France
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Zucchini Salad with Mint and Provençal Rosemary Almonds
With summer often comes an abundance of zucchini from the garden – and the ongoing challenge to find new ways to prepare them. Co-workers begin to avoid you and your zucchini cakes, muffins and breads. We understand the never-ending challenge… Read full article
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Cycling the Languedoc
From the moment I climbed on my bike and began pedaling through the streets in the heart of French villages, I was giddy—this is too cool. With sweeping panoramas, Cathar castles perched on limestone cliffs, countless vineyards (and delicate croissants),… Read full article
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Provençal Melon with Beaumes de Venise Muscat
The ExperiencePlus! Bicycling through the Best of Provence Plus! the Luberon and Aix-en-Provence tour now goes through Beaumes de Venise. A lot of France’s melons grow nearby around Cavaillon, and Beaumes de Venise is known for its sweet Muscat dessert… Read full article
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The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel
Ayla is Back! Jean M. Auel’s Earth’s Children series introduced us to one of the original beautiful, strong, and self-sufficient female protagonist back in 1980 and in this last installment of the series, The Land of Painted Caves, we find… Read full article
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My Trip of a Lifetime by Sally Miller
I just completed the trip of my lifetime which is more commonly known as Bicycling the Best of Provence Plus! and the Luberon and Aix tour with ExperiencePlus!. I was granted the trip through the ExperiencePlus! Send A Teacher Traveling… Read full article
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Accommodations We Love – Part 6
We’ve chosen several multi-night stays in this edition of Accommodations We Love. We don’t stay longer at these hotels because we fear you’ll never want to leave! Read up on hotels in Chile, Scotland, France, Argentina, and Italy this month.… Read full article
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Crème Brûlée
When you travel to France, chances are you’ve got some culinary must-tastes on your list. While crepes and the delicately-crafted pastries in the corner patisseries are delightful, one dessert you must try is crème brûlée. The translation of this dessert… Read full article
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Dordogne Hazelnut Cake
I, like most of you, find myself excited by local specialties while I’m traveling and I often come home with flavored oils, spices or syrups that then sit in my pantry or fridge for eternity. During our recent snow storms… Read full article
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Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Cave of Forgotten Dreams offers you a front row seat to explore the otherwise inaccessible paintings of the Chauvet cave in southern France. Directed and narrated by Werner Herzog and shot in 3-D this documentary is stunning and gives us… Read full article
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Daube Provençale or Beef Stew with Wine
Daube Provençale or Beef Stew with Wine This month’s recipe comes to us from Josette Smyrl who coordinated hotels and meals for ExperiencePlus! trips in France for a number of years. Now retired and living near Aix-en-Provence with her gardening… Read full article
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Accommodations We Love – Part 1
ExperiencePlus! has added one more piece of information to our itineraries to enhance the fun and excitement of choosing your next bike trip – you can now check out the hotels on each day. Since we originally launched our website… Read full article
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Bicycling the Best of Provence
Just when you thought Provence couldn’t get any better ExperiencePlus! has combined two of our most popular tours in France to create one spectacular tour that has it all. Drawing on decades of our traveler’s reviews about what they like… Read full article
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New in France – Cycling the Languedoc
Cycling the Languedoc (Plus! French Catalonia) With a variety of landscapes bathed by the Mediterranean sun and connected with a vast network of small country roads that extend from the sea to the mountains, the Languedoc is a region ideally… Read full article
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Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
Reviewed by Monica Malpezzi Price. Anybody who was gripped by The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown will enjoy this well-researched, historical novel by British author Kate Mosse. While there are similarities between the two books, there are also several… Read full article
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Le Quatorze Juillet or Bastille Day
By ExperiencePlus! Tour Leader, Marie Lavigne. Bastille Day or le quatorze juillet (14th of July) is the French national holiday, very similar to Independence Day, or the 4th of July, in the US both in name and attitude. Le quatorze… Read full article
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Josette’s Cherry Clafoutis
Josette’s Cherry Clafoutis Preheat oven to 400F Ingredients: 1/2 pounds pitted Cherries 3/4 cup flour 2/3 cup sugar 3 eggs 1 cup milk or light cream 1/3 cup melted butter 1 teaspoon powdered or brown sugar In a bowl, mix… Read full article
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Interview with Chef Erick Vedel
A local Provençal chef tells us about his passion for food and how it has pervaded other areas of his life. Each year he opens his home to us on our 8-day Bicycling through the Best of Provence and 11-day… Read full article
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Camargue Red Rice with Ginger and Chickpeas
This recipe comes to us from Chef Erick Vedel and was served on the ExperiencePlus! Bicycling through the Best of Provence tour October 2010. Clinical studies have proven that red rice helps lower cholesterol and is also famous for its… Read full article