Currently I am sending you wishes for a gorgeous Chrissy from my home in the Aussie bush surrounded by the sounds of kookaburras in summer, with kangaroos joining us for our morning coffee and returning for apéro in the late arvo! A far cry from last year when I was in France on my wonderful Noël roadtrip through the French alps and the Alsace region.

I have a couple of tips for travelling in the type of weather that can be expected in France in December as it is winter! This is the time of mulled wine, big coats, warm open fires and rugging up with fabulously filling French comfort food!

Loulabelle’s top 5 tips for travelling during the Christmassy period in mountainous France:

1. Before leaving Australia I ordered some fur lined boots online. I didn’t want to waste time searching for them once I was already in the cold in France, nor take the risk that I wouldn’t find anything appropriate and be left with freezing tootsies! There were loads of cheap options online, but I decided to buy a pair from known established brand Sandler and from reliable Australian department store Myer, because the thought of a cheaply made pair of shoes falling apart on me in minus degrees was not appealing. This was absolutely the best travel purchase I’ve ever made, ever! I wore these boots every day. They had rubber soles so mostly non-slip, and they kept my feet warm and dry. They weren’t the most fashionable boots on the street, I mean they looked great but they weren’t hip and funky, but they kept me toastie through some freezing conditions!

2. I took my Ugg boots for wearing at night so my fur-lined day boots could dry out. I did see people wearing Ugg boots out and about during the day, but I don’t recommend that if you are going to be doing lots of walking. You might find yourself in slushy snow and also in the rain. Use Uggs for during your flight and indoors at night only!

3. My third tip is to take thermals! I wore non-bulky thermal leggings and tops made from merino wool as my first underneath layer of clothing. You will need them if going into the mountains in late December. It was minus 11 on the morning that we left Strasbourg to travel to Paris in the week leading up to Christmas, and had been minus 13 overnight, so that gives you an idea of the type of cold to expect!

4. My next tip is don’t pack too much. I have never been a light packer and I always, every single time regret how much I take away with me. But the next time I travel in France in December I will remember that the Airbnbs and hotels are all heated 24 hours a day so I found I could wash and dry overnight. I also found that once I had a combo of clothing that worked for keeping me warm outside but was also easy for stripping off every time we went into a warm café or store, I wanted to wear that combination all the time! I didn’t need the copious amount of clothing I had packed which I ended up having to drag around with me unworn. Lighter layers will be needed to wear over each other also instead of big bulky jumpers.

5. Now this next tip is important if you’re like me and use your phone a lot to take pictures. Gloves! Try to find gloves with a phone compatible patch on the finger tip so you don’t need to take the gloves on and off too much. I actually wore two pairs of gloves on many days! One pair with the finger phone patch first and then a lined fingerless pair over the top. For head gear I wore a heavy felt ear wrap under my beanie. I took various weights of beanies too as some days I needed a lined head covering whilst on other days that was too hot and a simple woolen beanie or felt beret was enough.

Bully

We collected our car in Lyon and heading about 30 minutes out to a little country Airbnb at a wine-growers near the Plus Beau Village of Oingt. We hadn’t had dinner so headed out to find somewhere and came across a village called Bully (pronounced “boollie”). We drove out in the dark through the little winding streets and when we came to the village it was like a magic fairy tale unfolding. We could see the gorgeous Christmas decorations in the town square with a huge sapin or Christmas tree in the centre of the village and beautiful big baubles hanging in the other trees all around. The lit up blue, white and gold huge balls were hanging like some sort of magic Noël fruit in the trees. The buildings were all of the beautiful local stone, and even though it was only about 7pm it was very dark with a full moon that shone on the stone giving it a divine golden hue. There was a sort of mystic quietness about the place. It seemed that everything was closed and I worried that we were too late for dinner as can happen in some small towns in Australia by 7pm, but in fact we were too early! Work hours are 10am-7pm in much of France, so the restaurant, the only one in town it seemed, was opening at 7.30. It had a terrific menu, wonderful drinks trolley with assorted cognacs and brandies, a great wine list and a jolly looking chef, which ma belle amie Sarah says is a good sign that the food will be good. And she was right! I can’t recall the name of it but if you head into Bully, it’s right in the main square opposite the church and the boulangerie.

Link: Info re Bully

Beaujolais

The next day we explored further on the Routes de Vins which is the wine route around Lyon focusing on Beaujolais wines. I didn’t know a lot about Beaujolais before this trip, but I am an absolute convert!

The region of Beaujolais was first cultivated by the Romans who planted the areas along its trading route up the Saône Valley. It is in the northern part of the Rhône region, but apparently actually sits mainly in Burgundy, although the Beaujolais variety is distinctly its own. From the 7th century through to the Middle Ages, most of the winemaking of Beaujolais was done by Benedictine monks. The Beaujolais appellation (which is the appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) the official mark that identifies an agricultural product like wines, olive oils, cheeses, even some meats, that are made in a defined geographical area and made using recognised and traditional know-how)  the Beaujolais AOC officially came into being in 1937, and more recently in the 1980s it celebrated a revival which then saw more grapes planted a couple of decades ago which we are reaping the rewards from today!

90% of Beaujolais wines are a gorgeous red but there are also rosé and white varieties. I stuck mainly to the reds and I was not disappointed. Beaujolais is the result of a cross between pinot noir and gouais, which produces a wonderfully fresh and fruity wine. If like me you like your wines and trying new varieties, I recommend a few days enjoying the route de vin north of Lyon. It has some incredibly beautiful countryside and villages.

Link: Beaujolais Wine Route

Oingt

I had researched two different Plus Beaux Villages to visit in the Beaujolais route de vin region. Les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france is an official list of villages rated as amongst the most beautiful in France.  It is important to note that there are many villages not on the Plus Beaux Villages list, that are absolutely just as magical as some Plus Beaux Villages I have been to. The Plus Beaux Villages requirements are very strict, so there will be many quaint, cute and fascinating villages which don’t meet the criteria as they may be too small, slightly too large in population, or not have had an historical event occur for example. So it is well worth meandering through villages regardless of their Plus Beaux Villages status. That being said the Plus Beaux Villages website is a great place to start when planning where you’re going to go, so I planned to drive to the medieval village of Oingt. I kept calling it “oinked” at the start which Sarah found quite funny but I got the hang of the pronunciation eventually, pronounced “oweainn”.

We drove right through the village from end to end in about 30 seconds! There seemed to be quite a few cars in outlying carparks, so we picked one and wandered back into the cute, winding streets. As we walked we noticed that every house and shop had a “creche” display out the front, a nativity scene. Every year, the Amies de Vieux Village d’Oingt organise the “Oingt en Crèches” event with nativity scenes made and exhibited by the residents in the petit ruelles of the village. We found them everywhere: in windows, in mailboxes, in wheelbarrows, in little cave like dugouts. They’re made so creatively too. We saw one sculpted from wrought iron, another made entirely of sea urchins! There were traditional looking scenes and one even made from plant pots! It makes for a beautifully warm Christmas atmosphere. There are concerts and choir events through December which unfortunately we weren’t there for, but we did get the benefit of the mulled wine and warm waffle cart.

Link: Oingt info

Pérouges

The second Plus Beaux Villages on my list to visit was Pérouges. It has an amazing l’eglise fortresse and a quaint looking village but we didn’t get to see much of it as there were squillions of people wandering through the village for the Christmas market on that day. The Marche de Noël was fabulous with more authentic artisans than in some of the other markets I had seen, but with the weather turning rainy and loads of bodies crammed in, it wasn’t much fun. I will definitely return to enjoy Pérouges in all her splendor another time!

Annecy

We headed then to our next stop for a few days in Annecy.

Annecy is on a spectacular lake and the old part of the town is exquisite. We stayed in an Airbnb overlooking the canal that leads to the lake which was the perfect position to wander into the many Christmas markets but also into the little alley ways and ruelles which had such wonderful shops to wile away our time and warm up. I made a few, what I like to call “life-time” purchases there. Things that will never be found anywhere else and will never be a regret!

Annecy was also the first place that I experienced a Tartiflette. It was unbelievably scrumptious and so filling. I actually struggled to finish it all! The cheesy layer of reblochon on top hid the creamy potato and lardons underneath.

But apart from the gorgeous boutiques the quaint restaurants, the beautiful buildings of old Annecy, by far the most stunning attribute for all of Annecy is the lake. It is very close to the Swiss border and the mountains right next to the lake are amazing. Being so close to Switzerland, some of the buildings out of old Annecy have a little chalet look to them. In summer it is one of the most flower filled towns in France but even in winter it has a wonderful charm. We were lucky enough to wake up there to the first snow of the season which had me squealing with delight until I realised I had to move luggage through the slushy streets, clear the car and drive through it. The romance of the white dusting was replaced by reality fairly quickly, but all those hassles were easily overcome and it was an extraordinary experience for a Melbourne girl like me where we’ve never lived through daily snow!

Links: Our Annecy Airbnb

Annecy Tourism info

Driving in France

We had a long day of driving from Annecy through snow, sleet and eventually black ice as well to get to Colmar. We decided to take a longer route which wasn’t so mountainous because of the conditions and just took it slowly. The first time I went on a roadtrip there over a decade ago, I took a load of detailed maps but some hire cars have smart phone connectivity, and if you get a mobile phone sim with data, then Google maps will work just fine. The good thing about Google maps especially when driving in some sleet, icy or snowy conditions, Google will direct you away from the most dangerous roads and gives various options to choose from if you prefer driving away from large trucks for example. Also, it is crucial when hiring a car to drive in the Alsace region that you ensure you get snow tyres. We did and I was so grateful for it as there was an unseasonal cold snap whilst we were there.

Colmar

Colmar is a much bigger town than I realised, it’s actually a small city with a population of around 70,000. We stayed in a very traditional Alsatian apartment which was absolutely what we needed at this stage of the trip. It was so homely. It had terrific big king sized beds, wonderful heating and was the perfect place to recharge after the long days we knew we’d have visiting all the sights around the area. Our Airbnb hosts Jean-Marie and Agnes were by far the most helpful and lovely Airbnb hosts I have ever had anywhere ever! Jean-Marie gave us tips on where to go and  Agnes made us a traditional cinnamon cake to eat called a Kugelhopf, Jean-Marie even cleared the snow off our car on our last morning there and helped with our luggage. If heading to Colmar, he is definitely your man!

Link: Our Colmar Airbnb

I planned this part of the roadtrip around Colmar whilst we had a car and chose our apartment with parking accordingly. We stayed a few days and checked out the old town of Colmar on a couple of occasions with its colourful half-timbered houses on the canals, which at Christmas time look just like the villages on the shortbread tins my grandmother had when I was a child. So beautiful.

Christmas Villages near Colmar

There are a number of very pretty Christmas villages around Colmar that are worth visiting. A couple are also not far from Strasbourg, so easily drivable from there too, except that having a car in Strasbourg is problematic at Christmas time so we did these visits from Colmar before dropping the car off on our arrival in Strasbourg. There are quite a number to choose from so below are my top three recommendations of the villages near Colmar to get your Frenchy Christmas vibes fluttering! :

1. Eguisheim. I adored this village. We visited it late in the day when it was already turning dark. The Christmas village was in full swing with wonderful Alsatian warm and filling market foods, mulled wine and a beautiful community atmosphere. Every building looked like a chocolate box, the people were lovely and warm to us, and the petite ruelles were magically enticing. I felt that Santa could have actually appeared around any corner at any moment! One thing that tipped this over into the number one spot for me, was that there was an open air show happening in the square as we arrived which took all the audience around the various parts of the village. It was a comedy with actors and the crowd was lapping up every word. Think Punch and Judy in a kind of historic setting like a Shakespeare play in the round, combined with some sort of hilarious act from the Edinburgh comedy festival! I loved it! I got the gist even though most of it was in French but mostly I loved the sense of festive togetherness it brought to the whole village. People weren’t there just to buy stuff at a market. They were immersing in a celebration of Noël spirit! It was also easy to get around this village as it wasn’t jam packed. I would actually recommend staying in this village of Eguisheim even for one or two nights as there were a couple of gorgeous looking hotels with parking available, that were also exquisitely decorated.

Link: Eguisheim info

Eguisheim hotels

2. Kaysersberg. This is a village with meandering streets which we actually drove into the centre of by accident. There is limited parking so best to go to one of the carparks on the outskirts and wander on in. I was completely beguiled and bewitched by the cute and quaint village under a layer of snow! The shop windows were all looking like something from a Grimms fairytale. I saw a shoe shop which looked like elves had been working in it all night! Out the front of one of the churches in Kaysersberg was a wonderfully impressive crèche or nativity scene. The church bells tolled as I stood there marveling at the workmanship required to build that crèche to withstand all sorts of weather through the Christmas period. I absolutely love that the whole community goes to such lengths to celebrate Noël in this way. One of my favourite things here was the surprise view around every corner of the quaint tiny streets with crooked little coloured houses, chimney pots with smoke streaming from them, holly and decorations in each window and hanging from every door. I felt like our car must have been a time machine and I had stepped back centuries. I’m sure the snow added to that romance, but nevertheless it is a memory I will treasure.

Link: Kaysersberg info

Kaysersberg tourism

3. Riquewihr. The day we visited Riquewihr the temperature had plummeted overnight and there was black ice on the roads and paths everywhere. We got to Riquewihr and there seemed to be a number of people being turned away from the main town gate to park elsewhere. We didn’t think much of this as the same thing had happened back in Oingt, Pérouges and even in Eguisheim. We found a spot to park on the side of the road in the middle of fields of vines on every side and got out to walk into the village. I stepped onto the tarmac and realised this was not going to be an easy task. I looked at how far was still to be covered to reach the village, only about 200 metres, but that took around 15 minutes! Once we reached the main street we managed to walk up to the gates of the old town by walking in the gutters as they had melted slightly and were a little less slippery with dropped foliage and debris to step on. Once through the gates of the Riquewihr old town though it was a whole different story. People were tumbling down all over the place. I had my rubber soled shoes on but still needed to concentrate to find the divets in between the cobblestones to step on, as the uneven surface there seemed to be easier to get a grip on. We made it as far as the first restaurant and headed straight inside for a magnificent traditional feed of a creamy veal and mushroom dish with spaetzles, which are a kind of little misshapen eggy pasta served on the side. Chatting to the other diners we worked out that the locals put their socks over their shoes to assist with the grip on the black ice, so with my fur-lined boots I decided to forgo the luxury of socks and popped them over the outside of my boots to help me return to the car!

Whilst Riquewihr is a certified Plus-Beau-Village and is known to have the reputation of being insanely fabulous when it comes to Chrissy things, we made the decision to return to Colmar without a broken hip and be grateful for a most amazing lunch there. Also a tip for walking on black ice, the socks over the boots actually works and if there is a vineyard near your car, walk between the vines as we did on the return to our parking spot rather than try to walk on the icy road!

Link: Riquewihr info

Strasbourg – history

The crescendo of our Tour de Noel de France, our little Christmas tour of the Alsace region… Strasbourg. Now

Strasbourg is the biggest city in Eastern France. It’s one of the four main capitals of the European Union alongside Brussels, Luxembourg and Frankfurt and is also the home of the European Parliament and a number of other significant European institutions. Strasbourg has a feel to it, like it has been through a lot and that is for good reason. This area of France has been taken over more times and seen more conflict than any other region. It was originally settled by Celtic tribes towards the end of the 3rd century BC with Julius Caesar conquering the region in 58 BC. Caesar brought with him the Roman culture, he built roads and imported vines for wine. The original Celtic tribes then drove out the Romans eventually. Centuries later the region became a Christian stronghold around the year 500. In the middle ages Alsace was part of the Germanic world, until in the 1600s the 30 years war broke out with the Catholic Habsburgs fighting the protestant princes. The French were not happy about either of those options so they got stuck into it as well. In 1648 a treaty was signed and Alsace was officially French from then on. That was until the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 and 71 when it flipped back to Germany and it then stayed German until the aftermath of the first world war was settled with Alsace going back to France. It was again heavily impacted by changing to Germany during WW2 when the French part of their culture was suppressed with the French language not even allowed to be spoken. The result is a region that is now neither German nor really truly French, but it is Alsace and it definitely wears its identity proudly. Over the 75 year period from 1870 until the end of the second world war, Alsace changed hands four times between France and Germany. It’s not surprising to me then that I felt a sense of the buildings in Strasbourg exuding a wisdom and telling a story. It is an extraordinary place.

Strasbourg – our experience

We stayed in a quirky Airbnb in the centre of the old town right next to the main Christmas market. This was absolutely sensational except for the fact we didn’t know that no cars are allowed at all in this part of town through the second half of November and all of December. Some reviews I had read suggested people could drive in to drop off luggage but that clearly wasn’t the case. The learning here is that it is important to communicate with your Airbnb host about your mode of transport and other arrival details and don’t rely just on reviews for your info!

Strasbourg has great transport links. The central island of old Strasbourg, the Grande Ile is the historic city centre and was classified a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. This is where now we find the Christmas markets. Over the four days we had there which included the weekend before Christmas, they were jam packed with tourists. But we found it very easy to navigate the markets, restaurants, stores, churches and all parts of Strasbourg despite the crowds. The Christmas decorations in comparison to all the villages we had been to, were next level and off the charts. There’s something really charming and warm about the decorations in a quaint village, but these were completely different. Every decoration in Strasbourg whether it be on a store, a church or a street decoration, makes a statement that is bold. Some were just breathtaking. The huge Christmas tree that is taller than the buildings around the main square can be seen from the tiny streets leading to the square. It kept changing colours too so just when I thought I had seen it and taken a pic, I turned to find it now covered in brilliant blue decorations or 30 seconds later in a gorgeous gold. There are not many French Christmas carols so bizarrely I was experiencing all of this with piped music blaring, in the small villages as well as Strasbourg, with the sounds of Bing Crosby, Michael Bublé and even Mariah Carey which I found both hilarious and a tad bizarre!

Now not far from the cathedral which is noted as one of the most beautiful Gothic Cathedrals in France is a church which is much less imposing. But on a cold night something about this smaller church drew me in. The bells were tolling and I could hear it from a couple of streets away. I followed the sound and headed into the warm church. There were quite a number of people but lots of spare seats, so I took one and sat down. There was a piano solo taking place on the altar with Christmas Advent candles displayed in a wreath as well as Hanukkah candles. It was quiet, reverent and all at once I felt this place being inclusive of anyone of any religion, who needed to be there at that time. A beautiful feeling of tolerance and collectivism in a place that had in 2018 tragically been the site of a terror attack. There was no sense at all of a risk of that. The presence of police was everywhere but not intrusive.

Our first night in Strasbourg we looked up a restaurant to visit for dinner. We found a traditional little hideaway called S’Thomas Streubel decorated with classic Alsace motifs. It had a terrific traditional menu and the food coming out of the tiny kitchen was incredible. I tried a Fleischnacka which was sensational. Find a recipe down below in the blog. I chose the Fleischnacka with sauce avec cèpes, or mushrooms. We then had spaetzles on the side and a salad, although I think traditionally the salad would be overlooked. The wonderfully chatty waiter then convinced us to share profiteroles for dessert and I expected the pastry with cream or custard as we have in Australia, but it came with a home made vanilla icecream inside the huge profiterole case with a hot chocolate drizzly sauce. Oh my giddy aunt, thank goodness I had my stretchy Christmas pants on! We washed it all down with a gorgeous ceramic pitcher of the local Riesling to round out a terrific dinner. The atmosphere was loud and happy, the people so warm and inviting. It was a place full of locals which is always a good sign, but we would have walked right past it in the street.

Link: S’Thomas Struebel 

Another Strasbourg restaurant I was fortunate enough to visit on this trip was one owned and run by Gabriel Gâté’s niece Charlotte. Gabriel recommended the Michelin starred restaurant “Les Plaisirs Gourmand” where Charlotte’s chef husband Guillaume Scheer is an amazing gourmet wizard! Charlotte is also a chef and manages the front of house and I reckon the husband and wife team make a fabulous combo.
I always like to have one treat that is a little bit sumptuous on every vacation. This lunch was exactly that, from the food, seven courses in all, the ambiance, the wonderful staff, even the bespoke soft leather wrapped tables, it was understated elegance. My fave dish was the mushroom ravioli with a truffle emulsion (it sounds very MasterChef and very flash, and that’s because it was very flash!) and shaved truffle on the top. I’m not even going to try to recreate it at home like I usually attempt as I just want to keep that memory as it is. Perfect. It is usually booked out in advance so book well ahead.

Link: Les Plaisirs Gourmand

Paris

The last travelling leg of this adventure was from Strasbourg to Paris by train. Immediately when we got to Paris, it was magical. I chatted to Emily Gaudichon @thereal_emilyinparis about her Christmas in Paris guide. I also caught up with Emily for a coffee in the Saint-Germain-des-Pres area and she gave me some more tips! There is so much to see in Paris in the week leading up to Christmas.

If going to Paris at Christmas, make a list of the top things you want to see and group them into geographical areas. Then leave extra time between each thing you’ve planned to visit, as the amount of tourists in Paris during this time is incredible. Especially in the more touristy places like Galeries Lafayette and Printemps or on the Champs Elysee, Place Vendome or Rue Cambon where you’ll find the Dior and Chanel Chrissy decorations. The lights and the decorated windows are amazing in all those places and so worth seeing. The whole ambiance in is electric. Then there are the uber touristy and popular cafes like Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore which I normally adore, but during this period they are crazy busy too with a queue out the front of lots of “Emily in Paris” fashionistas ready to take selfies. I found stepping back into the side streets to the lesser well known spots gave a more authentic Parisian Noël experience. Paris is decorated in almost every street. There is beauty and magic around every corner. Every moment, even though it was cold enough to freeze the pond in the Jardin de Luxembourg, was an absolute delight.

The post The delights of a French Noël roadtrip! appeared first on Loulabelle’s FrancoFiles.

Living in and renovating an historic property is not for everyone, but luckily for the rest of us, there are brave and adventurous people like Julia who are willing to live a life dedicated to restoring these châteaux that feed the souls of the rest of us Francophiles. I firmly believe that without people willing to take that leap and take on a life of non-stop hard labour, the historic buildings of France may in 50, 100 or maybe 200 years be a pile of ruins. It seems that in some local communities there aren’t the people willing or with the funds to get the required work completed. I don’t have the capacity to go to France and restore a château myself, but I’m very happy to go there and enjoy the work of people like Julia! So to tip to support her work is reasonable I think.

Details for Julia’s Go Fund Me to repair her roof is down below…

Your own Château Mas de Pradié experience

Julia has tours in which guests can visit the local area, cook with a local chef and spend much time in her Mas de Pradié. In 2024 she also has some musical concerts and other fun afternoon events to enjoy her magical place. Julia also has an amazing events barn for weddings or big celebrations.

Julia’s links

Help save Julia’s 300 year old roof in France – Go Fund Me

Instagram – Escape to the Château Mas De Pradié

Instagram – The Château Sisters

Website – Mas de Pradié

Musique & Recette coming soon xx

The post Escape to the Château, restoring the historic magic of France. appeared first on Loulabelle’s FrancoFiles.

Molly is so down to earth, patient and accessible. Perfect attributes    for a teacher! She has a fabulous cooking space in Versailles which is where all the magic happens online, but also in person for anyone heading to Versailles.

Recently there is another exciting project that Molly is now sharing with us all. Molly has collaborated with author Mandie Davis and illustrator Pete Williamson and the result is a kids’ book that is bright, colourful and fun, as it tells the story of Molly in Versailles! As well as having some of Molly’s recipes in the book, it is a way to open up iconic places like Versailles to children. Often the story of historic places can be a bit dry and fact heavy, but this gets kids interested in history by making it fun and accessible.

Molly’s links

Website mollyjwilk.com

Instagram @mollyjwilk

Molly’s linktree

Molly of Versailles – Let them eat cake!

Molly’s Cookbook/Book info

Molly’s Wall Calendar/Merch

Recettes

Chocolate Coffee Financier

Multi Layer French Apple Tart

The post Molly of Versailles, “Let them eat cake! appeared first on Loulabelle’s FrancoFiles.

In her 20s Rach moved to France for a couple of years to study theatre. She describes her time in Paris back then as being on the precipice of the next phase of her life. It is often a stage for many of us where we’re about to be what I like to call “full-blown adults”. Then last year Rach returned to Paris after the world started to open up post-Covid. Her book gives us an insight into her world and the manner in which Paris has impacted her as a mini-adult in 2004 and then again in 2022. Her experiences resonated with me and brought to the fore my own memories of Paris as I was reading.  I’ve often talked about feeling a homesickness for France even though I’ve never lived there. Rach has now finally put a word to that for me: hiraeth, which is a Welsh word which has no direct translation, but it describes a longing, homesickness, yearning and nostalgia for a place. That describes my relationship with France when I am in Australia perfectly!

Rach and I lamented the changes to Paris with globalisation taking hold in France as it does everywhere, but it was wonderful to share with her the things that we were thrilled to see stay the same. Whilst some of the older, authentic, quintessentially French parts of Paris now seem a bit more polished and sparklier, the joie de vivre experienced by visiting France or even chatting about it, remains. As Rachael says, somehow in Paris they manage to take what is ordinary and make it extraordinary… take the simple and turn it into something breathtaking.

Rachael grew up in Sydney with a childhood that couldn’t be further from a Parisian life, but she mentioned when she was aged 5 that she wanted to go to Paris one day. Her family couldn’t understand why. Perhaps some French lessons that took place at her pre-school may have influenced her. Whatever it was, something woke up in her and on her first trip she felt so connected to Paris and France. Reading Rachael’s book and chatting to her took me straight back and connected me to Paris again too.

Rachael’s links

Buy Paris for Beginners

Rachael Coopes website

Rachael Coopes Instagram

Recette

Tarte Tatin

Musique

Camille – Le Fil (album)

The post Paris for Beginners appeared first on Loulabelle’s FrancoFiles.

For more information on how to join me for a stay at Château du Jonquay including dates, detailed itinerary, prices and inclusions, contact Jane Hiscock: janehiscock@chateaudujonquay.com

(scroll to the bottom of the Château du Jonquay homepage for Jane’s direct email link)

If this sounds like what you need, don’t delay, as stays in Jane’s Château du Jonquay have previously sold out in no time!

The post Come and stay with me in Jane’s Normandy Retreat 🤍 appeared first on Loulabelle’s FrancoFiles.

Earlier this year I nicked off to France for almost 2 months! In the last couple of weeks, I had some gorgeous girlfriends meet me for a stay in Lyon and the country Burgundy region between Lyon and Dijon. Karen Grooby chatted to me on the podcast about the glorious 10 days we spent with friends who have travelled together with me in France a number of times before.

We stayed in Lyon in a big apartment which I found on Airbnb. It was right opposite the botanical gardens in Lyon and in the middle of a number of transport options, not far from anything we wanted to see. Lyon is a big city, but in area it’s not that large compared to what we’re used to in Australia, so everything felt kind of close.

We took a guided tour of the Traboules which are secret covered passageways that wind their way through buildings and courtyards, going up and down staircases and every Traboule is different. Each has a unique pastel colour, a particular curve or spiral staircase, some have divine vaulted ceilings or Renaissance arches. They were used hundreds of years ago for the silk trade which was in Lyon, to carry their wares between and within buildings down to the river and more recently last century they were used extensively by the French Resistance during WW2 to travel around the city undetected by the Nazis who occupied Lyon at that time. I found that visiting them really helps us in this modern day to feel connected to Lyon’s hidden and colourful past.

I downloaded the Traboule app which I used to explore the Traboules in a previous trip I made to Lyon last year, but out of around 400 Traboules, just over 40 are open to the public. As they are difficult to find, I do recommend getting a guide to show you through them. We did a private tour with just us girls and a guide and she was able to tell us stories of events that had happened in each of the places which was fascinating to hear whilst we were standing in the actual spot that the events had occurred. Each Traboule is marked on the outside with a small identifying plaque.

Whilst you’re in the old part of Vieux Lyon where most of the Traboules are, you can stop in for a bite in a Bouchon which is a traditional style of restaurant in Lyon. Bouchon is the French word for a cork but also for a traffic jam! It’s actually used for any type of stoppage, so these little traditional restaurants were like inns that were a stop for travellers on the road and they serve particular traditional Lyonnais cuisine which is exquisite! I recommend not eating at all before you go as the meals are mostly around 5 courses and extremely filling!

We had so many food experiences in Lyon, as it is now known as the gastronomical capital of France. Les Halles de Paul Bocuse is a market and restaurant not to be missed! We also ate in a Michelin starred restaurant, M Restaurant, we did a cheese workshop with the fabulous Hugo who is a Lyon cheese specialist, we even had a picnic in the botanical gardens with the beautiful produce we bought at the Paul Bocuse market.

With all the eating there’s thankfully loads of walking to do in Lyon too to walk off all the food! The cathedral in the old town as well as the Basilica de Notre-Dame Fourvière are up on top of the hill looking out over all of Lyon. You can walk there but there’s also amazing public transport, with a funicular which goes through the mountain to the top. There’s more history to explore at the top too, with an ancient Roman ruins, which even prior to the Romans was the gathering site of all the tribes that were in what is now modern day France.

Before leaving Lyon we went on a cruise of the river as Lyon is actually situated on the spot where the Rhone and the Saone rivers meet. It was quite amazing to see it from the perspective of the river rather than the crowded little streets.

Burgundy

After 5 days in Lyon we took off to the country. We hired a people mover to fit us all in and we made the trek through the winding little country roads to Cuisery in Burgundy, about half way between Lyon and Dijon.

We stayed in a beautiful petit chateau which I found on Stayz. The owner who lives there met us and took us through the house which was a huge maison with a pool and various wings to enjoy, which gave everyone enough space to unwind and spread out as well as some divinely decorated shared spaces. But the outside of the house with the vines covering it and the exquisite gardens around it, it was like we’d gone to some sort of heaven! I was often just wandering around the house or gardens with camera in hand just daydreaming about what it would be like to live there and imagining all that had happened there in times gone by. It was so dreamy and so much more wonderful than the pictures of it online.

We did a number of day trips from there… We visited Château Cormatin, we went to Beaune with the beautiful hospice de Beaune as well as exceptional brocante, and we stopped off at the Abbey de Cluny which was in a village that also had amazing brocante stores.

Whilst in Cuisery we also had a cooking demonstration which finished with us being served a 5 course meal with paired wines in our petit chateau. This was an exceptional experience and was Karen’s favourite of the whole trip.

My fave was on the night we arrived in Burgundy. It was the 21st of June which is the national Fête de la Musique, when villages all over France have music festivals to celebrate the longest day of the year, the summer solstice. We went into the nearest local village and saw bands at a number of stages set up all through the town. There were people singing and dancing in the streets everywhere and it didn’t get dark until close to 11 o’clock, so it was in the lovely evening summer glow with frivolity happening all around us. I just loved that feeling of celebrating with the locals.

Links for all tours mentioned here plus recipes coming soon!

The post Burgundy magic with mes belles amies! 🤍 appeared first on Loulabelle’s FrancoFiles.

One experience that was a highlight of the whole two months was a road trip I had with a gorgeous dear friend of mine Simone. I have spoken of her before on the Loulabelle’s FrancoFiles podcast, because we have travelled in France quite a bit together over the years. Many years ago we even had our kids brought over by Simone’s beautiful octogenarian mum from Australia to France to meet us after a roadtrip back then. That’s a brave grandma to take 4 teenage boys half way around the world on her own!

Anyway, this year Simone said she wanted to come and see some more of France with me. We knew we wanted to discover the southern part of France so we worked out our own itinerary of where to go. We started our adventures in Paris, then the Basque region, then across in an easterly direction to Cahors, Uzès, the Pont-du-Gard, the tiny village of Mollégès (which we used as a base to visit Eygalières, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, L’Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue, Gordes, the Abbey de senanque and Avignon) before heading to the next part of my journey in Lyon.

See down below for links relating to the villages and towns that we found on this amazing experience.

We started our adventure in Paris and headed to the south west to the Basque country. We stayed the Be My Guest Immersions and our host Sarah was absolutely amazing! We visited so many places off the beaten track plus some more touristy but we still saw the less popular side which we loved. Notable was Saint-Jean-de-Luz which I have been to and stayed at a number of times. We loved it especially for the fabulous Basque food and the shopping!

From here we headed east on our road trip. We had the starting point decided for us for our first night. My Uncle Carl and his best mate Paul had been walking the Chemin de Compostelle, the French part of the Camino trail. They happened to be finishing their epic walk on the first night of our road trip so we stayed at the same hotel and had dinner to celebrate their achievement with them. Simone and I would never had considered going to Cahors had it not been for my Uncle Carl being there and using the place as a venue really for a catch up with my uncle and his dear friend and a one night pit stop on route to Provence, we didn’t even consider that it might be somewhere we’d like to spend more time in. Let me tell you! Cahors is divine! It is absolutely going on the list for a return visit. The best thing was the view from the hotel as we were right on the river next to a 12thcentury bridge. We wandered around the town in the morning and loved the quirkiness of it. The smell of summer from the lush trees lining most of the main streets, the historic buildings that were beckoning us to come and explore, but unfortunately we needed to continue on our way and continued our trip in a sort of easterly direction to Uzès.

So after leaving Cahors we returned to the habit I am usually in when driving through France, I set my maps app to “avoid tolls”. This way we drove through some of the most exquisite country side. We saw villages that would never be on a tourist map. We headed to Uzès making our way into town to the main square and had a wonderful meal at one of the restaurants. There were loads there and apparently they’re all good, or so the tourists told me after they’d filled their bellies! We went back to the square the next day to soak it all in again. If you can picture beautiful big stone colonnades with creeper growing over them, a huge fountain in the centre and beautiful trees providing gorgeous shade from the summer heat. Ice cream vendors on the corner, just a slow and exquisite morning spent in the square and then getting lost in the maze of little streets all around. Uzès is definitely one for your list.

From Uzès we drove for about 20 minutes to the Pont-du-Gard which is an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge built in the first century AD to carry water over 50 km to the Roman colony of Nemausus which is modern day Nîmes. Simone and I got a little lost finding it and came across a tiny and exquisite village nearby. There is absolutely no where that is not delightful in this area. So the Pont-du-Gard crosses the river Gardon near the town of Vers-Pont-du-Gard. It’s the tallest of all Roman aqueduct bridges, as well as one of the best preserved. It’s actually now on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites because of its exceptional preservation, its historical importance, and incredible architecture with its three tiers of arches. There were massive amounts of tourists there on buses but it didn’t feel crowded at all. We had the space and time to wander about, with me getting to hug a tree that has been growing since the year 908. It rightly makes one feel very small when in the presence of a tree that has lived through so much. I so hope that it goes on living for a long time to come.

A massive storm came rolling in whilst we were here so after a quick glace – a sorbet, we were on our way to Mollégès. We drove through what the locals told us was a once in 100 years down pour! At times the water flooding the road came up to the doors and we had to find higher ground for a while but eventually we made it to our most divine accommodation in Mollégès. It was exactly what one pictures when we think of the white washed walls of a Provençal house with stone flooring and thick walls to keep cool in the summer heat. Simone and I agreed we wanted to pack up this house and take it home to Australia. We could have stayed there for months! It was the perfect place to explore the part of Provence south of Avignon, across to the Luberon.

We had a list of things we both wanted to see. I wanted to explore a local market or two and I had never been to Saint-Remy-de-Provence. Simone is the best travel companion ever as she is always agreeable to anything I want to see too! She really only had one request to see L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue where I have stayed previously with Paul and loved it, so I was more than happy to return with my friend. We checked the info that our house owner had left for us regarding market days and particular recommendations for dinner, and drove out each day with a loose itinerary, but with enough time in the day to discover new experiences and immerse ourselves in anything wonderful we happened to stumble across. We explored the beautiful streets of Saint-Remy on market day, we found more markets and restaurants to die for in Eygalières, we drooled over the brocante and sat by the canal in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue sipping G&Ts (not very French I know but they were gorgeously cold in the heat), we had coffee gazing out across the cliffs from a café in Gordes, we saw monks and lavender in the Abbey de Sénanque, and waited for an extra hour to get out of the car park due to a bus that had got itself in a pickle and we couldn’t get past, but what a gorgeous view of the lavender fields while we waited! And finally we left our little haven in Mollégès to visit the Palais de Papes in Avignon. The Palace of the Popes is about 800 years old and was the summer residence of the Pope for some centuries. Suffice to say it has earned its status as a Unesco World Heritage site and is worth a visit.

On leaving Avignon we had a bit of a drive north to Lyon and decided to break up the tip with a one night stop. Again we took the road less travelled and found a village along the way as we were about to cross yet another picturesque river and bridge. It turned out to be another village I wanted to buy a house in, which it seems happens everywhere for me in France. The village Viviers was just an ordinary little village on a river like so many others. But when we got there we were definitely ready for dinner. We saw the locals all out having apéro together but nothing was ready for dinner being only 6 o’clock-ish. It was a gorgeous night so we found a restaurant (there were only about 3 in the village) and settled in for a glass of wine until it opened. There was a huge dog who lived at the restaurant and became my new best friend, plus a meal of Cuisses de Grenouilles to keep me happy. The people were chatty and patient with us, the food and ambiance was almost intoxicating in the late warmth of a hot summer day with the light changing. After dinner we took a walk along the river to find locals enjoying their picnic supper with laughing and frivolity everywhere! We finished up our roadtrip in Lyon where Simone and I met up with a group of girlfriends to continue our adventure.

So a few important learnings from this roadtrip:

1. Avoid the toll roads as I said earlier.

2. Don’t over plan! Have the things you definitely don’t want to miss, then keep your schedule open for things suggested by locals, or just anything that might pop up during your day.

3. Take cash for petrol and tolls in case your international cards don’t work. The regional petrol stations off the toll roads are almost never manned and are automated only. Petrol stations on the toll roads are usually fine for purchases as for other stores in France with staff in attendance.

4. Have coins for parking. Simone noted how clever the French are for having the same type of parking meters everywhere we went! We worked out how to use it on the first time parking and after a few towns we were explaining it to others like we were the local experts!

If you have any recommendations for holidaying in France, drop me a line to bonjour@loulabellesfrancofiles.com or connect via the contact section on this website and let me know your best travel tips!

Villages pour ces vacances

Basque region

Saint-Jean-de-Luz

Cahors

Uzès

Pont-du-Gard

Mollégès (which we used as a base)

Eygalières

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

L’Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue

Gordes

Abbey de Sénanque

Avignon

Recette 

Cuisse de Grenouille

Musique

Aime-moi, Ariane Brunet

This song is in the Loulabelle’s FrancoFiles Fabulous Frenchy Spotify Playlist with a link at the top of this page.

(A great driving song. I adored singing along to this as I drove around France. Carefree days, great driving beat, it evokes memories later on of beautiful vacances.)

The post Simone et Louise! A girls’ roadtrip to Provence! appeared first on Loulabelle’s FrancoFiles.

Emily’s book The Parisian ABCs is illustrated by Sarah Vesperini and she describes it as a tongue in cheek look at why we love the French, celebrating cliches from A to Z with witty one liners to delight children and adults alike. Emily has a few favourite pages like “G is for grève” which means to go on strike, very common in France!

I loved chatting to her about her favourite parts of the book and getting a little insight into what life with kids is like in Paris. As Emily told me in France they have a different parenting style. In Australia the family’s world revolves around the kids. In France the kids fit in more with the parents! But still there are gorgeous regular (and sometimes wonderfully quirky) French cultural norms for kids, such as little nursery rhymes. Emily told me all about what a perfect French day would look like for her kids which apart from scootering through the Louvre it all sounded like wonderful fun to me! (Actually, scootering through the Louvre would be fun too, if not likely against the rules!)

I’m looking forward to my copy of Emily’s new book arriving in the post so I can pore over every page and drift off to Paris momentarily. I highly recommend grabbing a copy so you can do the same!

Emily’s links

Instagram – @thereal_emilyinparis

Website – The Real Emily in Paris

To buy The Parisian ABCs:

Australia – Ma Petite Librairie

Abbeys Foreign Language Bookstore Sydney

USA – French Wink

France and rest of world – Emily’s online shop

In Paris The Parisian ABCs is also available in store at Red Wheelbarrow (both locations), Landline, La Cuisine, Galignani and will be in Merci and Le Bon Marche by Christmas

The post The Parisian ABCs appeared first on Loulabelle’s FrancoFiles.

In my chat with Noria she talked about something she has not mentioned publicly before, her battle with breast cancer. Through the Melbourne lockdowns she was quietly and in isolation battling this demon. Amazingly though, after each time she performed, Noria’s doctors would exclaim how strong and well she appeared. Sharing music can be a truly a transforming and emotional journey.

B the end of our chat, I felt I had found a new “old” friend in Noria. She loves art, architecture, history and her fave food is a chaussons aux pomme! Just like me! How could she not be one of my besties now!

Noria’s upcoming gigs

(all in Melbourne)

November 4 2023 @ The Paris Cat Jazz Club

November 8 2023 @ Le Bar Supper Club, Beaumaris

February 29 2024 @ Bird’s Basement (Piaf show)

Recette

Salade de chevre chaud

Chaussons aux pomme

Musique

Zaz – Je Veux

Camille Bertault – Nouvelle York

Other details from our chat

Vacation on a péniche through Burgundy

The post The healing power of French music for chanteuse Noria Letts appeared first on Loulabelle’s FrancoFiles.

After developing various properties in the UK, interior designer Julie Berry (aka Jules) decided to take up a challenge of renovating a château in France. She settled on the Cognac area and started a search which resulted in the wonderful find of the château she calls home today. No 3 The Château is surrounded on all sides with miles of cognac vines, and walking distance to the village complete with boulangerie. Even though it was in a state of disrepair, Jules could sense the potential and could see the light-filled rooms with huge windows being a beautiful place to both retreat and be calm as well as come together and celebrate.

Initially Jules made plans for all the possibilities she could imagine and had builders working full time for around 5 years. She would commute back and forth from the UK and worked tirelessly to create the exquisite spaces she now enjoys with guests. There are still more buildings in the grounds which could be developed, but for now Jules is loving the enjoyment of what they have achieved. To me it seems like it would be an idyllic spot to fill a FrancoFiler soul.

I asked Jules for her fave space which she has created there at No 3 The Château and her answer resonated with me completely! Not the huge salon or the old-style features of the bedrooms, but for Jules it is her latest project of a huge walk-in-pantry that floats her boat! I love nothing better than a space that hides the mess in an organised way with perfect labels and appliances out for use.

There have been some terrific finds in the château. Jules has repurposed an old child’s bed to create a “throne toilet” and has used the timber from the old cognac distillery in the decorating of various areas. The huge dis-used distillery has spaces they have converted into toilets for wedding guests, with more planned for use for storage and for wedding purposes.

A recommendation from Jules which I will definitely use in the future, is the program Explore Cognac. This website highlights a number of experiences that tourists can uncover in the Cognac region. There are activities such as jewelry making, bike riding, barrel making, just loads of ways to discover all there is to do in Cognac. No 3 The Chateau has 2 experiences on the site, one for bread making in their old bread oven and another to host a dinner for 12 in the château dining room with a Michelin Starred chef!

I have chatted before on the Loulabelle’s FrancoFiles podcast to Ingrid from The Château Bee, a site which showcases châteaux across France which are available for weddings. No 3 The Château is one of the highlighted châteaux on this site and is booked out for a couple of years in advance! So if you’re considering planning a wedding in France, get cracking! Booking a long way in advance is going to be a must!

Jules Berry’s links

No 3 The Château

Restore the Château on Instagram

No 3 The Château on The Château Bee

Explore Cognac

Recette

French raw oysters and pork sausage

Musique

Sacha Distel – La Belle Vie

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