City Love Companions

I bet you’ve seen Bordeaux written on dozens of bottles. It’s synonymous with some of the best wines and worst hangovers. I am no stranger to the intricacies of winemaking. In fact, I do have a makeshift fermentation operation in my garage. Almost anything sweet can be turned into booze. The magic happens when yeast feeds on sugar and “poops” alcohol. That’s why any kind of fruit works; berries, apples, pineapple, you name it. So why grapes? What makes them so special that grape wine became so mainstream? It’s hard to screw up, fool proof. Grapes are naturally sweet and have a layer of yeast on their skin. Just mash them and they’re good to go. It’s so easy that the Chinese supposedly figured it all out around 3000 BC. However, it’s the French that turned it into an art f...

I thought that the French Riviera is all about pocket little ports smelling of wine, seafood, and croissants. That’s true for most of them, apart from Marseille. Marseille is humongous. It’s the second-largest city in France as a matter of fact. I think it’s a much better destination than Paris; at least for tourism. The only thing I didn’t like about Marseille is that it was a little “unkept”. The city is like a shaggy beard. There’s ugly, bad graffiti everywhere. I mean graffiti vandalism, not a graffiti art form. Or a broken window here and there. Or the permanent renovations of certain landmarks that seem to be going nowhere. I think that people should take better care of a city of this caliber. What do I mean by caliber? You could say it is one of the oldest and most sig...

[caption id="attachment_165594" align="alignleft" width="400"] Despite the fact that there are no historical sights and very old buildings on the Croisette in Cannes, the atmosphere itself is valuable here: expensive cars, world-famous hotels, such as InterContinental Carlton, celebrities...[/caption]People say you don’t need to be a millionaire to enjoy the French Riviera. I wouldn’t be so sure. Cannes is Beverly Hills’ sister city. What’s a sister city? It’s a sort of cultural exchange between two unrelated cities. It works between these two, they’re very similar. You could say Cannes is the European Beverly Hills, or the other way around? Chicken or the egg? Architecture is the obvious part they don’t have in common. Cannes is beautifully Mediterranean, while Beverly H...

Nice is a peculiar city, it’s as if it had a personality split between being French and Italian. You got pasta and pizza on one side of the street, baguettes and croissants on the other, all because of its’ location and neighboring countries. Actually it is not that long ago (1860) when Nice became a part of France. Long before that it was already a holiday destination for the rich and famous, celebrities cruised around the Promenade des Anglais in their carriages as early as in 1700s. Beautiful beaches, azure blue water, Mediterranean climate and surprisingly low prices are still the main assets of the French Riviera and make it a perfect place to spend a few days away from home. Nice to chill out, relax, do a bit of sunbathing and drinking in the evenings rather than sightseeing, but...

Paris might best known as the city of love and lights. But France’s second largest city; Lyon is widely recognized as the birthplace of gourmet food. It is the cradle of the famous French cuisine, which many consider the cornerstone of modern cooking. Lyon stands on ruins of a 1st century BC Roman city: Lugdunum which used to be a local centre nicknamed “The Capital of the Three Gauls”. You most likely heard the term before while watching Asterix and Obelix cartoons. Remnants of that former glory are still standing and available for public viewing, even public sitting upon. Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière stands on top of an ancient Roman forum and was built as a monument to the cities survival of the Black Death, which is celebrated annually in December during a festival called...

Paris is often referred to as the “City of Love” and anyone who ever visited this wonderful city understands why. There are a couple of reasons that come to mind. Let’s start with the city’s best-known landmark and symbol of Paris: the Eiffel Tower. In many international rankings La Tour Eiffel pops up as the world’s most famous tourist attraction. Especially in the evenings when the tower is lit up it’s jaw dropping. La Tour Eiffel makes not only the perfect scenery for a romantic walk but is also an amazing place for a dinner with your beloved one or to impress your new date. Make sure you make a reservation long time before in case you want to book a table for two in one of the tower’s restaurants. Both 58 Tour Eiffel on the first floor and Le Jules Verne on the second flo...