Lens, a small town in northern France, boasts a football stadium with a capacity larger than its population, but doesn't have a movie theater. A former mining strong hold, its main touristic and cultural attractions used to be world war I cemeteries and Europe's tallest slag heaps (known by their formal French name of base et terrils jumeaux du 11/19.) That all changed in 2012. That year, one of the world's most famous museums, the Louvre, opened an outpost in Lens, attracting some 900,000 visitors its first year of operation. While that's barely anything compared to the 8 million visitors that go through the Parisian museum each year, that's still very impressive. Lens is easily ...
France
French Movies at the 2014 AFI-EU Film Showcase
The 2014 AFI-EU Film Showcase opens today at AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland. Presented by the American Film Institute (AFI) in collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union to the United States and EU Member States, the festival showcases the best in current European filmmaking and this year's selection includes more than 50 films shown throughout the month of December (the 27th edition of the festival runs from December 3-21, 2014.) French and French-language films are well represented, as always: The Dardenne brothers' "Two days, one night" (showing Fri, Dec 12, 7:30 and Sun, Dec 14, 3:40), Belgium's official selection for the Oscars Girlhood (Thu, Dec 4, ...
A Taste of South of France: Pissaladière
I've been looking to the food of South of France lately in my attempt to prolong summer as much as possible. In particular, I've recently rediscovered a dish I used to love: the pissaladière. Pissaladière is a classic dish from Nice. It's basically Southern France's answer to pizza. One of the key ingredients in pissaladière, anchovies, are unfortunately not the most popular in the United States. But I personally love the intense flavours and saltiness of the pissaladière and it's actually very easy to make at home. Only a few ingredients are needed to make a pissaladière: Caramelized onions (use 2-3 sliced yellow onions) Niçoise olives (use other black, preferably oil-cured olives if ...
A Taste of Provence: Miraval Rosé
Looking for a good rosé to sip this summer? Here are a few words I thought I'd never say: try Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's Château Miraval Cotes de Provence rosé. Last year, the famous pair released the first vintage of rosé from their South of France estate (read more about the Château here), made in partnership with the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel. The wine comes from a blend of Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah and Rolle. And it's pretty good. Clearly, Brad and Angelina bought a good vineyard ;-) The rosé is light pale pink and has a lovely floral nose. It retails between $18 to $22 (I found my bottle at Whole Foods), which is a little pricey for this type of rosé. You can ...
Wine Tour de France: Discover the Pays d’Oc IGP
The 2014 Tour de France is making its way through the Languedoc-Roussillon this weekend. That part of the country, which encompasses the Mediterranean coastline stretching from the rugged Pyrenees mountains to Provence, happens to be one of the largest wine producing region in France. Soil types and terroir vary widely throughout the Pays d’Oc IGP and winemakers there have more than 56 grape varieties to play with, so this enormous wine region produces very diverse wines. I don't follow the Tour de France as religiously as I do the World Cup (though to be fair, if the Tour de France happened only once every 4 years, maybe I would...) but I do like my wine, and in the summer I especially ...
10 Paris Instagrammers You Should Follow
I follow all sorts of people on instagrams. My friends, of course. Foodies. Travelers. Cat owners. Even a few politicians (bonus when they post #FridayKitty pics every week!) But I have a soft spot for people instagramming from my hometown. Here are some of my favourite Paris-based snappers right now: In addition to having a pretty dreamy job in PR for Ladurée, Delphine also runs Goût'd Food, a lovely French food blog with an accompanying instagram feed GOUTDFOOD that's as sweet as you'd expect. DESSERTED IN PARIS is the instagram account of Taj Spiegel, a graphic designer and pâtissier with a passion for shoes and pastries. Follow him for snapshots of gorgeous-looking desserts ...
Longchamp Store Coming to CityCenterDC
Hot on the heels of the announcement that Chef Daniel Boulud is planning to open a DBGB restaurant at CityCenterDC comes another great (French) news for downtown D.C.: Longchamp is also planning to set up shop at CityCenterDC. Awesome news... well, perhaps not for my wallet. Which, actually, happens to be a Longchamp wallet. What I love about Longchamp is that it is still owned and managed by the Cassegrain family who founded it in Paris back in 1948. Oh, and I love their signature Pliage bags of course... but did you know Longchamp initially started as a leather goods' company, selling leather-covered items for smokers then leather wallets and pouches? Now you do ;-) And I love that they ...
Guest Post ~ Welcoming Francois Hollande to the White House by Kaylé
Yesterday was an excellent day to be a Francophile or Francophone in D.C.! Being born in Louisiana (in Lafayette, the coeur of Acadiana at that), French culture has been a constant love in my life. I studied French in middle school, high school, and university and found my way to Bordeaux for my studies. There, I fell deeper in love with the country, flaws and all. When I graduated, I applied for the French Ministry of Education’s Teaching Assistantship Program and found myself living in the petite town of Les Sables-d’Olonne. When I got back stateside, I never thought that my hobbies of tweeting and such would enable me to see an official Arrival Ceremony at the White House, let alone ...
French State Dinner: 1996 versus 2014 menu
So the last time a French president was honoured with a State Dinner was back in 1996 at the invitation of Bill and Hillary Clinton. Here is what the menu looked like 18 years ago: Lemon Thyme Lobster with Roasted Eggplant Soup Rack of Lamb with Winter Fruit and Pecans Sweet potato puree, root vegetables Tarragon Huckleberry Sauce Layered Artichoke, Leek and Herbed Cheese with Green and Endives, Balsamic Dressing Apple and Cherry Sherbet Pyramid with Apple Brandy Sauce Peanut Butter Truffles, White Almond Bark Chocolate Fudge The wines paired with the dinner were all from California: Beringer Viognier 1994 (CA) Zaca Mesa Syrah 1993 (CA) Roderer Estates, l'Hermitage 1990 (CA) The highlight of ...
Benetton Loves Paris
Not invited to the State Dinner but still want to a little something French to do on February 11? Head to Benetton in Georgetown. The Italian apparel maker will toast the arrival of its new Spring 2014 collection with a sparkling glass of (Italian) Prosecco. What's the tie in to France you ask? Well, Benetton went to Paris to shoot its new collection, filled with chic basics, cool separates and effortless style. ...