where French living is at its best
In the late 15th century and 16th century, numerous Jews escaped the harshness of the inquisition in Portugal and Spain to arrive in Bayonne. Among them, there were some chocolate making artisans. With them, they introduced coco beans into the country and brought the techniques of chocolate making. Bayonne became the first chocolate city in [...]
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Last Summer some clients and I enjoyed an evening group hike, near Ascain in the foothills of the Pyrénées, with the sun setting over the ocean in the distance. Our guide Isabelle explained a few things about the local flora and treated us to an informal picnic of local produce. We came back by Midnight. [...]
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A neat initiative summarized on www.indianoak.fr taking place late June 2013 bringing Basque rowers, chefs, singers and dancers between Trois Pistoles & Montreal, along the shores of the St Lawrence. If you value the initiative, I encourage you to buy a share of the boat for 20euros! All details appear on line on their site.
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The numbers are out for 2013. Five new restaurants on the French side of the Basque country have now received the highly desired Michelin starred status. The district that locals refer to as le 64, ie the district of the Pyrénées Atlantiques, umbrella region for the French Basque Country and Béarn , is now the [...]
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Madonna was vacationing in the Basque country Summer 2011 and was introduced by friends and renowned pianists, the Labeque sisters, to the Kalakan basque trio ( see earlier blog entry ). The two sisters have been touring through Europe with Kalakan performing Ravel` s Bolero. Kalakan blends percussions and voices in a contemporary fashion but [...]
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Here is some material to feed the stereotype: the French take their food seriously… even when on skis or snow shoes, and even more in the Southwest of France. While in Baréges- La Mongie, at the foot of the Tourmalet pass ( a well known pass by fans of the Tour de France), and taking a [...]
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Here is a low key video I took with my phone in Bayonne on December 31st. A local musical group, Baionan Kantuz, was inviting anyone to join them to sing in Basque at noon under the arches of the cloister of Bayonne to mark the end of the year. Hundreds of people responded, the joy [...]
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Michel Hacala, whose work is featured throughout the site of Expérience Authentique ( plus a dedicated section) , is exhibiting some of his work in Bayonne at the Musée Basque until the end of January 2012. This project was partly inspired by a work trip he took to the shores of the St Lawrence river [...]
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Last October I had the pleasure to share the region of my birth, the region that I love and specialize in, with 24 keen golfers, 21 women and 3 men, all members or guests of Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto. We headed out after the Canadian thanksgiving weekend to Southwest France right when the weather [...]
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I discovered this Basque trio, Kalakan, where I least expected it: in Montréal, Canada. While taking part in a gathering of North American Basque diasporas, I got to hear them perform twice. This music touched me deeply as well as an audience of many non Basque who gave them a standing ovation. Kalakan has the sounds [...]
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