We depart Avignon and head south. Our destination is Arles, but I recommend a drive slightly southwest to St-Rémy-de-Provence and then to Les Baux. This will take the better part of a day, unless you are really interested in the local history.

You don't have to leave the country to experience a foreign culture. Or do you?  No matter where in USA you live, there is always an outlet for French culture and art lovers. If you plan to travel to Montreal, Canada in July 2009 and you are also a Jazz lover, don't miss this exciting event, a bit of French culture:

Cannes Film Festival is probably one of the most recognized and respected international film festivals in the world. It is also quite possibly the oldest too. The Festival was created in 1939 as a proposition of the French minister for Public Instruction and the Arts, Jean Zay, who wanted to introduce an international film event in France. Cannes was chosen for its "sunshine and enchanting setting." However, the festival didn’t see the light until after the WWII. In 1945, the French Association for Artistic Action was asked once again to organize a festival to be held under the aegis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Education and, from 1946 onwards, the newly founded National Cinema (CNC). And the countdown has begun, as the festival closes in on 65-years as an international film festival.

The village brocante is a signal of winterʼs waning in the Charente Maritime. It is a festive affair. Only the French could turn cleaning out the attic into an opportunity to eat and drink before dawn outside in temperatures close to freezing.

I’d been living in La Rochelle for about two months when I realized that I knew barely anything about this city-on-the-sea. So I spent one pleasant Sunday in February doing what I love most, visiting museums and learning about the vibrant history that characterizes Le Pays Rochelais. Lucky for me, on the first Sunday of the month, museums in France are free. First on the list? La Rochelle’s most iconic image, a series of towers that dot the coast and serve as a reminder of the town’s exciting navel history.

I was lucky indeed. And I’d like to share my recent discovery of a splendid region of rural Southwestern France with you. In the company of an enthusiastic small group of American foodies who had previously enjoyed one of my Paris Culinary Treasures tours together, I set out in late September to explore and taste my way around the Tarn et Garonne region in the French southwest.