Marche de Noel Franco-Allemand 2010

The 27th and 28th of November 2010, the French-German Christmas Market took place in Argenton Sur Creuse.  Here are some photos.

Liqueurs and wine from the Charentes

Martinelli's Christmas cakes

Martinelli's cakes

Fresh Oysters

oysters on the spot

buying crepes

Wines

An Ukranian Stall

and yet, more wine!

The Beaujolais Nouveau

 

The wine we were all waiting for...

Finally the 18th of November arrived, the day when corks pop around the world as lovers of Beaujolais nouveau mark the start of a new French vintage by enjoying large amounts of the popular drink.

At one past midnight on the third Thursday of every November over a million cases of Beaujolais Nouveau start their journey from little villages through a sleeping France to Paris for immediate shipping to all over the world.  For a few short days, banners everywhere proclaim “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive”

Once a local tradition, has now become an international race to bring the Beaujolais Nouveau to markets all over the world.  When you read this more than 65 million bottles representing nearly half the region’s total production, will have been distributed and drunk around the world.

 

  

What is so special about the Beaujolais Nouveau?

When the tradition started, the wine producers of the area created a “wine of the year” to celebrate the end of the harvest.  The wine was only fermented for a few weeks, as was meant for immediate consumption.  But then just before the Second World War it was established an AOC for the Beaujolais Nouveau and the release date for the Beaujolais Nouveau became fixed each year. 

With time, wine producers began to see the marketing potential of the Beaujolais Nouveau and by the 1970s its release and the race to get the first bottles to Paris became a national event.  The race to deliver the first bottles soon spread all over the country and to other European countries.  In the 1990s the race extended to Asia and North America.  The race to deliver the first bottles is so tight that one year even a Concorde was used to deliver the Beaujolais Nouveau. 

Is a Beaujolais Nouveau “that” especial? 

Not really...  Many people agree that the Beaujolais Nouveau comes from the region’s worst vineyards; a wine barely removed from the fermentation vat; a wine that is just pleasantly tart. 

However, I still run to my nearest wine provider yesterday to be able to get a few bottles of the Beaujolais Nouveau 2010.  I was a week late last year and I couldn’t find a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau left in my local wine provider’s cave.  I didn’t make that mistake this year, I was there right on the spot the 18^th of November, I had a try at several bottles and came out triumphantly with my load of Beaujolais Nouveau ready for this weekend degustation party.

I find that it is not much about the taste but more about the game.  I am sure plenty of us will still enjoy getting caught up in the ritual.   It is always fun to meet at the local restaurants and bars to try a glass of Beaujolais Nouveau with friends.  Cheers! 

Wine: its therapeutical uses:

Wine has been used to relieve conditions such as anaemia, hypertension, hypotension, rheumatism, gout, obesity, dyspepsia among many other things. Unlike modern medical advice, the French used to drink wine even during pregnancy due to the richness in minerals of certain wines such us the rouges from Bordeaux.

You can learn more about wine's therapeutical uses here.

A Museum for Male Fashion

The Musée de la Chemiserie et de la elegance Masculine is a museum dedicated to the shirt and male fashion. We had been there many times but, little as it is, we always find something new in this museum. Located in the Indre department, in the town of Argenton Sur Creuse, the shirt museum rends homage at an industry that lead the lives of the locals during the 1900s.

Why a museum of the shirt in Argenton Sur Creuse?

The museum opened on 1993 to the public thanks to an incentive started by the French ministry of culture. At the time, Jean René Gravereaux ex industrial in the fashion world and his wife had the idea to create a museum dedicated to the shirt and textile industry as it represented a professional activity created and exploited heavily in the area. This is how they created an association and looked for the input from ancient workers and anyone who had to do with the clothes industry in the area.

During the past few years, thanks to local subventions the Musée de la Chemiserie et de la elegance Masculine has been able to improve its collection, buying more items.

The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 to 12 at from 2pm to 6pm.

Chateau Guillaume

Chateau Guillaume: "Castles in France:

 Last May we visited Chateau Guillaume during a special day called Journee du Patrimoine. The Journees du Patrimoine are held twice a year, in May and in September. It lasts two days during which castles, museums, churches and gardens are open to the public free of charge. The program aims to be an incentive to visit and discover the area.

Last May there were 73 sites open to the public in the region, plus 13 concerts offered free of charge in historical buildings.

 If you are planning to visit Chateau Guillaume free of charge, you would need to go during one of the journees de patrimoine. 
Otherwise, the chateau is open for a small fee from June to September from 2pm to 6pm. 

For more information and group visits you can call 0033 254 25 62 81

If you want to read more about Chateau Guillaume and see more photos before you visit, I suggest you visit this site where I wrote about our family visit, with loads of photos of Chateau Guillaume.

Another good time to visit Chateau Guillaume would be during the local festivities the last Sunday of July.  During the Saint Christophe festivities you can enjoy a little brocante (antique outdoor market), a small parade and a fair.

Also a good time to visit is during the “Fête de château Guillaume” the first Sunday of October and near Christmas time when  there is a Christmas market where you can find local produce.  

Chateau Guillaume

For more information about family holidays in France click here

Laser eye surgery in France

France has excellent medical care and the World Health Organisation rated it as number 1 out of the 196 countries it accredited. If you are considering having laser eye surgery in France, then many of the same rules that apply in the UK also apply in France. As is the same in the UK, there are 2 main types of laser eye surgery and they are Lasik and Lasek (also called PRK). 

Lasik is likely to be your first choice as the recovery period is quicker and more comfortable. As well as this, you will be offered two additional treatment options which are:

• Intralase  and 
• Wavefront (also called custom-laser eye surgery). 

Intralase is a type of Lasik and it has slightly fewer complications. It is also a bladeless procedure which appeals to the more squeamish people amongst us! 

The following are things you should consider when choosing your clinic and surgeon:

• Ensure your surgeon is a qualified surgeon who had undergone the full 11 years training.

• Ensure your surgeon is registered with the French Medical Council.

• Check your surgeon has a low complication rate. Complication rates should be less than 1%.

• Check to see what percentage of the surgeon’s patients achieve 20:20 vision. The higher the better and you should expect it to be over 90%.

• Make sure you have a good rapport with your surgeon and that you feel comfortable with them carrying out your treatment. You need to be able to ask them questions if you are unsure or uncomfortable about any part of the procedure.

• Depending on the size of the clinic, your laser eye surgery consultation may or may not be carried out by the actual surgeon. If you are considering a smaller independent clinic then you are more likely to be seen by the actual surgeon. The larger multiple chains often employ an optician to do your initial checks.

• Check you clinic is fully accredited by the Autorité de Santé (French Health Authority).

 If you are a Brit living in France then you may feel more comfortable using a clinic that was founded in the UK. Optical express are a company that you could consider as they have clinics throughout France and the rest of Europe. The most important thing when it comes to choosing where to have laser eye surgery is to go with your instinct. If it feels like the right clinic and surgeon for you then the chances are it is! 

If you would like to read more about laser eye surgery you could visit Treatmentsaver.com

If you would like to know more about Laser eye surgery you can read this interview with an optometrist and specialist in laser eye surgery to have all your questions about laser eye surgery answered. 

A Taste of Italy in Argenton Sur Creuse

At the start of the Summer I discovered with delight that a new Pizzeria had opened near my home. What it used to be a shabby café has in no time transformed into a true taste of Italy in the outskirts of Argenton Sur Creuse.

People say that the best advertising a place can have is through word of mouth and that was the case with Cinecitta. In only a week I heard several stories from friends recommending the new pizzeria. Obviously, a lover of good cuisine like me had to go and try this new place, so off we went in a family night out to eat at the new pizzeria.

Much to my surprise when we arrived at 8pm all the tables in the improvised terrace on the street were already taken. So while we waited for a table we met Emilio. Emilio is the Italian cook and owner of this Italian jewel. With the characteristic friendliness of a Southern Italian Emilio greeted us like old friends and invited us to wait for a table to be set for us. We immediately clicked on once we told him that not long ago we had visited his hometown in Calabria, and that was it, we were friends!

The menu at Cinecitta is composed of around twenty different pizzas, a few pasta dishes and three veal dishes. My little princess and I went for a Capri pizza composed of goat’s cheese, fresh cream and honey. My little hooligan chose the old classic Margarita while my husband more adventurously chose a Calzone. The wine list only has a few Italian wines, but they are all very carefully chosen and for around 16€ a bottle you can enjoy a very good Italian wine. The desserts are typical Italian ice creams, and homemade cakes, tiramisu and crème caramel. After our meal we were delighted with our choice and closed the night with a Limoncello. A delicious night on a balmy evening, and all for under 60 euros for 4 people.

We have been back several times after that. Emilio and his girlfriend are always welcoming and their little restaurant is always busy. Not a surprise considering the good quality offered.

To know more about other restaurants in Argenton Sur Creuse you can click here.

Argenton Sur Creuse

Skydiving my new passion

Skydiving my new passion

Last year while visiting the resort town of Royan on the French Atlantic coast I made several friends from Royan’s school of parachuting. They invited me to see them skydiving.  It was great to see them performing all sorts of acrobatics in the air. Since then I went back several times just for the pleasure of seeing my friends jumping and of course for enjoying the parties afterwards. I loved the environment; it is like a big family where everybody knows each other.  Every body gets dressed and undressed in the same open hangar which also serves as a living room, parachute folding area, bicycle garage and nursery for the children.

My children too, loved the place, running around the aeroplanes, seeing the skydivers land with their colourful parachutes, playing around while waiting for their parents to jump, barbeques at the fall of dawn and much more.

Skydivers come here from all over France and Europe, some to experience the thrill of their first jump while others come to improve their skills.

That is how for more than a year I faced the temptation to skydive. I had attempted to do it a couple of times before but I always got “cold feet” at the last minute. But finally my time came and I did it. Much to my surprise all my fears had disappeared and I was very reassured about the jump as my Tandem “jumpmaster” Francis Joinville, is the best at the sport. With more than 22000 jumps under his belt, an experienced Army man, and the experience of having captained the French Skydiving team for several years I gathered that I had nothing to fear with him.


You can learn more about my first skidiving experience here.