Enjoying France - World's Best Pastry Shop

One of the most striking thing in Paris is its confectionary. Right from the airport (hmm, I think right in the plane itself), you are made addicted to it. I won't be too different if I can call that France has the world's best pastry shops. The best pastries in the world are made in France, where layers of cake, as light as feathers, are molded together with airy, sweet buttercream and topped with curls of fine chocolate. Pastries in France are too beautiful (and too fattening) to eat but too delicious not to.

Within France, the most tempting Patisseries, or pastry shops, are in Paris where they adorn every corner. There are 2,300 of them! One of the best known and most honored Patisseries is Dalloyau, which specializes in morrons glaces (candied chestnuts), mogador (layers of chocolate cake, chocolate mousse and raspberry confiture) and sherbet cakes. Dallayau shops can be found at 99 rue Faubourg St. Honore and three other locations. The king of pastry is Gaston Lenotre, who runs Lenotre shops throughout Paris. His 350 pastry chefs and cooks use at least 12 tons of butter and 300,000 fresh eggs each month. Lenotre also has the best chocolates in Paris. His shops are at 44 rue du Bac and three other locations.

The best ice cream in Paris - My favorite ice cream in Paris is sold at Berthillon, 31 rue St. Louis-en-l'Ile. The list of rich, homemade flavors is long; so are the lines. I think they should start home delivery like Dominoz.

Travel Around France

One of the prettiest wine towns in France St. Emilion is one of the most picturesque villages in France. The medieval town is perched on a plateau looking over the valley of the Dordogne. In the 12th century, pilgrims stopped here on their way to the shrine of St. James of Compostela in Spain. While you are in St. Emilion, visit the seventh-century hermitage, which was hollowed out of rock. Nearby is the entrance to a chapel with a strange underground shrine. It, too, was carved out of rock 900 years ago. A subterranean passage leads to catacombs containing skeletons in ancient tombs. (You must have a guide to visit the shrine.) At the Syndicat d'Initiative, place des Crenaux, you can get a list of wine chateaux nearby. The Château Ausone produces the St. Emilion's vintage, among others.

Alternative Stay In Paris

Rather than staying at expensive hotels, you can rent furnished apartments for their holiday lodgings. Short term Paris apartment rentals offer you more space for your Paris vacations. They are also very convenient if you travel with small children, considering that most of Paris hotel rooms are of a tiny size, costly and often with toilets in the corridors.

You can book up a fully furnished vacation apartment for rental. You are free to bring take-away food in or to cook your favourite meals. Most of the hotels don't allow you to do this which can significantly push up your bill.

Most of the city's main historical monuments and interesting spots on the Left Bank area as well. Most of the main and interesting events and festivities in Paris occur on the Left Bank side of the Seine river. You can find quite a lot of good quality aparments for rental basis there.

This will be relatively easier on your wallet as well as a good experience.

Best French Castle

In France, there are so many castles that when you travel, you are literally surrounded by them. French "le chateau" for a castle may mean a medieval defense structure, a superb in size and architecture historical royal residence, an aristocratic residence which for a foreigner would be not less than a palace or just a winery building. The castles of France are today museums, hotels and wine producers seats. I enjoyed visiting each one of them. However nothing beats

Palace of Versailles

Château de Versailles (its local signature) is a French royal castle planned by Luis XIII but largely built under Louis XIV, into an amazing complex of palaces and gardens. This castle is a major tourist destination outside of Paris and I think if you visiting France, don't miss on this one. I will post photos of this one as well as lot of others in next post

"Comment allez-vous?" - French Pronunciation Perceived Issues

 

If you don't know than that short sentence is French for saying "how are you?". Most people find learning French is more challenging compared to many other languages that people are becoming more interested in learning today. They reason that French is challenging compared to Spanish, German and Italian is because it has a completely unique way of pronunciation. I don't really think so. I think its more about getting into that mode. Like the shape you make with your lips define sound you are going to utter when you speak the alphabet 'Q' in French. Problem is that most people are not ready to make that effort to watch carefully the movement of lips and make sound accordingly. If you do that you will find it really easy to hit.

Another point to note is that when responding to French questions, you'll need to know the correct intonation. Much of the time, the rising tone is only applicable for simple yes or no questions, with other things or simple conversational patterns, the intonation is placed at the end of the sentence. But again, once you have stayed there for even a week and if you follow the native speaking style closely, this should be no issue. I don't want to sound advertising but yeah this Rocket French, helped a lot. I had prepared myself to the audio clips they provided of the local sound. I even asked my friend to help me by making similar lip movements while I tried to read them. It helps! You can find the course here -Rocket French. Definitely my topmost recommendation.

Paris - Romance Capital

Paris the Capital City of France is in the Ile De France region and is an international capital for art, fashion, style and romance. With the romance that Paris perceives, it is the number one destination for UK tourists and with over 30 million travellers per year from around the world, it is no wonder that this city has so much to offer.

Paris entertainment has always been at the forefront of the world in terms of quality and variety and from film, dance, opera, jazz, concerts, ballet, rock festivals and cabaret, there is always some form of entertainment on offer to suit all tastes, no matter what the time of year you decide to visit this vibrant and cultural city in France.

Of course, there are the usual monuments and attractions which we all go an see when visiting Paris, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre Dame Cathedral, walking along the Avenue de Champs-Elysees with all its glitz and glamour and visiting the Bastille Square

However, for those of us who would like to get away from it all, the Ile de France region of which Paris is at the centre becomes an ideal place, offering a multitude of nature, history, art and culture, but all within only a short distance from the periphery. So, within the Ile de France region, you be able to discover more than 500km of navigable waterways, as well as many more kilometers of footpaths and historic sites along its beautiful rivers and canals.

And although Paris still tends to have that allure as a destination for lovers, there is also an enormous amount to do for children of all ages and the adults alike! Disneyland Paris with all of its magic is obviously one of those destinations, along with Parc Asterix, but there are also some great modern museums that provide interaction, making learning fun.

Mardi Grass

One of the event I am really looking forward to the Carnaval. There are floats and paper-mâché, 10-foot-tall jesters and all these colorful and amazing things I have just seen in TV. It is supposed to be for two weeks and I can't wait for it!