Welcome to the web edition of eBonVoyage. If you're on our mail-list, you will have had an email directing you here. If you didn't, but you'd like to get notice of each new issue (roughly every two months) please email us. JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2012 eB o n V o y a g e your travel newsletter from Bespoke France, the French travel specialists Bonjour & Bonne Année Francophiles Best wishes for 2012 to all our readers. The year has started well for us with lots of bookings and Taste France is almost fully booked - just two places left on the Dordogne Experience. Things are busy in France too, especially for boats.  Rentals and hotel barges are filling much faster than last year - for example, the charter barge Who Knows, is booked for the whole season, apart from 2 weeks, which are optioned and expected to be confirmed shortly.  Speaking of boating, we have a client who would like someone to join her on a barge cruise in June-July (see below, in BOATING). The European debt crisis is a many-headed monster and who knows how, or even if, it will be resolved, but taking a short term, vested interest view, the soggy euro does make a trip to France this year even more attractive! BARBARA TASTE FRANCE 2012 Tour One - BURGUNDY EXPERIENCE -14-22 September - 2 nights in Paris, 5 nights in Beaune, 1 night in Beaujolais - FULLY BOOKED Tour Two - DORDOGNE EXPERIENCE - Source to the Sea - 22 September - 5 October, 5150€ p.p. share twin 2 nights in Lyon, 1 night in Mont Dore, 2 nights in Martel, 4 nights in Sarlat, 2 nights in Les Eyzies, 2 nights in St Emilion - last two places available! HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE - a dinner cruise on the Rhone in Lyon - follow the Dordogne River from its source on Puy de Sancy to Bordeaux, where it flows into the Gironde estuary - a guided visit to the celebrated contemporary Jardins de l’Imaginaire in Terrasson, visits to the gardens of Eyrignac, Marqueyssac, Cadiot, & the Jardins Panoramique - explore the Padirac Chasm by boat - see the astonishing recreations of the cave paintings of Lascaux at Lascaux II - excursions to Rocamadour & the castles of Castelnau-Bretenoux, Beynac & Cazenac & Chateau de Losse -a morning at the huge market in Sarlat - visits to a chocolate maker and a nut oil mill - a morning with a truffle producer & his dogs, followed by a special truffle lunch - a wine tasting in Monbazillac The tour starts in Lyon & ends in Bordeaux, with optional extra nights available in each city before & after the tour. I’M INTERESTED, PLEASE SEND ME A BROCHURE BUT FIRST, SHOW ME THE ON-LINE FLYER ******** Notes from my Food Diary - a city lunch & a country lunch L’OULETTE, 15 place Lachambeaudie, Paris 12 L’Oulette is a modern, fashionable restaurant, hidden in a quiet square near the Bercy railway station. It’s also near the delightful Bercy village and park, which is perfect for a post-lunch stroll. The Menu de Saison had various permutations - number of courses, with or without wine. We chose three courses, with wine, as a sensible middle way at a sensible 49€ per person. The meal began with a classy little amuse bouche of a tiny glass of yellow pepper puree with miniature quenelles of tuna. This was followed by an outstanding starter of rock melon & watermelon soup with pastry & pieces of dried ham & spicy sausage - a delicious combination of flavours and textures. The main courses continued in the same fresh and lively style - I tucked into a great dish of spicy squid with ink, poppy seeds and diced summer vegetables. Squid ink also featured in the black penne pasta that supported fillets of rascasse (scorpion fish). Robert chose chicken breast with girolles and tarragon sauce. The presentation of all the dishes was stylish, the cooking was skilled and the flavour combinations inventive and interesting. And they were enhanced by two modest but very drinkable wines chosen by the sommelier - a white Bourgogne and a red Hautes-Cotes de Beaune. The puddings were even better - particularly a superb trio of chocolate variations - a warm dark liquid chocolate with cardamom, a chocolate mousse and a chocolate sorbet. Thoroughly indulgent, but not overdone as some “death by chocolate” numbers are. The madeleine with raspberry puree and pistachio mousse was lighter and more delicate, but still delicious. And we still managed to find a small corner for the mignardises - the miniature nibbles that come with coffee, here, tiny wedges of chocolate cake and little mouthfuls of raspberry mousse. L’Oulette is a well-run, modern restaurant, with knowledgeable, friendly staff. It’s popular with business lunchers, but quite easy for visitors too. PECHALIFOUR, a truffiere near Lussac As part of a visit to the truffle plantation of Edouard Aynaud & his wife Carole Humblet, mentioned in the November newsletter, we enjoyed a home-cooked truffle lunch with our hosts. It began with a brouillade truffée which we watched Carole make - a creamy dish of eggs, cream and truffles, which requires careful attention while it’s cooking. It also takes a bit of forward planning as the eggs are stored with the truffles so they absorb the fine fungal flavour though their shells and then the truffles are chopped into the cooking oil in advance, so it’s flavoured too. Lunch began in the kitchen, where we nibbled on rounds of toasted baguette spread with truffled butter and flakes of sea salt and sipped a local sweet wine, while watching the creation of the brouillade. When it was ready, we were sent swiftly to the table to eat it at its glorious best. It was followed by a green salad and a couple of local cheeses, and we finished with a completely new truffle taste, new to me anyway - truffled honey, poured over vanilla icecream. A simple but very special meal, thank you Edouard & Carole. But if we ever get our hands on a nice Perigord black truffle, are we going to put it in a brouillade, or chop it into a jar of honey? Decisions, decisions! Last restaurants reviewed - HOSTELLERIE DU PASSEUR, place de la Mairie, Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, DORDOGNE AU VIEUX MOULIN, 2 rue du Moulin Bas, Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, DORDOGNE go to newsletter back issues ******** CYCLING & WALKING UPDATE FOR 2012 We have some additions and deletions in our cycling & walking portfolio this year. We’ve added an easy 5-day Loire Valley route from Cheverny to Amboise, staying at 4-star chateau-hotels, with pools, and the option of two rest days or excursions to nearby chateaux. My kind of cycling! In Burgundy, we have a new 8-day, easy-moderate itinerary along the tow paths beside the beautiful Nivernais and Burgundy Canals. The route starts in Auxerre and ends in Dijon, with side-trips to Vezelay to see its remarkable Romanesque Abbey, and the Cistercian Abbey at Fontenay - both World Heritage sites. For a longer bike tour, this one works well with another 8-day Burgundy itinerary - The Best of Burgundy, which starts in Dijon and ends in Macon. A new 8-day Burgundy walking itinerary meanders through the famous Cote d’Or vineyards, visiting the wine villages and chateaux and enjoying the countryside. And without a vehicle, you’re ideally placed to sample the local produce en route! The Drome region of northern Provence is sometimes over-shadowed by the more famous Luberon, but it's equally glorious, and quieter.  Our new 5 night itinerary includes transfers from Montelimar, the nougat capital, which has good train connections with Paris and the south. Bike & Walk in Brittany is a new combination holiday of 3 days cycling, followed by 3 days walking. The itinerary starts in Rennes, capital of Brittany,then follows the canal to Hédé and Dinan and Dinard. A walk around the Emerald Coast to Mont St-Michel completes the trip in this distinctive and charming region. See our cycling and walking page for a summary of areas and itineraries. ******** BOATING NEWS HOTEL BARGING The Panache European Waterways’ newest barge starts cruising in April this year. She is a 12 passenger luxury barge of traditional Dutch design, called the Panache. The six suites with private bathrooms can be configured as twins or doubles. The boat is centrally heated and air-conditioned, with a sundeck, a spa pool and a piano. There are bikes (including a tandem) for jaunts along the towpath and air-conditioned minibuses for longer, guided tours. The crew of six takes care of anything resembling work, including the provision of delicious meals and they make it their business to introduce passengers to the wines, cheeses and other specialities of the region. Your job is to relax and enjoy your barging holiday. The Panache starts the season with springtime cruises in Holland, from April to mid-May. Highlights include the Aarsmeer flower auction, a walk in the astonishing 100 acre Keukenhof Gardens, visits to the towns of Delft, Haarlem and Gouda. From June till the end of October, she cruises in Alsace, between Strasbourg and Mittersheim, through some of the most scenic waterways in France. Back in the 1980s, Robert and I worked on a barge on this same route as the Panache does now, and fell in love with Alsace; the place, the food, the wine, the people. In between these two seasons, there’s a one-off opportunity to join a 13 night transition cruise all the way from Bruges to Paris from 20 May to 2 June. We’d love to do this trip ourselves, but alas we can’t get away for those dates, so 4 cabins are still available at the time of writing. This is a real voyage, with the added attraction of a new boat at a keen price - the Panache has discounted fares for its first season and they are offering a special fare for the 13 night package. Contact us for more information on this and other hotel barge cruises. And take a look at the Panache photo gallery here - http://www.gobarging.com/panache-gallery Travelling companion wanted for a barge cruise We have an Auckland-based client who would like another woman to join her for a barge cruise in France and/or Italy. She has previously cruised on the Luciole in Burgundy and on the Lorraine in Alsace and is a great fan of barge cruising. The single supplements on barges are significant, so she is interested in sharing with a like minded traveller. Her plans are reasonably flexible, but she wants to travel in June-July and to cruise on one, or maybe two, barges. Please contact us with your phone number if you are interested, and we'll pass on your name on to Gwen.  We are very aware that for single people traveling can be difficult and more expensive, so it makes sense to share. Sharing a meal more than doubles the enjoyment of the food.  We have heard of some networking sites, but for anyone interested in our holidays, we are considering a web page that would list people willing to share, the type of holiday and the approximate dates. We would manage the page and no contact details would be published. Please get in touch if this is of interest, as we will only develop the idea if there’s a positive response. Special celebration coming up? Why not charter a barge? Chartering a barge for a cruise has many advantages and is great for a group of friends with common interests and for family groups. The boat is yours for the week and sight-seeing can be tailored to suit your party, as can food & wine preferences. Barges don’t usually take children on regular cruises, but when you have a charter, you’re in charge of the guest-list, which can be as small as four on a six passenger boat, and as large as 20 on a big one. (Small boats tend to be charter-only). Prices vary according to season and style of boat, but the per person price should be no more expensive than a cabin booked on a regular cruise.  Charters can sometimes be extended to 10-13 nights, if the route and other bookings allow it. The earlier you book, the greater the choices, of course. Cruising in Scotland on the Scottish Highlander If you’re looking for a different hotel barge experience, consider the 8 passenger Scottish Highlander, which cruises the Caledonian Canal between Dochgarroch, near Inverness and Banavie, near Fort William. Cruise highlights include a visit to Glencoe, site of the infamous massacre, and Culloden Moor, site of the last battle of the Jacobite Rising. After that you’ll be ready for a visit to the Ben Nevis Whisky distillery and some loch cruising! The scenery is spectacular, as are the castle visits on the programme, including Cawdor Castle. The on-board chef prepares the best of traditional Scottish food and the boat cellar carries a selection of fine single malts, in addition to good wines from France and elsewhere. As well as the classic tour, the Highlander offers golf, honeymoon and family tours from time to time, and subject to availability, a 3-night cruise. SNIPPETS HOTEL D’ORSAY UPGRADE   The Hotel d’Orsay is our preferred Paris address and we’ve been using it for more than fifteen years.  Technically, we first used the 2 star Hotel Solferino until they took over the empty Hotel d’Orsay next door. The two 18th century buildings were merged and refurbished and re-opened as the 3 star Hotel d’Orsay.  The staff have always been very welcoming, the rooms are comfortable and relatively large (for Paris), breakfasts are good, it’s not too big or too small and the position is just about perfect, so why would we change?  Now their dedication to high quality service and maintenance has been rewarded with a 4 star rating.  Congratulations! 2013 - ESCAPE TO WINTER? A couple of enquiries for Paris in December got us thinking about Christmas markets, lights, ice skating, theatre and dance. Well, give Robert a new idea and before you know it he’s turned it into a tour itinerary, so now we are thinking about a winter tour in December 2013.   Tour One would be an 11 night itinerary based in Paris, Lyon and Avignon and Tour Two a 10 night programme in Paris and Alsace, including a 4 night Christmas cruise on the Rhine!    Also included will be the Fête des Lumières in Lyon, which the Guardian newspaper recently listed as one of the world's top 12 cultural events - "A growing number of cities are putting on light festivals in the depths of winter – in the UK, Durham’s Lumière programme is particularly impressive – but none can hold a candle to Lyon’s Fête des Lumières for scale or ambition. An awesome, four-day spectacle that sees artists lighting up the city’s buildings to stunning effect, it attracts up to 3 million spectators."  WE LOVE THE IDEA - LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.... Barbara & Robertmailto:info@bespokefrance.co.nz?subject=query%20from%20websitemailto:bestour@xtra.co.nz?subject=TASTE%20FRANCE%202012Taste%20France%202012.htmlnewsletter%20back%20issues.htmlcycling%20%26%20walking%20holidays.htmlmailto:bestour@xtra.co.nz?subject=Panache%20cruisehttp://www.gobarging.com/panache-galleryhttp://lumieredurham.co.uk/http://www.fetedeslumieres.lyon.fr/ENmailto:bestour@xtra.co.nz?subject=Christmas%20Tour%202013shapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1shapeimage_1_link_2shapeimage_1_link_3shapeimage_1_link_4shapeimage_1_link_5shapeimage_1_link_6shapeimage_1_link_7shapeimage_1_link_8shapeimage_1_link_9
 
eBon Voyage..... ....is our slightly irregular web newsletter, full of interesting & useful information to make your holiday in France easier, more fun, more French.
B E S P O K E      F R A N C E
Robert Buchanan & Barbara Keen
PO Box 5489 DUNEDIN NEW ZEALAND
ph:  03 472 7856     fax:  03 472 7855
 
email :     bestour@xtra.co.nz
         info@bespokefrance.co.nz
BESPOKE FRANCE HQ
THE MEDIEVAL VILLAGE OF ROCAMADOUR
PECHALIFOUR, DORDOGNE
HOTEL DIEU, BEAUNE
JARDINS DE L’IMAGINAIRE
NUT OIL MILL
CLIFFS, LES EYZIES
SAND BARGE ON THE SEINE, PARIS
WISSEMBOURG, ALSACE
PANACHE, SALOON
BURGUNDY CANAL
BLOIS, LOIRE VALLEY