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Around Mont Blanc – White Mountains at Sunset
Jan 29, 2010
Mont Blanc, the white mountain, rises out of the Alps to claim the title of the highest peak in Western Europe. I’ve been lucky enough to..
Category: France
Intestines & The Abattoirs
Sep 18, 2009
FRENCH FRIDAYS
A shiny pink intestine sits on the Charles-de-Fitte Avenue in Toulouse, reaching out of the ground to an overpowering height. I’ve always had the feeling that the museum curators don’t call it the intestine, but Toulousains certainly do.
It’s a handy landmark for giving directions – and it symbolizes the entrance to Toulouse’s museum [...]
France’s Speedo Fetish
Sep 11, 2009
Every country seems to have a slightly different hygiene fetish. France, meanwhile, forces men to pay to wear a stranger’s moist speedos. All in the name of hygiene.
Biarritz, Baby
Sep 04, 2009
Biarritz has a name that should mark it out for greatness. Instead of playboys in woollen bathing suits, Biarritz greeted me with
Steak Tartare: Raw Egg + Raw Meat = Perfection
Aug 27, 2009
France does not claim steak tartare as its own…
Fighting Food – Cassoulet
Aug 20, 2009
Southwest France proclaims itself as the family home of cassoulet, even if the towns bicker over who thought of it first like relatives at Christmas.
Cirque de Gavarnie
Aug 14, 2009
Its peaks reach up to 3000 metres and waterfall jets breed across its splintered surfaces, forming rainbow haloes against the snow.
The Tour de France – Awash with Yellow
Jul 26, 2009
To avoid disappointment, let me state right now that I am not a sports journalist. However, build up enough atmosphere, enough history, enough daring and enough personal flair and I’m hooked…
Bridges Are The New Black – The Pont du Gard
Jul 17, 2009
“Whatever you do, don’t miss the bridges.”
That’s a phrase I’ve never heard before.
Eating Frogs’ Legs
Jul 10, 2009
Cuisses de grenouilles – the dish so popular that it gave an entire nation its nickname. It comes as something of a disappointment, therefore, to discover that most French people pull a contorted or confused face at the mention of the humble amphibian.
P-p-p-pick up a Pepper – Basque Life in Espelette
Jul 03, 2009
If I could only use one word to describe my trip around the Basque country it would be colour.
PIC DU MIDI – STARS IN THE PYRENEES
Jun 26, 2009
For years, this greyish dome claimed the record of Europe’s highest stargazing site, in the days before the Hubble Space Telescope made mountain peaks the grandads of astronomy.
Place du Capitole, Toulouse
Jun 19, 2009
Place du Capitole, or Place Cap to the locals, is the beating heart of Toulouse and…
Les Jacobins, Toulouse
Jun 12, 2009
A tiny street squeezes around the edge of Fermat’s Lycée and onto Les Jacobins – a rather forlorn, unimpressive pathway for such a grandiose monument.
Four Things I Never Knew About France – Before I Lived There
Jun 05, 2009
-The Etiquette for Leaving a Party
No matter how informal the get together, no matter how young (ahem) you are, you must say goodbye to everyone. That means touring the room and kissing each partygoer on at least both cheeks. To do otherwise invites accusations of filer à l’anglaise. This translates to leaving like an Englishman, [...]
All You Can Eat…Foie Gras?
May 29, 2009
The hexagon’s southwest corner brandishes a particularly rich menu: foie gras, duck breast, Roquefort cheese….all dishes to be eaten in moderation, one might think.
Not necessarily.
Sudden Hailstorm in Toulouse
May 26, 2009
People scrambled to safety, crying “the end of the world is nigh!”
Oh, alright, that was me. An apocalyptic drama was unfolding, and I wanted to fit in.
Foix, Fog & Food
May 23, 2009
Huddled on the battlements of Le Château de Foix, I finally realise why this area of France specialises in such hearty food:
Mayday Madness
Apr 30, 2009
In France, the bank holiday falls on May 1st, whereas England grants the first Monday in May to ensure a long weekend. But the differences run deeper than that….
Disasters & Legends – the Tarte Tatin
Apr 24, 2009
The legend caramalises down to this. A rushed and harassed sister, baking in Paris at the Hotel Tatin, around 1898
The Lollipop Shoes, Montmartre, Paris
Apr 12, 2009
Montmartre is a village, my mother used to say; an island rising out of the Paris fog.
Vianne Rocher, The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris
The Lollipop Shoes delivers a thriller, wrapped in the shiny foil and sugar-dusted facade of a tale about a chocolate shop.
LAB REPORT: MARSEILLES
Apr 03, 2009
Marseilles seems proud of its bad-boy image. As a sailor’s city, the Old Port’s promenade is awash with fresh blue paint and a salty breeze. Its reputation is formidable, its spirit rebellious. Above all, Marseilles is a city to be heard.
What do Bush, Obama and a fungus have in common?
Feb 12, 2009
If you get given lemons, make lemonade.
A young shepherd from Roquefort took this idea and expanded it. Or rather, given that his version happened hundreds of years ago, invented it.
ABOUT ME: I’m a freelance writer with a passion for travel and a background in Neuroscience and Emergency Medicine.
