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French Food

Home > Blog > French Food > Page 3

Mieux vaut en rire… Laughter is the best medicine…

November 7, 2013
Posted in French Food, French Life
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Pub Orangina

Orangina, the other French fizzy drink…

April 8, 2013
Posted in French Food, French Life
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JadorelePetitOurson

For the love of French candy

February 6, 2013
Posted in French Food, French Life
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France loves burgers (le am-ba-ga)

January 22, 2013
Posted in French Food, French Life
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A French Girl masters the art of French cooking with a little help from special friends

October 4, 2012
Posted in French Food, French Life
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The French and dessert

September 12, 2012
Posted in French Food, French Life
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Le pain timbre

La Baguette

November 14, 2011
Posted in French Food, French Life
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3S0H8736

Ces merveilleux commerces de proximité! Wonderful specialty shops! – PART 1

January 12, 2011
Posted in French Food, French Life
Read More → about Ces merveilleux commerces de proximité! Wonderful specialty shops! – PART 1
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Bonjour. It can take decades to find your specia Bonjour. 

It can take decades to find your special place, not for lack of trying (and I did try, on two continents.) 

I was just a few years short of my 6th decade when I made the bold decision to leave Paris and move to a region where I had no family, personal or professional ties. 

Once there I built a new life. Five years later, it's still working great for me (and hopefully many in this community benefit too.) 

There's a new "Lettre de France" waiting for you wherever you read my newsletter. It's already in your inbox if you subscribe (it's free,) in the Bio, and on Substack where most of my writing happens. 

Join me in the Loire Valley, my special place. 

If you enjoy the story, do share and help me get the word out. That's free too and only takes one click. Merci beaucoup.

Véro

Photo credit: Le Brother, June 2026

#francewithvero #loirevalley #toursmaville #tourscity #toursetmoi
Another slice of French life with France with Vero Another slice of French life with France with Vero 

Welcome to Château de l’Islette, Azay-le-Rideau.

A long time ago two famous lovers came here to hide their love story, Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin. 

Their passion didn’t stand the test of time but l’Islette is still here, one of the most welcoming, magical châteaux in the Loire Valley. 

The owners are more creative than most and host special events including their renowned musical nights in the summer. 

This dog lover stopped by last weekend to check out a fun happening, the 31st National Breeding Show of the Bobtail (English sheepdog) Club of France. 

What a hairy event! ;-) 

The house cat, Nala, joined the fun. This friendly beauty has one yellow eye and one blue eye. 

Like l’Islette, she stands out. 

Another delightful time at a Loire Valley favorite. 

Vero

#francewithvero
Welcome to your daily slice of French life with Ve Welcome to your daily slice of French life with Vero

The Luxembourg gardens (“Le Luxembourg” or “Le Luco” to locals back in the day) is the stuff Parisian dreams are made of. 

On the grounds of a former royal palace designed 400 years ago by an Italian queen who missed her native Florence, Paris residents and tourists congregate rain or shine. 

They all have favorite spots (and memories) there. 

On a quick visit to the French capital “la provinciale” (I live in the Loire Valley now) never fails to head to “le Luxembourg” to treat herself to a slice of Parisian life. 

My favorite sightings include:

- “Les habitués” (regulars) They come several times a week. They find a green chair, or a friend. They read. They play chess. They meditate. They people-watch. They (may) judge. Sometimes, there are students from a nearby school who are lucky enough to get their P.E. class inside the legendary gardens. 

- “Les touristes.” There are groups of lively young ladies wearing red berets to emulate a famous young American in Paris. There is the confused promeneur, his eyes glued to his GPS desperately looking for one of the exits leading back to Parisian streets. There are sun-worshipping aspiring demi-gods who mistake the fine Parisian gravel under their feet for Nice’s pebbled beaches. 

- There are famous historical characters. George Sand who can almost peek at the nearby Pantheon from her vantage spot. The gallery of French queens overlooking a former queen’s palace - now the seat of the French senate who owns and maintains the park. My favorite? Anne of Brittany, the only woman who became queen of France twice and lived in the Loire Valley a few minutes away from my home.

- “Les petits coins cachés” (the hidden spots) One of several Statues of Liberty that can be found in Paris in 2026. The beehives. The fountain behind the famous Medici fountain.

And always “une noisette en terrasse” served by a sulking waiter because I dared order when tables were already set for the lunch service. — He’ll survive. So will “le Luxembourg.” 

Véro

#francewithvero
Welcome to your daily slice of French life with Ve Welcome to your daily slice of French life with Vero.

I left Paris five years ago. I live 70 minutes away now, close enough to hop on a train and be there for the day if I feel like it but my life is somewhere else. 

Still, I am always surprised at how familiar Paris feels as soon as I step off the TGV at Gare Montparnasse. 

Familiar sounds, familiar sights along Parisian streets. 

There’s always time for some flâneuring. 

There’s always time for friends or for a glass of champagne at a favorite local café. 

It’s good to be back, Paris! 

Véro

#francewithvero #parisianlife #parisstreets #pariscafe
Bonjour. Once upon a time through the study of t Bonjour. 

Once upon a time through the study of the English language, old movies and music, a young French girl fell in love with the United States. 

After a first trip Stateside (a high school graduation present from her family) she continued traveling to the US every summer, eventually earning a full scholarship to study for a year in a small private college in Atlanta, GA. 

That college year was the stuff dreams are made of.

Of all the happy memories that have passed the test of time, road trips stand out, the early ones around the American South. There were visits to Savannah, GA and to New Orleans in a "land yacht" belonging to a college friend's family. 

There was another rollicking good adventure through Tennessee. On the way to  the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the French girl insisted on making a stop at Dollywood. Her friend obliged.

As a big country music fan the French girl was secretly hoping to meet one of her idols, the one and only Ms Dolly Parton. 

She did not but enjoyed a fun slice of Americana.

The trip's soundtrack for the rest of the short vacation featured Emmylou, Kenny, the Judds and of course, Dolly Parton as a French and an American girl, college friends, belted out classics like "Jolene" and "Here you Come Again."

To a French girl, Dolly was bigger than life, 200% American, a woman who embodied the American dream yet was generous enough to share her good fortunes with many. The trip to "Dollywood" only reinforced her admiration for "the Queen of Country."

A few hours ago, the curtain fell for the last time. The world became a little dimmer.

Au revoir, Dolly, et merci. 

Je t'aimerai pour toujours. 

Véro

#francewithvero #dollyparton
Bonjour. What a blessing while on a staycation to Bonjour.

What a blessing while on a staycation to be based in a region offering limitless opportunities to discover, to savor, to learn. 

A few days ago I headed to a favorite location, “le Manoir de Saché,” a.k.a. the Balzac museum. 

Originally from Tours Balzac lived in Paris for most of his adult life but never forgot his native Touraine where he traveled often. Here in Saché, he had a bedroom waiting and worked long hours creating unforgettable stories, instant classics like “Le Lys dans la Vallée,” (The Lily of the Valley.) 

What a treat to join a small group on a “balade littéraire” (literary walk) guided by a cultural mediator, as we walked through the peaceful Touraine, discovering the scenery that had inspired Balzac, from the Indre river and its nostalgic bridges to vineyards, fields and shaded pathways then back to the Manoir de Saché” for a magical wrap-up in the shade of ancient “platanes” (plane trees.) 

“Do not ask me any more why I love the Touraine. I do not love it as one loves their cradle, nor as one loves an oasis in the desert; I love it as an artist loves art; I love it less than I love you, but without the Touraine, perhaps I would no longer live.” - 

— Honoré de Balzac, “Le Lys dans la Vallée.”

Véro

#francewithvero #balzacmuseum #literarywalk #touraineloirevalley
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