'Even our horses eat oysters'
,,Even our horses eat oysters,'' they say in Gouville-sur-Mer (Normandy). Now I don't know anything about horses, but I doubt it.
However, it's a fact they've got both oysters and horses in Gouville. Even better, they've put the two together. With horses and carriages, they take you out over the beaches, along the oyster banks. In about 2 1/2 hours, they'll tell you everything you might want to know about oysters.
Afterwards you may particapate in a degustation to taste the oysters. And of course, you get some muscadet to rinse the selty taste away...
Posted by Peter at 07:12 AM [4 reactions]
Be a Parisian, show your humour
Who said Parisians don't have humour? In a new campaign to attract English tourists to Paris, the city not only shows it knows itself, it also uses jokes about the chagrined attitudes of the Parisians.
In the campaign, called C'est so Paris, they explain you don't need to speak French. Just learn Parisian gestures. Even better, use these gestures and Parisians will think you're a Parisian too. Now that's not entirely true. The website promises rude gestures not everybody will appreciate, but fails to give them.
The new website is not heavily loaded with information for tourists, but then again, you already found this site
Posted by Peter at 07:15 AM [What do you think?]
A cabaret not like the others
Paris is famous for its huge cabarets with nearly nude women. However, there is another kind of cabaret. In Montmartre, at the very modest Rue des Saules we find Au Lapin Agile. It hardly looks like a cabaret and you might just oversee it when pasing by, but believe me, it is a cabaret.
For over a century, this was a center of art, regularly visited by (among many, many others) famous people like Picasso and Modigliani. As a joke, the painter Boronali was created here around 1900. His 'Sunset at the Adriatic Sea'was highly praised by art specialists. Boronali however was just the monkey of one of the regular visitors of the Au Lapin Agile. They had attached a brush to the animals tail...
In current days, Au Lapin Agile is still an art center. every evening, singers present the great French chansons for 5 hours non stop. The public is supposed to sing too! And yes, the public does sing...
Posted by Peter at 07:16 AM [What do you think?]
Don't bike at the Mont Ventoux
Suppose, you go to the Mont Ventoux. You take your bike and you drive mountain up like crazy. Then what? Well eh, then you're very exhausted and you've done something very predictable.
Suggestion: hike to the top. It's easier and you will enjoy the imposing surroundings much more.
Want to do something more suprising at the Mont Ventoux? Ski downhill. Ok, the area is not exactly as large as usual in France, but it's enough to have fun for a few hours. BTW, you may also ski in summer over here. Just use rollerskis on the grass.
Posted by Peter at 07:01 AM [5 reactions]
