where French living is at its best
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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I must say I loved reading that article . Yes, I am completely biased! It covers many of the characteristics of the region that I grew up in, situated at the intersection of les Landes, Pays-Basque, Béarn in the southwest of France. This is the region that I specialize in for my work. It does not happen very [...]
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I have asked Catherine to write a few notes about her profile. Many Expérience Authentique clients have benefited from Catherine’s good services as guide and local host in the region. It is a pleasure teaming up with her as she brings the region alive in the heart and eyes of my guests. Here is Catherine… [...]
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NEWS RELEASE, October 7, 2010 Canada welcomes Michel Hacala, French-Basque artist who is painting Canadian-Basque whaling scenes (Toronto) Michel Hacala has come to Quebec and Ontario to paint huge colourful images of Basque fishermen chasing whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the late 1500s-early 1600s. The highly successful painter-sculptor is himself from the [...]
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The first time I stumbled on Michel Hacala’ paintings was in an old Basque farm in the village of Sare in 2004, the former hiding place for a number of Spanish refugees during the civil war in the late 1930s. In one of the rooms is a well known mural by a now deceased but [...]
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