Chateau de Vault de Lugney - another Gem - this time in Burgundy

Last May I spent an amazing week in Bordeaux (which will happen again in May 2017) tasting and drinking some of the most incredible wines in extraordinarily beautiful châteaux, including Château Margaux and Châteaux d'Yquem.

This last week we headed off to Burgundy and Sancerre and spent a heavenly night in the Château de Vault de Lugney, just outside of Avallon.

The Châteaux was built between the 13th and 16th centuries and is a peaceful and very romantic property. 

The Chef, Franco Bowanee, and his staff are from the Ile de Maurice (Mauritius Island) and their food is French with island spices and overtones. 

We had the tasting menu and were delighted with the creme brulée with foie gras and the pastry chef's (the chef's wife) version of a St.Honore.

We drank a very complex and delicious Chablis from Domaine Testut and a local red from Vezelay.

The cooking class the next morning was on vegetables freshly picked from the Château's garden. There was a truffle risotto with truffles gathered by the owner's daughter Julie.

   

We hopped over to Sancerre where our lodging was not remarkable but our dinner at the restaurant La Tour was especially delicious. The beef with perfectly cooked root vegetables and the dessert, with a pistachio mousse, were the highlights.

And we tasted some fabulous Sancerre wines, notably the 2015, Domaine Vacheron and the 2015 Domaine Merlin Cherrier.

Many Magical Moments in La Vendée

Recently seven of us from the Kent Place School class of 1968 celebrated 50 years of friendship together in a private château in La Vendée, an amazingly beautiful and historic region of France, not well known even to the French.

One classmate gave each of us a scarf which was either gold or green depending on which team we were on at school and we reminisced and celebrated life in fine style over Champagne every evening in "our Château," La Bijoire.

Everyday we were out exploring the region including the charming port of Les Sables-d'Olonne with its exquisite mosaics and La Rochelle, an important centre of fishing and trade since the 12th century.

We spent a full day at the J. Mourat Winery where we visited the vines in a jeep and saw the historical windmill, the winery and ended with a tasting of their white, rose, and red wines followed by a delicious lunch.

We spent two days with Chef Lionel Guilbaud, formerly the head chef at the Plaza Athénée in Paris. We enjoyed a lunch at his restaurant in La Roche-sur-Yon and he came to the Château for a cooking class dinner with recipes he had created just for us.

Noix de St. Jacques Façon Compostelle (Sea Scallops in the footsteps of Santiago de Compostela)

Our final day was beyond amazing! We spent the day with Alain Durante and Marc Barbaud at the Logis de Chaligny, a Château from the 16th century lovingly restored by Alain over the past 25 years. Alain and Marc have recreated the gardens as they were in the 19th century according to drawings found in the town hall. The highpoints of our day with Alain and Marc were our lunch (cooked by them) in their dining room and a flower arranging class with Marc where we each made our own bouquet and adorned our dining room table at home for our last dinner of fruits de mer.

If this sounds like heaven, let me know and I will create a trip to La Vendée for you too!

Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité!

We were enjoying a wine tasting and dinner last Friday night in Paris when, all of a sudden, there were sirens everywhere on the street.  We turned on the internet and were shocked to learn that there had been multiple terrorist attacks at at least 6 different locations in Paris with more than 100 dead and more than 300 injured.  ISIS claimed responsibility for murdering, in cold blood, mainly young people out and about on a Friday evening, which is horrific beyond belief.

Paris had a curfew over the weekend with all the museums and public buildings closed and dark but, nonetheless, people gathered in the square at Republique to honor the dead and wounded with flowers and candles.

We learned that Arnaud Meersseman, the son of a man we know on Martha's Vineyard, was shot at the concert hall, Bataclan, and is currently in a coma.  So, we decided to light a candle for him on Sunday.

There was a real spirit of fraternité around the square with many signs reading. "meme pas peur" (not afraid) and "we must overcome" etc.

On Monday night the Eiffel Tower & Palais-Royal were ablaze again with the Blue, White & Red of the French Flag!

And, while people continue to be cautious and careful, Paris, once again the city of light, will carry on with resilience.

President Hollande has said..

"We will not put life & culture on hold!"

AND, Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, said ...

"We are standing firm AND will remain ourselves!"

A Voyage in the Vendée at the Château de la Bijoire

Recently I had the pleasure of spending several days in La Vendée (a department in west-central France, on the Atlantic Ocean) with our dear friends, Catherine and Hugues de Bretagne.  I stayed at the Château de la Bijoire which has been in Hugues' family since it was built in the mid-19th century.

For the past 2 years Hugues de Bretagne, a prominent Parisian architect, has been meticulously restoring his family Château which now has 12 bedrooms each with a new "American bathroom".

The entrance hall welcomes you into the dining room with seats 18 people, off of a new modern kitchen, perfect for preparing festive meals or having cooking classes.  The smaller of the two drawing rooms has some magnificent tapestries.  And, there is now also a swimming pool and an art studio, where Catherine de Bretagne, a Parisian painter and teacher from Les Beaux Arts, gives weeklong painting classes.

You may wonder why I am giving you so much information about the Château de la Bijoire?  It is because they are now planning to rent their château by the week to carefully selected families and friends for birthdays, anniversaries, and family reunions.  And I have offered to help them find some American families who might want to celebrate together in France.













The region of La Vendée is only several hours from Paris by train and there is a great deal to do in the area.  The Atlantic Ocean is a mere 15 minutes away.  The charming port of Les Sables d'Olenne has  a wonderful spa and many fabulous restaurants including Fleurs de Thym, which you can read about in my previous blog.  There is a terrific winery, J. Mourat, nearby and private castles which can be visited.  Cooking, art, & flower arranging classes can be organized at Château de la Bijoire.  And, if you want a true "French" vacation, a private chef can prepare all of your meals at "home".

So let me know if I can help you plan the family party of your lifetime!

Les Fleurs de Thym ( flowers of thyme)

I recently had a fabulous lunch at a portside restaurant in Les Sables-d'Olonne.  Fleurs de Thym, www.fleursdethym.fr .  The port is on the Atlantic ocean in La Vendée, not far from La Rochelle.

The cuisine is delicious, inventive and VERY reasonable.  There are 3 menus(ranging from 16-28 euros), each with an appetizer, main course & dessert.

Every dish was superb and beautifully presented.  But, the Filet de Thon mi-cut, sauce bourride au safron(lightly cooked tuna with a saffron bourride sauce) and the Gâteau Pistache(pistachio cake) with raspberry sauce were truly outstanding!

It's a day trip from Paris so go for lunch!

Beautiful, Bountiful Bruges

Last week we visited Bruges which is truly a Belgian bijou (jewel)!  Bruges is an unspoiled medieval town which in it's heyday, between the 14th & 16th centuries, was one of the most sophisticated, wealthy, and beautiful cities in Europe.  We explored every corner on foot, in a horse drawn carriage and by boat on the canal.

We stayed in the center of town at the Speelmansrei, Bed & Breakfast which is another gem that I would highly recommend.  It is a 15th century house which was recently renovated by the owners.  They rent out only 2 lovely rooms, both with comfortable beds and modern bathrooms and views of their beautiful garden on the canal.  And the breakfasts were generous and delicious!

Speaking of food, we enjoyed the bountiful, seasonal specialities of Belgium at a number different restaurants, (including Den Dyver & Refter), but the highlight was a superb meal at the Michelin starred restaurant, Rock Fort where we feasted on langoustine with a mushroom foam and wild pheasant with cabbage & endive.  If you haven't been to Bruges, I urge you to go!









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Pierre Cardin in Paris

Less than 1 year ago, Italian born designer, Pierre Cardin, at the age of 92 opened his new museum in Paris' Marais neighborhood in a former tie factory.  The museum is named, Passé-Présent-Futur (Past-Present-Future) and offers a comprehensive look at the designer's lengthy and sometimes shocking career.

We had a private tour of the museum with Renée Taponier, who has been Pierre's personal assistant for more than 50 years and saw 200 of Cardin's most memorable haute-couture collections including a metallic mini-dress and elegantly draped evening wear.  The metallic mini-dress was recreated by Cardin(something he almost never does) and worn at Obama's 1st Inaugural Ball!