L'Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home
At last count, there were 507 inhabitants of Eugénie les Bains, and I suspect that a high proportion of them work in one way or another to attend to the well-being of visitors in search of internal improvement. This has officially been a healthy spot since 1843, when a license was granted to exploit the waters. And there the village might have rema
... See morePeter Mayle • French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew (Vintage Departures)
Life has not accelerated, but still dawdles along keeping time with the seasons. The markets still sell real food that has escaped the modern passion for sterilizing and shrink-wrapping. The countryside is still wild, and unscarred by golf courses, theme parks, or condominium colonies. It is still possible to listen to silence. Unlike so many other
... See morePeter Mayle • Encore Provence: New Adventures in the South of France (Vintage Departures)
Where else would people get worked up about salt? To the rest of the world, salt is a necessary but anonymous part of the diet, about as fascinating as a glass of tap water. But not in France. Here, salt is something that gourmets argue about. Some of them will tell you that the ultimate saline experience issel de Guérande, the gray crystallized se
... See morePeter Mayle • French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew (Vintage Departures)
There is something about lunch in France that never fails to overcome any small reserves of willpower that I possess. I can sit down, resolved to be moderate, determined to eat and drink lightly, and be there three hours later, nursing my wine and still open to temptation. I don’t think it’s greed. I think it’s the atmosphere generated by a roomful
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