The Black or White Café - an institution in Nantes already!

Great food, great coffees, great great women, Brenda and Kimberley, and great, great prices...but most of all...a little bit of "home" GET DOWN THERE!

The Black or White Café - an institution in Nantes already!

Great food, great coffees, great great women, Brenda and Kimberley, and great, great prices...but most of all...a little bit of "home" GET DOWN THERE!

KN Reading Group Takes Off Over a Curry!

Hi, what a lovely evening we had discussing books and dead cats....amongst other things...;) over a delicious curry this week.
here's the books we chose for the year and the first few dates.

If you weren't able to attend or if you'd like to join the KN Reading Group, don't worry you can still come along to the next group meeting (venue to be discovered again my Joanne) or you can just read the books and tell us what you think, via the web-site or email.

Here goes:

The Battle for Room Service by Mark Lawson 9 November

The Secret Scripture by Sebastien Barry 7 December

Like the Flowing River by Paul Coelho 11 January

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown 8 February

1000 Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini 8 March

See you on the 9th November, get ordering those books!

Best wishes Sue

This pic is magic

Walking in la Butte St Anne, Nantes, the other day I came across this very modern hairdressers ;) with a projecting sign to match!

French beauty secrets

Find out how those Parisiens look SO GOOD!

Foire aux vins....did you get a bargain?

It’s France’s annual foire aux vins (wine fair), the late summer-early autumn event when the nation’s supermarkets offer heavy discounts on wine, sending consumers on “a shopping spree…through crates of Bordeaux and Bourgognes in search of the best vintage at a good price,” says the article in Agence France-Presse.

It is, simply, “time to stock up,” even — or especially — in bad economic times. Sales from the foire aux vins amount to an astounding “25 percent of the total annual turnover for wines in big supermarkets.” It’s not only a great deal for wine consumers, but also for producers, providing them with “a major boost at a time when they are struggling with falling demand.”

Voila.

Eaux-de-vie ever wondered how to make it?

Ever wondered about the history of eaux-de-vie and how to make it...I was having a chat over lunch with colleagues at work the other day, and one was getting read, along with the others in his village to make the eaux-de-vie in a collective.
Apparently, it is illegal to make it (as it's alcohol!) unless you are an ancester of a family member (always passed down through the paternal ancestry, Father to son) who still have the right to make it.

Apparently 100 kilo's of fruit are used in this collective to make around 20 bottles of eaux-de-vie. I was interested to find out more about this ancient drink...so here's some more info.

It's easy to understand why eaux-de-vie translates to "waters of life." It's equally easy to understand why eaux-de-vie are considered some of the world's most elegant drinks.

The eaux-de-vie we know today were first created by the medieval monks who transformed wild fruits into pure, fresh, fruit-flavored brandies. Today, this legacy continues in France, Switzerland and Germany, and more recently, on America's West Coast.

All fine eaux-de-vie begin with the choicest fruit, hand-picked at the moment of ripeness. The fruits are mashed and fermented and then distilled twice in traditional copper pot stills that render a clear, intense spirit. After distillation, the new eaux-de-vie rest a few months to become mellower, smoother and rounder, while developing a complex, many-faceted character. It takes about 20 pounds of fruit to make one bottle of eau-de-vie.

The fruits used today are much the same varieties used by the medieval monks. Among the most popular are framboise (raspberry), mirabelle (yellow plum), prunelle (blackthorn or sloe plum) and poire Williams (Bartlett pear). The most fascinating is the poire Williams eau-de-vie known as poire prisonniere. Unlike other eaux-de-vie (including the regular bottling of poire Williams) in which the essence of the fruit is captured, poire prisonniere captures the fruit itself. How? Early in the growing season, when the pears are just forming on the trees, glass bottles are tied over some of the most promising buds. The pear grows inside the bottle, and when it is ripe, it is cut from the tree-still in the bottle. Both bottle and pear are washed and pear brandy is added. The whole pear is in the bottle you buy, its beauty and flavor completely intact.

There's also a museum dedicated to the eaux de vie
http://www.musee-eaux-de-vie.com/

Laurence, a place for all organic vegetarian good lovers...

I've heard a lot about this restaurant, so I thought I would share it with you...
Here's the link to find out more...

Did you know that Boules was a form of Buddhist meditation....? Read on...

When you next play boules....think about it...life and the universe...

It is the quintessential French pastime uniting millions around dusty courts and bottles of aniseed liqueur. Now la pétanque — boules — has been elevated to a higher plane by a Buddhist master, who has been hailed across France for his theory that the activity is a helpful tool for meditation.

The thoughts of Maître Kaisen have been well received in a country that has always believed the national sport to be a superior discipline. Journalists have flocked to his retreat in southwest France to record his wisdom since the publication of his book on the art of throwing metal boules.

“If pétanque is practised in a just frame of mind, then yes, it can help you to grow,” he said. His words earned plaudits from amateurs on internet chat forums, but also from the country’s greatest boulistes, including Philippe Quintais, who has won the world championship 12 times. “I am not an adept of Buddhism, but people like that, they help you to recharge your batteries,” said Mr Quintais after visiting Ho Sho Ji, the temple founded by Master Kaisen in the Dordogne.

The master, who was born Alain Krystaszek to a family of Polish immigrants in northern France, says his book L’Esprit de la Pétanque (The Spirit of Pétanque), is based on 35 years of practise. “I play once a week and I have a lot of friends who are top-level players,” he told The Times. ”I wanted to do the book for them.”

He believes that similar qualities are required for la pétanque and Buddhist meditation — such as an ability to ignore outside distractions. “Excellence is achieved by letting yourself go and by not identifying yourself with illusory aspects,” he said. “At a certain moment, there is a unity of body, soul and breathing. You forget yourself and others. You’re not here, you’re not there, you’re everywhere.”

His advice comes as the French Pétanque Federation tries to clamp down on the distinctly secular behaviour that has marred competitions. Brawls are becoming common, fuelled by alcohol, combined with wider social problems. The federation has told players to limit their consumption of pastis — the favourite tipple — and introduced rules to protect referees.

Although Master Kaisen, 56, teaches disciples how to improve their game, he warns against the dangers of competition. “When you are naturally focused things go well, and when you are naturally unfocused, the boule goes off any old where — and you just have to accept that.”

The game is played on an occasional basis by about 20 million French people and regularly by 380,000 paid-up members of a local clubs. Buddhism may not be as popular but is reported to be gaining ground in a country fascinated by eastern spirituality. The French Union of Buddhists claims 800,000 followers, three quarters of whom are of Asian origin.

The Times 24th August 2009

There's still time for that holiday with a difference...

Live high on the hog in the Languedoc
It's a new holiday village but the architecture is traditional, as are the activities. Ian Belcher tries winemaking, trout tickling - and a spot of boar hunting

Club Med, eat your heart out. Mark Warner, look away now. I've seen the future of holiday villages and it involves taking pot shots at wild boar, treading Corbières grapes, and - if you're feeling reckless - tickling speckled trout. Wind surfing and sailing lessons? They're just so last season, chéri.

Les Jardins de Saint Benoît, tucked into the widescreen panoramic drama of the French Languedoc, is aiming to rewrite the holiday village rulebook. Harnessing the passion, traditions and skill of local Occitane winegrowers and artisans, it offers a practical, herb-infused taste of Mediterranean rural life - a natural high-de-hi.

But the opening revelation comes well before you snaffle a first truffle: Les Jardins has interpreted "village" quite literally - it bulges out from the (real) medieval Saint-Laurent de la Cabrerisse like an ochre hernia. It opened last month, several centuries after its host, but old and new blur into a seamless splatter of terracotta tiles and limestone walls.

It's a deliberate deception. Three years' construction, £55m and 15 rewrites of the heritage master plan have captured the details and textures of original village buildings, albeit with modern tweaks such as pergola-shaded gardens. With its grid of stone-paved, car-free streets lined with Victorian copper lamps, it would bring a rosy flush to the Prince of Wales's cheek. The Gallic Poundbury's 171 self-catering houses, kissing a stonking restaurant, spa and swimming pool, have state-of-the-art kitchens and bathrooms but display a style dubbed chic rustique: all earth tones, artfully distressed southern French furniture and pastel shutters.

Occupying the site of a ruined 12th-century abbey, Les Jardins is laced with freshly planted olive trees, lavender bushes and roses. If, understandably, it feels rather new, there's also an original maze of medieval walled gardens, shared with the villagers. These drip with fruit, vegetables and herbs, bordered by well-established organic vineyards, which lead down to the Nielle river.

But the unique heritage architecture is just a soupçon of its integration with Languedoc life. There's also employment - nearly all the staff live nearby - and a groundbreaking array of guest activities that involve the area's farmers, chefs and artisans, from cheese makers to beekeepers. "We're building a bridge between locals and tourists," says Miguel Espada, president of Garrigae, the resort operator behind Les Jardins. "At Club Med or Mark Warner everyone stays within the complex, but we're completely open to the community. We want guests to get back to nature, to sample the Mediterranean joie de vivre, to experience totally new things."

The Observer, Sunday 5 July 2009