Author Archives: Keith Van Sickle

A Special Offer from Bonjour Paris

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I’d like to pass along a special offer than might be of interest to you or someone you know.

Bonjour Paris is THE website for all things Paris. It has more than 5,000 articles on restaurants, museums, hotels, history, and more, with new articles every week. I especially like the Bonjour Paris Live lectures and tours of lesser-known corners of Paris.

Bonjour Paris is currently offering a “Friends and Family” subscription discount, and as one of their writers I get to pass it along to you. Here you go!

https://bonjourparis.com/friendsandfamily/

Happy Holidays and Joyeux Fêtes!

Easy Gluten-Free Shopping in France

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If you are considering a trip to France but are gluten-intolerant, or are traveling with someone who is, fear not! France isn’t hard to navigate—I have celiac disease and live in Provence part of the year. Let me tell you what I’ve learned.

I’ve previously written about gluten-free (GF) dining in France, now I’ll tell you what it’s like to shop here. Many of the products you’ll find in grocery stores are similar in quality to those found in American grocery stores, while others are frankly better.

One of my favorites is the roll-out crusts you can get in many grocery stores. You roll them out, put on your topping (Val makes awesome tarts), and bake. And they have gluten-free versions! I wish they would export those.

Read all about it in Frenchly!

Prehistoric Cave Paintings in Marseille

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In 1991, Henri Cosquer made a remarkable discovery: he found a grotto filled with prehistoric paintings. Even more remarkable is that the cave is only accessible via an underwater passageway.

Cosquer was a professional diver, leading underwater tours near Marseille. He also dove for pleasure, exploring the nooks and crannies of the rugged coastline.

One day, Cosquer noticed a narrow underwater passageway. Intrigued, he followed it and found himself in a labyrinth of tunnels going here and there. Over multiple dives, he followed these tunnels until, one day, he surfaced inside a cave filled with prehistoric paintings.

This has now been recreated so you can visit it (no swimming required, thankfully.) The French are brilliant at this, having previously recreated the caves at Lascaux and Chauvet. It’s a must-see sight in Marseille, and is an easy walk from the Old Port area.

Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!

Part-Time Living Abroad

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Have you ever dreamed of living abroad, sipping a glass of wine in a charming café, or maybe on a sandy beach?

It sounds appealing, but it’s hard to pick up stakes and move to a foreign land. Who wants to leave their friends and family behind? And what about doctors and dentists and all that?

One way to have the best of both worlds is to live abroad just part of the time, becoming a part-time expat. That’s what Val and I do, and recently International Living Magazine convened a panel of part-time expats to discuss their experiences.

I was honored to be one of the panelists, along with others who make their overseas homes in Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica. If you’d like to hear what we had to say, just follow this link.

Happy dreaming!

8 Books for Francophiles to Lose Themselves In

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A good book on your bedside table can offer refuge like none other. Whether you need to unwind for 30 minutes while your baby naps; you need to dream someone else’s dreams before bed; or you wake in the middle of the night and need to while away the wee hours; here are eight books you can lean on.

I was one of the Frenchly writers who was asked to contribute their favorites–both old and new–for you to consider for yourself or someone special in your life while colder weather descends.

Read all about it at Frenchly!

The Evolution of a Provençal Artist

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15 years ago, Christian Detaux had finished his long career in the automotive industry and was itching to go back to his first love: art. As a young man, he had planned to pursue a career as an artist, enrolling in the prestigious Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. But then life intervened: he needed to work to support his family, and his artistic dreams were deferred.

But now Detaux could revisit those long ago dreams, and he looked for ways to begin. He liked to work with his hands and wanted to try carving stone, like the classical sculptors. He found a soft material to begin with, aerated concrete, and picked a model that would sit still as long as he needed: one of his shoes. His first try was a success.

From there it was on to harder stone, including the fabled Carrera marble. But Detaux wasn’t content with just stone. He wanted to expand his artistic capabilities, so he moved on to acrylic and then steel, creating larger and larger pieces. A full-sized horse? A 7-foot-tall Don Quixote? Yes!

Read all about this amazing artistic journey in Perfectly Provence!

Secrets of St-Rémy #3: Favorite Wineries

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Val and I live part of the year in St-Rèmy-de-Provence, a charming town between Marseille and Avignon. I’ve written a guidebook about the area, An Insider’s Guide to Provence, where I share some of our favorite things to see and do. Now I’ve put together a series of articles I call Secrets of St-Rémy, based on that book

Provence is a wine lover’s paradise, and wine has been made here for thousands of years. You can get any color you’d like—red, white, or pink—because what’s a French meal without wine?

I love Provence’s wines, especially those from around St-Rémy. After some (ahem) deep research, I’ve made a list of my favorite wineries, all of which have friendly tasting rooms with English-speaking staff. Be sure to drop by one the next time you are in the area!

Read all about them in My French Life!

 

Riad Sattouf and The Arab of the Future

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Graphic novelist Riad Sattouf has lived a fascinating life. Born in 1978 to a French mother and a Syrian father, he spent much of his childhood in Libya and Syria before moving to France for his teenage years.

Sattouf dreamed of becoming a pilot, but his talent as a cartoonist took him in another direction. His first graphic novel (bande dessinée in French, or BD) was published when he was just 21, and he soon joined the staff of the famous French magazine, Charlie Hebdo. But it was his BD, The Arab of the Future, that catapulted him to nationwide fame, making him one of the most successful authors in France today. 

BDs are a big deal in France, much bigger than in the US. They are not comic books, but rather cover a wide range of subjects, from humor to history to politics and more. Remember Persopolis, the Oscar-nominated animated film? That started as a BD that sold more 2 million copies worldwide.

Sattouf’s Arab of the Future is now a series of five BDs, all of which have been translated into English. They are a fascinating look into two sometimes strange societies, including France’s!

Read all about it in Frenchly!

Did Italy Teach France to Cook?

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If you visit Italy and compliment the food, someone will invariably tell you, “Well, we taught the French to cook, you know. They ate like savages before we rescued them.”

The story goes like this:

Catherine de Medici was the daughter of the Duke of Urbino, of the powerful de Medici family of Florence, and in 1533 she was married off to the future king of France.

Florence was then the home of the Renaissance, the beating heart of European culture. The sophisticated Catherine brought with her an entourage which included her talented Italian chefs. Over the course of her long reign as queen, Catherine’s court developed the first haute cuisine in France.

Is it true? I looked into the question and you might enjoy finding out what I learned.

Read all about it in Frenchly!

Secrets of St-Rémy #2: Favorite Places to Eat

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Val and I live part of the year in St-Rèmy-de-Provence, a charming town between Marseille and Avignon. I’ve written a guidebook about the area, An Insider’s Guide to Provence, where I share some of our favorite things to see and do. Now I’ve put together a series of articles I call Secrets of St-Rémy, based on that book.

St-Rémy is full of excellent restaurants and cafés, and Val and I love enjoying their meals, lingering over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. I’ve made a list of our seven top favorites, places we’ve been to many times, from simple cafés to special-occasion restaurants.

Read all about them in My French Life!