – add four ingredients and a company is born!
The relief palatable, the calm almost surreal, something is missing – the wind has stopped!
In France, the mistral is a strong wind that typically blows from the north or northwest. Mistral the name for this wind means “masterly”, and in Nutmeg’s opinion, it certainly lives up that reputation. The mistral typically blows hard, with gusts at times up to 100 km/hour as it accelerates down the Rhone and Durance rivers towards the Mediterranean. Much like a Chinook in Calgary, the mistral brings a change in weather, in this case it is typically dry and cooler. This can be a relief in the hot days of spring and early summer, or a curse in the later days of the fall as it creates glacial temperatures.
There are two French expressions when it comes to the mistral “le vent qui rend fou” (the wind which makes you crazy) and “le vent des voleurs” (the wind of robbers). Nutmeg thinks both sayings are accurate. The mistral can blow for just a couple of days or even as long as a week. A strong mistral will typically send cafe patrons indoors and make golf games virtually unplayable. The beautiful plane trees of Provence, with their noisy, leafy canopies provide excellent cover for robbers, as even dogs cannot hear their approach.
Jefferson’s voyage continued south.
He paid a visit to St Remy de Provence and Les Baux, his interest in agriculture and antiquity were the main drivers. The rural area around St Remy continues to be heavily focused on agriculture today. Although, the combination of agricultural crops has changed over the years, the enduring olive tree continues to be a strong contributor to the local economy.
One of Nutmeg’s all-time favourite quotes is by the third United States President, Thomas Jefferson:
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.“
Needless to say, she was thrilled to read a book by Roy and Alma Moore entitled “Thomas Jefferson’s Journey To The South of France”. The book is available through Amazon, it is a well-researched chronicle of Jefferson’s visit to the southern part of France in 1787. The book includes copies of his letters, recent pictures and some snippets of history. Jefferson was at the time the American minister to France; his journey however, was a personal one with few official obligations. He set out from Paris on February 28, 1787 and returned on June 10th, the same year.
This post is not a book review, but rather Ginger and Nutmeg’s view of some of the places that the illustrious man visited 224 years before. A note to readers, this blog post, includes several embedded links (see bold text) to photo galleries and previous posts, click away and enjoy the Thomas Jefferson tour Continue reading
