Chateau Poseidon: Fountain of Possibilities

Latest updates from those French Canadian guys.

Episode 15: Second Floor Possibilities

Episode 16: A Fountain for Poseidon

Note to readers:  I admire the energy and know-how these fellas have; but the work is proceeding very slowly, and in future I may not post all their vids.  The last one above was interesting with the fountain, furnace, and apples.  The one prior to that was dreadfully dull:  scraping and painting all those window frames.  

Problem is, they still haven't made the caretaker cottage livable, and winter will soon set in.  The amount of work needed on the big house is mind-boggling, and so is the expense.  No doubt somewhere in one or both families is an indulgent Big Mama or Big Daddy with very deep pockets.  It must be nice not to worry about how to pay the rent or keep food on the table while picking out designer decor and furniture.

Frankly, I think with this beat-up chateau way to hell out in bumfuck, they have bitten off much more than they can chew or ever make a profit on, but what do I know?  I wish them good luck with this monster reno.  It will certainly be a great learning experience.

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Chateau Poseidon: Treasures and Troubles

The latest updates from the chateau guys.

Epsidode 13:  Fishing for Treasures

Episode 14: Tower of Troubles

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Jeffrey Kevin: French Fall Tablescape

Another lavish display with a unique theme. In case you don't know, the Gallic rooster (coq gaulois) has been a symbol of France for ages.  

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Chateau Poseidon: Episodes 10 & 11

Tom and Damien carry on with renovation work, decor planning, and friendly visits.

Episode 10: Chopping down overgrown ivy; a visit by a couple of Brits who are renovating another chateau; and a secret transatlantic flight.

Episode 11:  Fun with spray paint; a difference of opinion; late riser vs. early riser; a quick lunch in the town market; and Damien's design plans for all the first-floor (American: second-floor) bedrooms.

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Tom and Damien: Chateau Poseidon updates

These boys are working and videoing so fast on their grand reno project, I can't keep up with them.  Here are their two latest vids.

Episode 7: Our First Thirty Days as Chateau Owners

Episode 8: Let's Talk about Money

They've also posted their first video en francais here.

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Tom and Damien: Chateau for Two

The boys from French Canada are beavering away on renovating their newly-purchased Château Poséidon in the Loire Valley of France - and so quickly that I've already fallen behind on posting their videos.  Here are episodes 3 and 4 for your enjoyment.

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The Great Vacation Trains - Paris, 1958

A delightful record of the annual departure of a million Parisians for summer vacations in all directions, via the French National Railways (S. N. C. F.) and the Herculean efforts of its employees and train crews. A marvelous people-watching video from a bygone era.  All of those fresh-faced garcons are now old graybeards like me.

Tip:  open the video in YouTube and then hit the "CC" button to get a good English translation of the narration (you might want to slow it down a bit, too). 

Bon voyage!

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Chateau for Two

Tom and Damien are a charming Canadian couple who bought a derelict chateau in France, where they have a monumental repair and renovation job ahead of them:

In their second video, they give a mini-tour of the chateau:

(Mais je ne comprends pas pourquoi les gars ne parlent pas le francais dans leur videos. Pour le convenence de leurs telespectateurs anglophones, je me suppose.)

For a full tour of Chateau Poseidon from top to bottom, and a bit of the grounds, see the video they made for So Chateau here.

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Message from a French Friend

French Senator Claude Malhuret tells it like it is in French, with English subtitles:

I'm impressed with how well he knows all the details of what's going on in the United States - and sees through all the bullshit.  But I suppose our self-destruction is obvious to the whole world.

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Vive La France Libre!

An alliance of left-wing parties has slapped down the far-right National Rally in France in today's legislative elections.  This will complicate things for centrist President Emmanuel Macron, but when have French politics ever been easy?

Thank God the fascist threat is removed - for now.

This is an upset victory; last night all the pollsters were predicting a right-wing majority.  But the left turned out en masse.  A lesson for us in America.  The bullies don't have to win, if we stick together. 

 

The French election upset follows the victory of the Labour Party in last Thursday's UK election.  Having accepted the King's invitation to form a government, Sir Keir Starmer is now off to a running start with his program of "National Renewal," after 14 years of endemic corruption, mismanagement, and gross incompetence by successive Tory governments.

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To New York aboard the Normandie, 1939

Someone has found a color film of the last voyage of the exquisitely designed S. S. Normandie made by a young engineer in the French Line company in 1939, just days before World War II began.  What a find!  There are priceless views of the ship, its crew, and passengers.  The narration is in French, but just click the CC button to see English captions. 

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The Pork Boys do Ratatouille!

(Pronounced rat-a-TOO-ee; say it quickly.)

Last week, M.P. got a yen to try something new and different, so he went searching for recipes, and the result was splendid:  a big pot of delicious ratatouille from the south of France.  Neither of us had ever tried it before, but we became instant fans of this all-vegetable dish.  With fresh herbs from our garden, it was a real palate pleaser that you could eat as a main dish with toasted garlic bread, or serve with practically anything else.

Note that all the vegetables end up soft, not crunchy - which is just how I like them.

This simple dish is easy to make, even for the culinarily challenged, and as with all good recipes, there are endless variations.  Here are a couple of recipe videos to check out.  The first one is simple and direct, just showing you what to do instead of telling:

 

The second is full of friendly directions from one of our favorite online chefs, Stephane at French Cooking Academy:

 

 I have a few suggestions: 

1. Instead of yellow bell pepper, M.P. used yellow squash, which I love - delightful!

2. Peel your zucchini. That thick, green skin tends to infiltrate the whole dish, and is very annoying to old men with bad teeth.

3. Drain your sautéed vegetables well, using a strainer or paper towels, before putting them in the pot. A little grease goes a long way. 

Well, now you're all ready to make this simple, scrumptious Provençale dish.  Try it, you'll like it!

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A French Dinner for the Queen (2014)

A fascinating behind-the-scenes look into the culinary preparations for a State Dinner at the Elysee Palace given by President Hollande of France for Queen Elizabeth II, who was in Paris for the seventieth anniversary of the D-Day landings in 2014.

It's still hard to believe she's gone.

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What I'm Watching: The Art of Blending Cognac

Cognac, if you want to know, is a particular kind of high-class brandy produced only in the Cognac region of southwestern France.  This informative little video gives an overview of how cognac is made, aged, and used for drinking and for cookery.  I've never tasted any cognac, but I can tell you that M.P. keeps a bottle of peach brandy on the kitchen counter, from which he often adds a little quelque chose to various dishes - with delightful results.

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The History of France's Notre Dame Cathedral

Why are they called gargoyles?  In 2011, CBS Sunday Morning reported on the construction and history of the great cathedral of Paris:

Notre-Dame Burns

Photo via Wikipedia.

Your Head Trucker grieves with all the world for France in the loss of Notre-Dame to the flames.




I visited Notre-Dame once, more than forty years ago now, and remember the beautiful, serene blue light that filled the interior, coming from the immense stained-glass windows that circled the high walls. No doubt all of those windows have been destroyed now.  Quel grande dommage.

Photo via Wikipedia.

Update, 4/16, 10:30 p.m.:

The BBC summarizes the fire damage, the public response, and the beginnings of recovery:

Horror, Again

This time on the French Riviera, where a cowardly, insignificant, worthless little POS has blighted hundreds of lives and sent himself straight to hell.  I'm not the only one who thinks so, as the Guardian reports:

The Nice attacks have been condemned, by religious and political leaders across the Muslim and Arab world on Arabic-language and English social media.

Egypt’s Grand Mufti lambasted “saboteurs who follow Satan (who will) be damned in this life & in the hereafter.”

Similar sentiments were expressed by the popular Saudi cleric, Sheikh Salman al-Auda, who said the killer would be cursed by “god, his angels and all human beings.” His remarks came after many comments on social media attacked Muslims.

Egypt’s Al-Azhar university, Sunni Islam’s leading centre of learning, said that the “vile terrorist attack” contradicted Islam and called for “uniting efforts to defeat terrorism and rid the world of its evil.”

Tunisia said that the attacker, who police said held joint French-Tunisian citizenship, had committed an act of “extreme cowardice” and expressed solidarity with France against the “scourge of terrorism”.

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbours issued a joint statement saying that they “strongly” condemned the “terrorist” act in Nice. “The Gulf Cooperation Council states stand in solidarity with the French republic following this cowardly criminal incident whose perpetrators have been stripped of all moral and human values,” the bloc’s secretary general, Abdullatif al-Zayani, said.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi condemned “in the strongest terms the vile terrorist attack”, his office said.

Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit denounced the “craven terrorist attack”, according to his spokesman.

Live coverage from France 24 in English:

Sunday Drive: La Marseillaise

As conducted yesterday by Placido Domingo at the Metropolitan Opera, New York:

Je Suis Paris

The Telegraph and the Guardian are providing extensive English-language coverage of developments in France.

Et pour mes lecteurs français, je dit:  Lafayette, nous sommes avec vous.

The Artistic Gardens of France

The final episode of three by British gardener Monty Don. Description:

Monty travels to some of the most celebrated artists' gardens, including the one created by the impressionist Claude Monet, who planted and painted his garden for half his life. Monty also matches the paintings to the garden of Paul Cezanne, as well as visiting several contemporary artistic gardens to see how the use of plants and trees has evolved into new and varied styles.