When I was visiting Libourne a few months ago, I realized I needed to know more and knew just the person to ask - Jennifer Poe of 'My Bordeaux Tours', who is an experienced local tour guide and American expat living in Bordeaux. She is the blogger behind 'American Mom in Bordeaux' and has worked with multiple river cruise companies offering tours to their clients. Libourne has a lot to offer any visitor from walking along the port, wandering through the old bastide section of town, a lovely fine arts museum and exploring it's variety of stores, cafes and restaurants. Especially on market days, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday mornings - this town is alive and vibrant - not just around the holidays.
Adventures in Truffle Farming – Black Perigord
Truffle Farming came up the other day when a group of us were talking about finding truffle products locally. A friend, Nola D’Enis (culinary guide and writer), was mentioning a local truffle tree farm (truffiere) not to far from us that she had written about it a few years ago called Agri-Truffe. So, I paid them a visit. I had been writing about truffles in Dordogne (the epicenter for France) and decided to go a different route, what if you want to start your own truffle farm? Here are the experiences of three different people who started truffle farms - Alain Fabregues in Australia, Casey Yangeolva in Bularia, and Loic Luzinier in France.
Traveling with Kids in Aquitaine
There are unlimited amounts of things to do with children in this area, from beaches to parks and museums. It's a very family friendly area, with lots of great camping grounds in all price ranges (the French version of a holiday home/camping/vacation park). Most larger French towns have a beautiful old carousel which kids adore, good parks and public pools.
Train Travel in France During Covid by The Petit Guide
Over the summer, travel restrictions were lifted in Europe, and after months in a tiny city apartment, my family craved fresh air and nature. Our summer plans initially included an epic vacation in Africa… we held out hope until a few months before departure when it became clear CoVid-19 was not going away anytime soon. After a short mourning period, we jumped into action – what trip would get us out of the city, without much risk of losing money to cancelations or spreading germs? After much debate – we settled on a circuit between France and Switzerland, exclusively by train. This seemed like both the safest health wise (unless you can travel by car), and the least risky financially.
The Landes in Aquitaine, France
The start of the visit takes place on an old train that passes through the pines into a small village where 'resiniers' cut the sides of pines to collect sap (gammage) and shepherds (bergers) on their stilts (tchangues) would have lived with their flocks of sheep...
Flying During Covid
France notified Americans coming to France need to have a 72 hour covid test. I want to just say how HARD it was to find a place to get tested (I got tested about a week after arriving to make sure I didn't catch something on the plane)
Chefs – Camille of L’Huitrier Pie in Saint Emilion
The incredibly talented Camille Brouillard of L'Huitrier Pie in Saint Emilion (shown with her equally talented partner Soufiane Assarrar). Together, they create finely detailed, precise dishes which perfectly showcase their love of local, seasonal produce. A must try when in the region. Interview is in French but can be changed on website with the google translate option.
Where to Find Solitude in Gironde
There are so many great natural locations in Sud-Gironde, like the Lake at Hostens or the Atlantic Beaches, but what if you want something away from crowds?
Saints de Glace
The temperature dropped considerably last weekend and only since Thursday, it is going slowly up, back to the usual for this time of the year.
It is no surprise for the French, we just left behind the ‘Ice Saints’!
Organic, Local or Seasonal?
The produce stand can be a challenge in supermarkets, everything is available nearly all of the time...and it maybe even says 'organic', which is a great idea. In France, if you are buying in your local market you'll find the best selection of local and seasonal produce but it may not be organic. So what is better for you? Which is better for the environment?