The French do a lot of things right: Eat croissants without gaining weight dress with an effortless cool and vacation like they mean it particularly in August when much of the country shuts down to take a break but that sensibility continues throughout the year encouraging people to ensure they actually use all their vacation days This often means taking two-week vacations and completely unplugging from work emails to ensure no stress During the summer French people usually keep things close-ish to home opting to vacation in the countryside of France or in a nearby European destination skipping the jet lag and hassle of long flights That doesn’t mean that international travel is off the table 11 places to travel that have the French seal of approval which is nestled right up against the water on La Grande Plage Camping is a popular summer pastime for the French, particularly in mountainous areas like Lake Annecy. Tons of campsites, most of which involve sleeping in small cabins or caravans, dot the edges of the picturesque lake. Book a mobile home, cabin or tent at Camping La Ravoire Don’t miss the hike to the peak of La Tournette a mountain that offers insane views from the top Mediterranean coastal cities like Cannes, Nice and Saint-Tropez draw visitors with their luxurious hotels and glamorous beaches. Skip the crowds by booking a hotel or vacation home in smaller resort towns like Fréjus or Sainte-Maxime, which offer the same beachside relaxation with less tourists. If you want to really go all-in on the French Riviera vacation experience, book into La Réserve Ramatuelle an insanely luxurious resort and spa with sea views and private villas that cost more than your car Bayonne, in the Basque Country region of France, is popular with French people looking for a relaxing holiday with the amenities of a city. It’s not far from Biarritz, making the beach an option for a day trip, and the quaint, riverside town has a lot of history and culture to enjoy. Skip the chain hotels and opt for a bed and breakfast or an Airbnb. Independent property Hotel de la Gare which is well-situated near the train station offers a local experience and reasonable rates a four-star hotel with an outdoor pool and beach access northeastern Spain (near the French border) is a particularly popular campsite with comfortable bungalows for rent a beautiful botanical garden in the heart of the island which will wow you with its views of the turquoise water and lush jungle For Europeans, the Big Apple is a bucket-list destination. Experience the city with new eyes by taking in a off-Broadway show, exploring cool museums like MOMA PS1 and diving into a lesser discovered borough like Queens. Try the Ace’s new property Sister City, located on the Lower East Side, or book into the trendy Paper Factory Hotel in Long Island City The 20 Best Paris Hotels at Every Price Point (from $22 to $1,500 a Night) Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article For much of this absorbing and pleasurable movie we are in a rustic 19th century French kitchen with our eyes and ears if not our tastebuds the preparation of one exquisite dish after another Each course is practically a feast unto itself: vol-au-vent baked Alaska — and that’s just the first half-hour glinting off battered copperware and catching the faint sheen of sweat on Juliette Binoche’s radiant has spent more than two decades cooking for and alongside the renowned gourmet Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel) she is preparing a lavish meal for Dodin and his coterie of culinary devotees as we see in a gloriously luxuriant sequence that has the panache and precision of a great musical number but rather from the diegetic accompaniments of soup bubbling in a pot butter sizzling in a pan and utensils scraping against crockery Hung, a French Vietnamese filmmaker whose eye for cinematic sensualism was on display in early works like “The Scent of Green Papaya” and “Cyclo,” here achieves something of a culinary contact high If “The Taste of Things” is two-plus hours’ worth of haute-cuisine eye candy it could also be plausibly defended as one of the year’s great action movies: In a perfectly modulated and sustained 40-minute opening sequence sometimes ingeniously surprising set-pieces sweeping movements of Jonathan Ricquebourg’s camera and the turbot-charged rhythms of Mario Battistel’s editing (Cooking was supervised by the famed French chef Pierre Gagnaire who served as the movie’s culinary director.) Benoît Magimel in the movie “The Taste of Things.” (Stephanie Branchu / IFC Films) In time the action spills out into the dining room where Dodin and his companions (played by actors including Patrick d’Assumçao Frédéric Fisbach and Emmanuel Salinger) devour and discourse in the grand and very Gallic tradition A few wisps of plot materialize in between sips of wine and dollops of philosophizing there is a warm atmosphere of unhurried indulgence and guilt-free pleasure as well as an unspoken acknowledgment that pleasure is serious business Dodin is known throughout France as “the Napoleon of the culinary arts,” and Eugénie his unofficial but long-standing Joséphine has established her own formidable reputation “You are an artist,” one of the diners beams at her in a flush of postprandial gratitude claiming herself to be a mere disciple in the shadow of a genuine great like Antonin Carême But “The Taste of Things,” which will represent France in the upcoming Oscar race for international feature The gentle yet insistent refrain of this movie which was loosely inspired by Marcel Rouff’s classic 1924 novel “The Passionate Epicure,” is that Eugénie and Dodin are artists patience and a witty eye for curiosities (if you’ve never seen the proper way to eat an ortolan Hung brings a slow-food sensibility to bear on an often fast-food medium the two have forged a bond more intimate and sustained than some lifelong couples continues to assert her independence by resisting his frequent marriage proposals and to their shared appetite for great food were too pure and exalted to require the institutional sanction of matrimony Their performances combine emotional delicacy and robust physicality — those heavy pots don’t lift themselves — and you can read years of devotion into the way their movements harmonize in the kitchen or the tenderness with which Dodin prepares a plate of oysters for the woman he loves The implicit connections between culinary and carnal appetites scarcely need to be spelled out (“Your broth is delicious” is surely one of the year’s sexiest lines) usually when Dodin steals up to Eugénie’s room for a nightcap and possibly more with not only the practice but also the preservation and perpetuation of their art One of the most significant characters here is a young girl named Pauline (a wonderful Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire) who works alongside the older Violette (Galatéa Bellugi) in Dodin’s kitchen has a precocious palette and the will and desire to become a master cook During intimate evening reveries and at occasional large-scale gatherings they muse over the decades they’ve spent cultivating their own talents Benoît Magimel and Juliette Binoche in the movie “The Taste of Things.” (Carole Bethuel / IFC Films) And so despite its generally frictionless flow from meal to meal its showstopping delicacies and subtly comical asides her insistence on carrying on in the kitchen despite mysterious fainting spells is a recurring reminder that nothing lasts forever not yesterday’s meals or even tomorrow’s discoveries Dodin’s own understanding of this may be what spurs him to prepare cutting-edge dish but rather a timeless one so timeless that it will years later be declared the national dish of France Not ratedIn French with English subtitlesRunning time: 2 hours, 16 minutesPlaying: Laemmle Royal, West Los Angeles Justin Chang was a film critic for the Los Angeles Times from 2016 to 2024. He won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in criticism for work published in 2023. Chang is the author of the book “FilmCraft: Editing” and serves as chair of the National Society of Film Critics and secretary of the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. Hollywood Inc. Entertainment & Arts Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Join us at the Akustika Fair at the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre from April 4-6 Meet The Strad team at stand F08 and pick up a free copy of the magazine The Strad Directory Jobs The French artist heads the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad from its 2016 edition French violinist Renaud Capuçon has been appointed artistic director of the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad festival in Switzerland from 2016 designed in collaboration with Scherz’s co-founder Ombretta Ravessoud will take place from 29 January to 6 February ‘I am very happy to be associated with the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad and to programme music for this beautiful place,’ said Capuçon the annual winter celebration of classical music takes place over nine days offering concerts by young and established artists the festival has also provided the opportunity for a young artist to record his or her first album with a symphony orchestra on Onyx Classics who records exclusively for Virgin Classics at La Ravoire near Chambéry from 1996 to 2010 Subscribe to The Strad or download our digital edition as part of a 30-day free trial. To purchase single issues click here Master musician combines passion and experience in two contrasting concertos A French master finds the perfect partner for compelling Mozart Leah Hollingsworth hears the performance of  Mussorgsky Prokofiev and Hanna Benn from Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium Site powered by Webvision Cloud the Postulator General for the Causes of the Saints of the Salesian Family began a visit in India to promote the causes of four spiritual Sons of Don Bosco: the Venerable Fr Francesco Convertini and the Servants of God Fr Costantino Vendrame and Msgr Fr Cameroni began his visit of India from West Bengal landing in Calcutta and receiving a festive and fraternal welcome right  from his arrival at the airport During his stay in the city he also had the opportunity to pray at the tomb of Mother Teresa of Calcutta to visit the first house founded by the "Saint of Charity" and to have a cordial conversation with Sister Mary Prema Pierick the current Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity where the great Salesian missionary Fr Convertini lived and died (1898-1976) he animated a seminar to promote the cause of beatification at the diocesan center of spirituality the consecrated of different congregations and several lay people and the inauguration of the exhibition curated by Fr Newton Murmu Fr Cameroni presented the virtuous profile of Fr Convertini underlining how he was an announcer of the Gospel and brought many people to the encounter with Jesus building relationships and friendships also with faithful Hindus and Muslims bearing witness to all the mercy of God in his tireless exercise of the sacrament of reconciliation and living the works of mercy Of great value and interest were the numerous testimonies of priests and nuns who had known the venerable Convertini and who recalled various aspects of his life and spirituality Provincial Vicar of Calcutta and animator of the Cause underlined how this initiative is meant to be the seed of a journey that brings the diocese of Krishnagar and the Salesian Family to treat with enthusiasm and passion the cause of this missionary by promoting the knowledge of his life and work and fostering devotion.  Fr Cameroni had a fraternal meeting with the Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate and Help Of Christians ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007 This site also uses third-party cookies to improve user experience and for statistical purposes By scrolling through this page or by clicking on any of its elements Cook Eugenie has worked for the famous gourmet Dodin for the last 20 years and has also been his lover director Anh Hung Tran has chosen to adapt a 1924 novel by Marcel Rouff A Taste of Things opens in the vegetable garden of a French country villa in the late 19th century Cook Eugénie is picking the best produce with which to prepare dinner for Dodin and his group of gastronome friends their relationship bound through a mutual love of food And although they have also become lovers But when Eugénie starts to display signs of serious illness Dodin becomes more anxious to make her his wife Tran spends much of his screen time detailing the exquisite cookery that takes place in the magnificent kitchen of the villa On set for advice was three-star chef Pierre Gagnaire who cooked all the dishes before filming so that their preparation would be as realistic as possible He also plays a small role as the chef of the Prince of Eurasia Actually doing the cooking on set was Michel Nave who recently retired after 40 years of working with Gagnaire Filming took place on location at a chateau in Anjou adding to the almost documentary feel of the work Most extraordinary is the work by the sound department and the very specific echoes and acoustics of the villa itself giving cinematographer Jonathan Ricquebourg a huge challenge The small cast is lead by the always magnificent Juliette Binoche as Eugénie and Benoît Magimel giving a stunning performance as Dodin Child-actor Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire shines in her first major role the young girl Eugénie wishes to take on as an apprentice A Taste of Things is a love-letter to French gastronomy Here are people in the “autumn” of their lives and the bedroom; still finding fulfillment in each other’s joy It is also about the special love that develops between friends and make you want to move to the French countryside A Taste of Things is truly a work of cinematic poetry A Mount Gambier couple has celebrated their wedding anniversary with a $2.4 million lottery.. 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This small business owner is reinventing the wheel Glam Adelaide is a news website dedicated to bringing you the best of South Australia we pride ourselves in supporting local business We would like to acknowledge the Kaurna people as the custodians of the lands and waters of the Adelaide region Get the latest SA news for free via our iPhone app here: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/glam-adelaide/id1626204930 Get the latest SA news for free via our new Android app here: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=glam+adelaide&c=apps&hl=en&pli=1 Glam Adelaide has today launched an app for readers all over SA SA is throwing open the doors to development opportunities Join the party at Adelaide's ultimate entertainment venue and enjoy pumping live music The Offspring and Simple Plan light up Adelaide Entertainment Centre with an unforgettable mix.. LITERARY FICTION: Darkly funny and profoundly insightful Mother Tongue challenges our expectations of motherhood.. 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(ANS - Mumbai) - With his arrival in Mumbai early this morning after its first stage at India's most populous city reached its climax with stops in the Provinces of Guwahati (ING) and Shillong (INS) where the Tenth Successor of Don Bosco shall celebrate the centenary of the arrival of the first Sons of Don Bosco in Northeast India together with Salesians The main events scheduled for today are a meeting with the India-Mumbai Board of Provincials (INB) and a Mass of thanksgiving for the gift of holiness of Artemide Zatti the Rector Major animates a gathering of young people; in the afternoon he will proceed with the blessing of the new academic facilities of the Nerul work the Rector Major travels to Lonavla to participate in the 60th-anniversary celebrations of the aspirantate Artime will preside over a thanksgiving Eucharist and dialogue with the center’s Salesians will be the day of the trip from Mumbai to Northeast India where the celebrations for the centenary of the arrival of the first Sons of Don Bosco in that region will take place Right after landing in Guwahati and the traditional welcoming ceremonies the Rector Major will inaugurate the Centenary Monument at the Provincial House followed by a moment of dialogue with the Superiors of the three Provinces of Northeast India - Guwahati starting in the morning with a meeting for Fr Artime with the Bishops and Provincials of Northeast India A solemn Eucharistic Concelebration at the city cathedral is scheduled for mid-morning an interactive session with students and youth in the afternoon and a stopover at the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians work in the evening the 10th Successor of Don Bosco will visit the General House of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians - XII group of the Salesian Family SDB - and then meet the Salesians of the three Provinces of Northeast India The occasion will include cultural and artistic performances and the presentation of several books the Rector Major will visit the General House of the Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate Help of Christians - 18th group of the Salesian Family the first appointment will again be with members of the Provincial Council after a Mass with the novices at the Sunnyside house Artime will meet with the Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco (VSDB) - XXX group of the Salesian Family SDB - a moment that will find ideal completion in the evening with the larger gathering for all members of the local Salesian Family ample space will be given to young people: first with a youth Mass and then with a time of dialogue and interaction Following on the same day will be a meeting with the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and a cultural and festive evening Artime shall go to greet the Archbishop of Shillong and then celebrate the Eucharist in the cathedral A departure flight from Guwahati is scheduled in the early afternoon