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Ma Belle France
La Vallée du Rhone 2012
If you have ever travelled by car to the Mediterranean then it’s a near certainty you have gone through the southern regions at ever-increasing speed. It seems that as the smell of salt sea air and local tomatoes gets stronger, so does the weight applied to the accelerator! Yet it may come as a surprise if I tell you that, if you turn away from the call of the sea and the tomato, if you resist a tiny bit longer you will be richly rewarded. The region is the bit of the map from Lyon to Orange, and is historically and geographically a place of enormous importance. You would not be the first to use the natural valley to travel north to south or vice versa. Before you arrived, Stone Age man, the Celts, the Romans (of whom much more later), the Gauls, the Burgundans and even some Arabs, all spent time in this extraordinary place. The valley is guarded on either side by the Alps and the mystic Massif Central and is one of the wildest parts of France. Yet unlike many areas, this region cannot be easily pigeonholed; it is too big (huge, in fact!), too diverse and has been blessed with far too many influences so there is no point searching for the local dress: dear reader, you just won’t find it!
Let the magical mystery tour begin. Allons!
Vienne
This very special city sums up hidden France for me. I know of no connection with the delectable cake city of Vienna (which is written ‘Vienne’ in French, too) but, dear reader, what a magical place! One where the best of Roman stands side by side with the best of Gothic. Read more »
Les Gorges de l’Ardèche
Like most things in nature, the mighty Rhone needs feeding. The bigger the animal, the bigger the appetite. The Ardèche is just one of many rivers feeding this liquid giant. In this case it’s a river that comes down from the Massif Central, and has eroded the limestone to form a vertiginous gorge, steep enough to make this Frenchman dizzy. Read more »
Orange
Nothing to do with fruit, the name is a bastardisation of the Celtic god Arausio. An apt choice, as he was the god of water and Orange is located at the point where the mighty Rhone splits in two to create the Camargue. This is really the last stop in the valley. Read more »
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| Vienne |
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| Les Gorges de l’Ardèche |
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| Oranges |
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| Insider tips |
Save a over-salted dish...
If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato. It absorbs the excess salt for an instant "fix me up."
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Cutting onions...
No more tears when peeling onions if you place them in the freezer for 4 or 5 minutes first.
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| Read all Raymond's Tips » |
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