Table of Contents for this Episode
Categories: Lyon Area, Off the Beaten Track in France
[00:00:00] Annie Sargent: This is Join Us in France, Episode 518, Cinq Cent Dix Huit.
Bonjour, I’m Annie Sargent, and Join Us in France is the podcast where we take a conversational journey through the beauty, culture, and flavors of France.
Today on the podcast
[00:00:30] Annie Sargent: Today, I bring you a trip report with Andrew Manns, a passionate tour guide, who introduces us to the hidden gems of Auvergne, a stunning, yet often overlooked region of France.
Discover the rich folklore, breathtaking landscapes, and historical landmarks of this unique area. From haunted lakes to picturesque medieval villages,Andrew’s insights will inspire you to explore the Auvergne and its captivating beauty.
If you’re eager to experience genuine rural France and its untouched charm, this is the episode for you.
Podcast supporters
[00:01:06] Annie Sargent: This podcast is supported by donors and listeners who buy my tours and services, including my itinerary consult service, my GPS self-guided tours of Paris on the VoiceMap app, or take a day trip with me around the Southwest of France in my electric car.
You can browse all of that at my boutique: joinusinfrance.com/boutique. And Patreon supporters get new episodes as soon as they are ready and ads-free.
If that sounds good to you, be like them. Follow the link in the show notes.
Magazine segment
[00:01:38] Annie Sargent: For the magazine part of the podcast, after my chat with Andrew today, I’ll discuss some classic French dishes that I enjoy this time of year.
Some of the recipes for those specialties are in my cookbook, Join Us at the Table, and some are not. I know all the other podcasts that you might be listening to are trying to get you to buy pre-packaged meals, but my jam is more to inspire you to cook more at home.
Bootcamp 2025
[00:02:04] Annie Sargent: And good news, the reservation system for Bootcamp 2025 is now open to all. You can join me and Elyse in France in real life for Bootcamp 2025. This is a 10-day immersive tour starting the morning of May 10th, 2025 of course, and ending late on May 18th in Toulouse.
You’ll have the possibility of taking French classes every weekday morning, and the rest of the time we’ll visit some of the best attractions of the Southwest, including Albi, Carcassonne, the Painted Cave of Pech Merle, The Castle of Foix, and several more.
You can hear previous bootcampers talk about their experiences on episodes 445 and 498 of the podcast. If you’d like to read more about the specifics or secure your spot, head over to joinusinfrance.com/bootcamp2025.
Let’s make 2025 a year of unforgettable French memories.
Bonjour, Andrew Manns, and welcome to Join Us in France.
[00:03:22] Andrew Manns: Bonjour! It’s an honor to be here.
[00:03:25] Annie Sargent: Thank you very much. It’s lovely to have you.
Meet Andrew Manns: The Auvergne Enthusiast
[00:03:27] Annie Sargent: So you reached out to me because you are a tour guide and somebody who started a whole thing to help people get to know the Auvergne. And so that’s very welcome, because that is a beautiful part of France that is not very well known. So tell us a little bit about yourself and why you started this endeavor.
[00:03:48] Andrew Manns: I moved to Auvergne, I believe it was August 2020, with my family, and it was COVID times. This is sort of a moment where we had the opportunity to move. Actually, my wife is Auvergnate. She’s from Auvergne, and we both love the countryside. So, we made the decision then and there to move. And we settled in a place called Chanonat, which is in Puy-de-Dôme.
And for a while, I kept, for about two years, I stayed with the same employer, which was in politics, political communication, geopolitics.
The Birth of Visit Auvergne
[00:04:24] Andrew Manns: But I started Visit Auvergne in October 2023, mainly because it brought all the things, all of the things from my background all together. So, my background in history, my background in research, all of these things,I wanted to… which help, all of these things help.
I created Visit Auvergne, and Visit Auvergne focuses on communicating Auvergne’s interesting aspects, its cultural history, communicating those things to Anglophone audiences.
[00:04:55] Annie Sargent: Uh huh, right. Because your site is called visitauvergne.org, so visit no ‘e’ at the end, so v-i-s-i-t, and then Auvergne the way it’s spelled, a-u-v-e-r-g-n-e dot org, not dot com.
[00:05:13] Andrew Manns: Exactly, exactly.
[00:05:14] Annie Sargent: Is the .Com already taken?
[00:05:16] Andrew Manns: I think so. It’s sort of an inactive site, I believe, but the property is, I think taken, which is why I didn’t choose it.
[00:05:25] Annie Sargent: Yeah, yeah, yeah, makes sense.
All right.
Exploring Auvergne’s Hidden Gems
[00:05:29] Annie Sargent: And so what do you do there? What’s the idea?
[00:05:32] Andrew Manns: So there is the website itself, which I discuss various things from, you know, gastronomy to cultural history, different news events. And it’s all about putting everything out there so that people from the UK, from the United States, anyone who speaks English can learn very quickly about all of the fascinating elements of Auvergne. So there’s that side, which is the content side.
But then there is also the sort of the tourism side, the sort of the tour, I also act as a tour guide. And at the moment I do, I have a company called Hidden Clermont-Ferrand English Walking Tours.
[00:06:09] Annie Sargent: Hidden, say that again, slowly.
Hidden Clermont-Ferrand English Walking Tours
Ah, Clermont-Ferrand, yes, yes, yes.
[00:06:16] Andrew Manns: Yeah. So Clermont-Ferrand is essentially the kind of capital city of the Auvergne area.
[00:06:22] Annie Sargent: Right.
[00:06:22] Andrew Manns: And it’s based in Puy-de-Dôme, and I, so my tours are inspired by the troubadour. So, one of the things a lot of people are not aware of is that Auvergne, has had a tradition of troubadours, which were these kind of lyric, poets and composers, in the Middle Ages.
So obviously, France had those as well and various otherregions. But in Auvergne you had many. So my tours, my walking tours are kind of inspired by that. There’s lots of narrative storytelling, there’s funny stories, there’s some poetry. It’s a bit of, it’s a mixture of, you get a lot of the history and also of the performance.
The Enchanting Folklore of Auvergne
[00:06:59] Annie Sargent: Very good. So why do you think Auvergne is overlooked? I mean, it is a little bit off the beaten path. It’s not on any major route really, I mean is not too far from Lyon, is it?
[00:07:11] Andrew Manns: No, it’s not. It’s about two, two and a half hours from Lyon. But it is, it’s still quite remote. Even now it’s to get there from Paris it takes some time. Like I’m coming from Paris, it’s probably the fastest way to get there is to fly into Lyon and then either take the train or you can take a bus or something like this.
[00:07:31] Annie Sargent: Right. Right.
[00:07:32] Andrew Manns: I think over the years, probably it was always sort of lesser known or, sort of hard to, it was seen as being very remote, mainly because of the geography. You have all these mountains, it’s in the Massif Central, and for centuries, there were all of these, they had like very, very large populations of wolves.
You know, popular imagination, it was almost a kind of, one could describe it as a kind of Transylvania. Because it was very much like, okay, well, there’s these strange things happening here, it’s difficult to get there, and then, you know, when it’s winter, you can’t get there at all, it’s completely inaccessible. I think that’s historically one of the reasons why it has been difficult to…
[00:08:11] Annie Sargent: Right, right. La Bête du Gévaudan is a famous story in France. It’s this wolf-like creature that killed people and there was a lot of, I mean, there’s a lot of lore around it. I don’t know if it really existed or not in the end, but it’s a really interesting story. And it does all take place in that part of the country.
Yeah.
[00:08:33] Andrew Manns: Oh yes, and even to this day, it’s, I mean, you can see that this sort of The Beast of Gévaudan had in, I mean, it’s the impact on the culture, on the heritage of the region, particularly in Le Puy-en-Velay,Haute-Loire, which is sort of the southern portion of, so Haute Loire and also in Cantal.
Where there are areas that the, there were sightings of The Beast of Gévaudan and, yeah, to this day, it’s certainly a part of the culture.
[00:08:59] Annie Sargent: Right, right. So in your write up, you mentioned the haunted aspects of Auvergne. So I wanted to go into that. I’m not into haunting at all, but I would like you to tell me why I should be.
[00:09:11] Andrew Manns: Well, I think with Auvergne,it’s a region that is really rich in folklore. I mean, you get many regions of France that have lots of folklore, but I think in Auvergne, you’ve got stories of sort of devil haunted lakes, like Pavin, for example. You get stories of werewolf lords, of witches, of ghosts, even UFOs.
For example, I don’t know if any of the listeners, any of the people in the audience have heard of Rael, Rael, sort of the Raelians, and was actually the founder of this new religion, he had a, he claimed to have had a vision on one of the mountains here,Puy de la Vache, which is very close to the Puy-de-Dôme, so there’s that kind of, it’s something that very few people are aware of, even people who are from France.
[00:09:56] Annie Sargent: Well, I’ve heard of Raël, yes. I mean, I can’t say that I know a lot, but I have heard of it, yes.
[00:10:01] Andrew Manns: And, so yeah, there’s even a tradition of the, up until the, I would say, until the early 20th century, there was a specific storytelling tradition to the mountains in Auvergne, which was sort of the, they would describe it as the veillée, sort of.
And forgive me if I’m not pronouncing it correctly, it’s sort of the Wake, during the winter, all of the people in a village, let’s say the mountains of Cantal, or the mountains of, you know, somewhere like Mont-Dore in Puy-de-Dôme, they would all gather at one villager’s house, like the largest house in the village, in the middle of the night, pretty much. And they would come together and they would discuss, you know, gossip, and they would also do knitting, and all different types of activities, and they’d have some food and stuff like that. But at the same time, you’d also have these storytellers who would arrive, local storytellers, and they would tell all kinds of tales about the backgrounds, the backstories about different landmarks, local landmarks, and then also, again, the loup garou, so the werewolf was something that was very popular in this region.
And these were very, this is sort of a common thing until, as I said, the beginning of the 20th century. So this storytelling tradition of fairy tales, of folklore is really, I think extraordinary. And even, I should say, to speak of sort of examples of the haunted elements, I think arguably the biggest landmark, or the most well known landmark here, the Puy-de-Dôme, which is this sort of volcano, this iconic volcano, which still has the ruins of the Temple of Mercury on the top.
So, there’s actually stories going back dating from the Renaissance about witches meeting on the top of this mountain and doing various rituals. And this comes from the, actually from a 16th century treatise, which was written by a French jurist.
It’s quite interesting stuff. You get a lot of this, sort of strange stories coming out of this region.
[00:11:49] Annie Sargent: Halloweenish, but year round.
[00:11:51] Andrew Manns: Yes.
[00:11:53] Annie Sargent: That’s great.
Must-Visit Places in Auvergne
[00:11:54] Annie Sargent: All right, let’s talk a little bit about the places that people might want to visit. Where are your favorite places to take people in the Auvergne, places that you think they really must discover?
Puy du Dôme
[00:12:05] Andrew Manns: So definitely the Puy du Dôme, which I, the mountain I just mentioned, which I’ve described is the Olympus of France. It’s really picturesque. It’s impressive to see from a distance when you’re in Clermont-Ferrand, as long as there’s the day is clear, you can see it. It’s sitting there and sometimes it’s sort of girdled with clouds.
So it really is this kind of Olympus, especially considering that it had the Temple of Mercury on top during the Roman and also the Gaulish period. So there’s that.
Montpeyroux
[00:12:34] Andrew Manns: And then there is also another town which is quite close to Clermont-Ferrand, which is Montpeyroux.
And I, Montpeyroux, many of the structures in this town are comprised of arcos stone, so it’s a tan stone. And it gives the village very much like a Tuscany feel. If you’ve been to Tuscany, if you’ve been to Florence, if you’ve been to any of these sort of villages in these parts of Italy, you’ll be like, wow, I feel like I’m in the Italian countryside.
So Montpeyroux is, I see that as like the heart of the, Tuscany of Auvergne, you could call it.
[00:13:04] Annie Sargent: Uh huh. That sounds good.
[00:13:06] Andrew Manns: Yeah, it’s got a beautiful citadel, andit’s also been regularly listed as one of France’s most beautiful villages as well. So I highly would recommend this place, it’s not far from Clermont at all.
Champeix
[00:13:18] Andrew Manns: Another place where I’ve done some events, some one man shows, is Champeix, which can also be considered part of this Tuscany of Auvergne region within Puy de Dôme. And Champeix has these public gardens which are growing within theruins of this, something called the, of a building called the Château de Marchidial, or the Castle of Marchidial. It’s an ancient fortress. Which is mostly in ruins,they’ve got a chapel which has been restored in part, and they use it for different cultural performances, but it’s really a kind of town that it’s like a day trip from Clermont-Ferrand.And you can just spend the whole day there, eating at the different restaurants, hiking, spending time sitting around in these Mediterranean gardens, which are within the fortress.
It’s an amazing spot. If you type it into Google Champeix, you will just see these wonderful landscapes.
[00:14:06] Annie Sargent: Fantastic. Yeah, I’ve never been to these two that you just mentioned. That’s really cool. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:14:12] Andrew Manns: Yeah, they’re excellent places to visit. And I should say that both Montpeyroux and Champeix, they’re within the department of Puy du Dôme.
Monastier-sur-Gazeille
[00:14:19] Andrew Manns: So the next place I’m going to mention is Monastier-sur-Gazeille, which is actually in Haute Loire, which again is a sort of a southern department of Auvergne.
[00:14:29] Annie Sargent: Right. So if I may interrupt you for just a second. When a department says ‘Haute’ in the name like Haute Loire, Haute Garonne it means that’s where the river starts. It’s where the height of the river is. The highest point of the river. So it’s usually,Haute Garonne is where the Garonne starts, and the Haute Loire is where the Loire starts, the Loire river starts.
[00:14:51] Andrew Manns: Exactly, exactly. AndI recently visited Monastier-sur-Gazeille and I was really impressed because it’s not, again, it’s not a town that is really on, really comes up on people’s radar. But it is really the perfect mix of old and new. You’ve got these old buildings from the 19th century mixed with some, you know, lots of different refurbished ones as well.
And it has a, in my opinion, probably one of the coolest museums I’ve ever visited, which is the Museum of Popular Beliefs, so the Musée des Croyances Populaires.And it’s run by this guy called Patrice Rey, who is sort of a folklore collector, he’s a storyteller as well, and he’s also an artist. He’s sort of put all these different paintings up, and different kind of dioramas illustrating the local folklore, of both Loire and of Auvergne more broadly.
And the whole place is within a 14th century castle. So it’s just like the perfect setting, I can’t recommend it enough. If people want to see something a little bit different…
[00:15:53] Annie Sargent: Yeah, that sounds great. And so is a lot of this in English within this Musée des Croyances Populaires?
[00:15:59] Andrew Manns: So unfortunately, there’s not much in English, but because it’s such a visual space, really the stories are, you can really grasp, get an understanding of what’s being said. You have pictures of werewolves, of elves, and it’s all very almost like a comic book in a way, where you can kind of see these different images.
[00:16:21] Annie Sargent: Yeah. And besides, I mean, at least half of the people who listen to this podcast want to practice their French. And I should say that if you, if that’s really what you want to do, then going to the Auvergne is absolutely perfect because it’s not so popular that everybody who works in the travel industry necessarily speaks perfect English.
So they’ll want you to use your French, which is perfect. That’s what you want, right?
Right. And I think the director does so, Patrice he does speak a bit of, he does speak a bit of English, but again, it’s not…It’s not a focus of his. He’s a French guy who wants to talk about French popular lore and beliefs. That’s wonderful. Folklore museum, I love a good folklore museum. That’s fantastic.
Le Puy-en-Velay
[00:17:06] Andrew Manns: Yeah, so there’s Monastier-sur-Gazeille. And then, well, if you’re in Haute Loire, one should also, one should never miss out on seeing Puy-en-Velay, which, probably since in the 19th century, it was described as one of the, arguably, the most picturesque city in the world, the most picturesque town in the world, and it is very impressive.
[00:17:28] Annie Sargent: It looks almost like something out of a Star Wars film because you get these, sort of spires going up and they have chapels on top of them and the city is just beautiful, especially in the sunlight. It’s really amazing. And Le Puy-en-Velay was actually, it’s a popular stop on the Santiagode Compostela sort of this kind of pilgrimage, that’s this pilgrimage route that people have been doing. Yeah, it’s a major starting point of the pilgrimage.
[00:17:56] Andrew Manns: Yes.And in fact, if members of your audience are aware of Robert Louis Stevenson, he was also a famous writer who spent quite a bit of time in Puy-en-Velay. And he was very happy to visit the place and he wrote very highly about it, very positively about it.
The other thing within Puy-en-Velay is, it’s a cathedral, which has something called the Vierge Noire within it, is the sort of the black virgin, it’s a kind of statue, which is reputed to have miraculous… So this is me coming back again to the kind of haunted elements or the mysterious elements of Auvergne.
But this statue is something that’s for centuries really was held as sort ofhad this sort of holy place in local culture, but also throughout all of France. And it’s apparently has healing abilities, and so that’s something that people might want to check out as well, the cathedral and its statue.
[00:18:49] Annie Sargent: Yeah, that one really is striking. You can’t really, you know, when you see photos of it, I’ll probably share some photos of it, on Facebook or Instagram. Gorgeous place, definitely really worth visiting.
Saint-Saturnin
[00:19:02] Annie Sargent: So there are other things, other places that you list as being interesting: Saint-Saturnin is one, former property of Catherine de Medici. Okay, so it’s got to be a pretty nice looking castle, right?
[00:19:17] Andrew Manns: Oh yes, it’s beautiful, it’s a castle that looks like a castle, so it really has that traditional, with the turrets, and the immaculations, on the façade, it’s really, it’s a beautiful space, it’s got a beautiful garden. And it’s actually a hotel as well. So you can even stay within. And it was owned by, it was owned by the Medici, by Catherine De Medici, who was also a member of the La Tour d’Auvergne family, which was a very powerful family in Auvergne, in the Middle Ages and also during the Renaissance.
[00:19:47] Annie Sargent: Uh huh.
[00:19:48] Andrew Manns: But yes, certainly, and again, Saint-Saturnin is just I would say it’s about 20-25 minutes from Clermont Ferrand. So it’s certainly within reach, and the town itself also has a lot of the, I mentioned before, Montpeyroux, arco stone, and these sort of, it has, again, the sense of, it looks a bit like Tuscany.
So it’s definitely a place to explore. There are lots of differentantique shops, lots of different artisanal shops where you can buy different,you know, pottery and things. So certainly Saint-Saturnin is a great place to just wander around.
Besse and Lac Pavin
[00:20:21] Annie Sargent: Yeah. Yeah. Besse and Lac Pavin. When we’re done with this list, I want you to tell us about two things, about how close all these things are, how long it’s going to take to visit these things for both, the people who have plenty of time and the people who are short on time. So let’s keep that in mind, but let’s finish with your list first.
You mentioned Besse and Lac Pavin.
[00:20:45] Andrew Manns: So Bess is sort of in the sense, in the Sancy mountains. Again, it’s still within Puy du Dôme. It’s a beautiful town, a beautiful medieval town, great to wander around, lots of the structures are not comprised of arcos, which is the tan stone, but they’re comprised of pierre de volvic.
So pierre de volvic is a volcanic kind of, can be bluish and black, and blackish, but it’s a beautiful stone, especially when it’s within this Renaissance context, Renaissance slash medieval context.
[00:21:14] Annie Sargent: Nice.
[00:21:15] Andrew Manns: Lac Pavin is very close to Besse. It’s about, I guess, maybe, I’m going to say ten minutes away.
And Lac Pavin is really unique, because it is a volcanic lake. And it has very interesting chemical qualities, which have helped to create a kind of geomythology around it. So for many, for many centuries, Lac Pavin, there was all, there were many, all of these different legends about Pavin about, like, if you would throw a stone into the lake, all of a sudden you would summon up a hailstorm. And that the lake was bottomless, and if you tried to take a boat on the lake, there would be some kind of force that would pull you down. There were legends about there being an underwater, basically a village that was swallowed and is now at the bottom of the lake. It’s been argued that a lot of these stories derive from the fact that over the years, there have been different sort of, there’s been like a lot of seismic activity, which has created, let’s say, because of the carbon dioxide, because of the methane within the lake, if you cause sort of a displacement, you can create these, the lake would actually start bubbling, sometimes there would be little geysers shooting out. And apparently, particularly according to a professor called Michel Maybeck, who I know, and he’s actually from Auvergne as well, he’s argued that a lot of these events probably had an impact on the local folklore.
But in any case…
[00:22:38] Annie Sargent: They would, wouldn’t they? I mean, if the lake starts spewing up water all of a sudden, yes, that would be folklore, yes.
[00:22:45] Andrew Manns: It’s funny to think about it, because when you go there, it looks so tranquil, it’s so peaceful, you’ve got this turquoise water, and it’s just like a perfect circle, and it’s fringed with all of these beech trees,and fir trees, and it’s, you know, it’s wonderful to hike, and wonderful to just sit and have a picnic, and they’ve got like one little restaurant there as well. Excellent place to go, not just in the summer, but particularly in autumn, when you’ve just got the coloration.
[00:23:08] Annie Sargent: The colors, huh?
[00:23:10] Andrew Manns: So yeah, definitely, if you love nature, Lac Pavin is the place to go.
[00:23:14] Annie Sargent: Fantastic.
[00:23:15] Andrew Manns: And similarly, on sort of dealing, speaking about lakes, I would also recommend Lac Chambon, which is again in the Sancy Mountains. And the lake is obviously not as deep as Lac Pavin. But at least in Lac Chambon you can swim, they’ve got a beach, it’s great for water sports, they’ve got all these different camping sites, restaurants, sort of on thelike lining the coast.
The greatest place to sort of cool off in the summer.
[00:23:42] Annie Sargent: So it’s probably popular with campers and people like that.
[00:23:46] Andrew Manns: Oh yes, absolutely.
[00:23:47] Annie Sargent: Yeah. Yeah.
Valley of Chaudefour
[00:23:48] Annie Sargent: And then there’s the Valley of Chaudefour. Never heard that name either.
Yeah, so the Valley of Chaudefour is actually within the, so Lac Chambon is part of Chambon, so the village is Chambon, the commune is Chambon sur Lac. And the Valley of Chaudefort is actually part of this, it’s within the domain of this village. Oh yeah, I said that backwards. I said Chaux de four and it’s Chaudefour.
[00:24:16] Andrew Manns: And it’s again, it’s really incredible to see. They’ve got, sort of a, an amazing cliff. So when you get up to the Valley of Chaudefour, you’re almost surrounded by these cliffs, like a wall of stone and of granite, and you’ve got these spires going up.
And it looks almost something, it looks almost a bit prehistoric. It’s very beautiful. And there are rarely any, I mean, there are tourists, but it’s the kind of space that it’s never going to be, you’re never going to see this kind of, I don’t think you’ll ever see this kind of overtourism. And within the Valley of Chaudefour, there is something called The Source the Sainte Anne, so the Spring of Saint Anne.
And it’s one of these, one of these many thermal springs that you can find in Auvergne, except this one is completely potable so you can drink from it. And it repeatedly has healing properties.
[00:25:04] Annie Sargent: So, so how do you spell the name of the saint, Anne?
[00:25:08] Andrew Manns: Sainte Anne.
[00:25:09] Annie Sargent: Anne, Anne Sainte Anne? Yes. Sorry.
[00:25:12] Andrew Manns: Exactly. Exactly. And I’ve actually written about this place on my website. And I give some details about if you want to walk there from the center of the village in Chambon sur Lac, I tell you how to kind of follow the path, hiking paths to get up to the source.
[00:25:27] Annie Sargent: Fantastic. Sounds like it’s really very cool for people who love nature, like for people who are into hiking, biking, swimming in lakes,that sort of wonderful vacation there. You’re relaxing vacation.
Cultural and Historical Highlights
[00:25:42] Annie Sargent: We haven’t, I mean, the only museum we’ve mentioned so far is the Museum of lore.
No, it wasn’t called lore. It was called…
[00:25:48] Andrew Manns: The Museum of popular beliefs?
[00:25:50] Annie Sargent: Right, Musée des Croyances Populaires, so this is not the sort of place where you go and see one painting after another, it’s much more active and for families, I mean, I can imagine families loving this.
Château de Murolz
[00:26:03] Andrew Manns: Yes, absolutely. There are other museums like for example, in Clermont-Ferrand there’s sort of the museum, they have a national history museum,which is great, and they do have various art galleries. They have an interesting art gallery, and in Murol, actually. So, Murol is near, is actually right next to Chambon sur Lac.Murol has its beautiful castle as well, the Château de Murol. But there, they have this museum which is, there is actually a kind of clique of artists,who were, I think they were active in between the 19th century and the early 20th century.
And they were sort of like the school of Murol, I believe. There’s a beautiful museum or gallery dedicated only to them. And the paintings are really, you can’t really find them online either. It’s the kind of, it’s really the kind of space that it’s really tucked away.
If you don’t know about it, you’ll never find it. But I was there the, I was literally there last week, my first time there, I went with my daughter because they had a free, they had a free sort of Atelier Enfant, sort of a little place for kids. And I was just really taken aback by not only the, because I’m a huge architecture buff as well, so not only the sort of interior space, but also just the beautiful, the layout, the paintings, which I wasn’t very familiar with, it’s like a mixture of romanticism and post impressionism. So that’s another space that people might want to check out.
If they’re in the area, if they happen to be at Lac Chambon or they happen to be going to the Château de Murol, I would highly recommend it because, and it’s also inexpensive too. Like none of these, that’s another thing that I should mention generally about Auvergne, many of these attractions arevery inexpensive.
So compared to places like in Bordeaux, or in Paris, it’s like, you’d be saving a lot of money to come here.
[00:27:48] Annie Sargent: Right, right. So, Château de Murol, spell that.
[00:27:53] Andrew Manns: Is M-U-R-O-L. Yeah,
[00:28:01] Annie Sargent: I got to go, I got to go see it.
(Mid-roll ad spot)
[00:28:05] Annie Sargent: All right.
Auvergne’s Thermal Spas and Volcanic Wonders
[00:28:07] Annie Sargent: And then, last on your list, and then we’ll mention a few others, Mont-Dore and the Thermal Spas.
[00:28:14] Andrew Manns: Yes, so Mont-Dore has been famous since really, since I would say early 19th century for its thermal spas. But even before that, so going back to the time of ancient Rome, and the Romans were present, these spas were used for, you know, different religious ceremonies and so on.
It’s really been a historic space for thousands of years. And today, people will come from all over France, from all over the world to get these spa treatments. And the water is this sort of,it’s infused, not infused, but it’s coming up fromsort of, from the center of, not from the center of the earth, but it’s really coming from these corners of volcanic strata.
This, so within the, within the soil, within the rocks, there’s all this mineral rich thermos, there are these mineral rich thermal springs, which the Mont-Dore establishment, the institute, The Term, has sort of taken control over, and so they have treatments throughout the year, pretty much.
[00:29:10] Annie Sargent: Yeah. Right, so if you imagine something likeYellowstone, but on top of all these natural features, they’ve put buildings, and hotels and places where you can go bathe in the water and get treatments and things like that. And it was a huge tourist kind of summer activity for people. In the 1900s in France, 1800s, 1900s, French people by the thousands went to get treatment in those places. So it’s a really, I mean, it’s not as big as it used to be, perhaps I’m wrong, perhaps in, in your area, it still is huge, but any town in France that has natural springs of that sort, they usually have some sort of spa and treatment places.
[00:29:56] Andrew Manns: And I think what adds to the, and you can find it within these sort of travel diaries of British writers from the 19th century, from the early 20th century, some American writers as well, the fact, so it was not, you had the thermal spas were kind of the main attraction, but then they built up this sort of, as you mentioned, these sort of resorts.
Then you had different concerts. You had all celebrities coming all from all around the world doing performances. And then, of course, within Mont-Dore, is surrounded by the beautiful, you know, the Sancy Mountains, and there are like dozens of hiking paths. There’s a waterfall that you can see, a huge waterfall. Lots of other things to do in the area. So it really became like, the perfect holiday destination. You know, you go, you get your medical treatment, and then you know, you could spend your time in these different sort of concert halls, you know,
[00:30:46] Annie Sargent: It’s good for the soul and the body as well.
[00:30:48] Andrew Manns: Exactly, exactly.
Vulcania
[00:30:51] Annie Sargent: That’s great. There’s other places in the Auvergne that get a lot of visitors. So I looked for the most visited place in Auvergne, and it is Vulcania which we haven’t discussed yet, but this is a theme park dedicated to volcanoes and earth sciences, I guess.
It gets about 300,000 visitors a year. They have interactive exhibits, 4D movies, outdoor things. It’s big. Okay. Have you visited, and what did you think of it?
[00:31:21] Andrew Manns: So I actually have not visited Vulcania, I’ve been to the nearby Volcan de Lemptégy, which is sort of a similar, it’s similar in a way because it sort of takes place within a volcano and they’ve got like a little, a little sort of train that takes you around. But I have heard a lot of great things about Vulcania.
[00:31:36] Annie Sargent: It seems to be a biggie. One thing that you did mention a lot is the Puy de Dôme. So this is La Chaîne des Puys is what it’s called, it’s a dormant volcano. It’s beautiful and about half a million people go every year enjoying the trails, the cog railway. There’s a cog railway there?
[00:31:57] Andrew Manns: Yes, they call it the Panoramique des Dômes. So it’s a, it’s sort of like a, yeah, it’s a sort of train that goes up, takes about maybe 15 minutes to get to the top. It’s beautiful. It’s again, if you can go to the top of the Puy de Dôme several ways. There’s several routes you can walk to the top yourself, which is, it’s not very difficult. It takes about 45 minutes.
If you choose to go on the train, it’s probably the easiest thing. You just sit back, you relax. And it goes around the mountains, sort of all the way up to the top. And it’s just beautiful. You can see on a clear day, you can see all the chaîne du Puy. Sometimes you can see bits of the, you know, the Sancy mountains as well.
And then once you get to the top, you have different, you have about, I think, about three different places where you can eat. There’s, like, sort of a more, a fancier restaurant, a more higher end restaurant, then they’ve got one which is more mid range, and then they have one where it’s basically just sandwiches and drinks and things like that.
So it’s really something for everyone at the top. Of course, they’ve got the Temple of the Ruins of the Temple of Mercury, which you can see. And now, from this year, you can actually do guided tours, within the ruins. So this is something that, to the best of my knowledge, this is really the first time this has happened.
[00:33:08] Annie Sargent: That’s very cool.
Cathedral in Clermont Ferrand
[00:33:09] Annie Sargent: In Clermont Ferrand, the cathedral, is apparently very nice. I have not seen it. It’s called Notre Dame de l’Assomption. It’s a Gothic cathedral, but it’s built from black volcanic rock, so it’s got to look pretty spectacular.
[00:33:22] Andrew Manns: Yes, it’s something that I call it the most gothic looking church in France, mainly for that reason.
[00:33:29] Annie Sargent: Yes!
[00:33:31] Andrew Manns: As you see the volcanic stone, the pierre de volvic, it’s a completely black, and actually, I also call the cathedral the cousin to the Notre Dame in Paris, because the cathedral in Clermont Ferrand was also completed by Viollet le Duc, who’s the same architect who kind of did all the new, like, Ferrand stuff on the cathedral in in par?
[00:33:50] Annie Sargent: Now, because this is a volcanic area, there’s also Puy Marie, which is another kind of volcanicdome. And again, just like any volcano area, you can do hiking, you can enjoy some beautiful views, nature trails, but these, this is not super difficult hiking, is it?
It’s hilly, but it’s not, like, super challenging, is it?
[00:34:14] Andrew Manns: No, not at all. Everything is very accessible. Everything is, you know, I’ve even seen people even climbing the Puy de Dôme with, you know, children on their backs and little kids. Everything is accessible, which is great.
[00:34:25] Annie Sargent: That’s good, yeah. Then number five attraction in the area Château de Murol that you have mentioned, and I didn’t recognize because I hadn’t heard about it, it’s a medieval castle, overlooking the village, that’s got to be pretty, pretty nice. Lac Pavin that you mentioned as well.Oh, Vichy, La ville de Vichy, of course is in that area.
And Vichy is infamous for, the government of Vichy, , but it’s also a thermal town, that I have not visited. Have you been, what did you think?
[00:34:57] Andrew Manns: So I, again, I have not been to Vichy, but I know, I’ve, and I’ve written about all of its different attractions and it’s a very, I have friends who are from Vichy. And I know this is a very beautiful town, lots of history, the architecture is amazing, particularly the thermal structures, lots of Art Nouveau.
[00:35:14] Annie Sargent: Ah.
[00:35:15] Andrew Manns: And you can do even the, it has almost a sort of a maritime culture in a way.
It’s funny to think about because it’s an inland, it’s an inland city, but because of the Allier, which is the river that sort of goes through, they have all these, there’s sort of a beach, and there’s lots of restaurants on the shore. And, it’s definitely a great place to go during the summer.
You can even do sailing, they’ve got like a sailing club, and it’s, yeah, I think Vichy should be on the top of people’s list. Especially because it’s easier to get to Vichy than Clermont. Because if you take the train from Paris, I think Vichy is probably, once you get into, it’s just coming after Moulin, it’s not so difficult to get there from Paris. It could actually be a day trip.
[00:35:58] Annie Sargent: Okay. That’s, yeah, that’s, you’d have to get up early, but perhaps you can do that. Sure. Yeah.Then they mentioned the Puy en Velay, which you have mentioned, it’s the starting point, one of the starting points of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.La Chaine des Puys, which is, volcanic hills and craters, and it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. That’s cool, I did not know that.
The Michelin Tire Company in Clermont-Ferrand
[00:36:25] Annie Sargent: And then there’s Michelin, the Michelin Tire Company, and so there’s a museum to them?
[00:36:32] Andrew Manns: Oh yes, there is, it’s the Michelin, the Aventure Michelin. There’s that, there’s a sort of store. And then even like the building is, so Michelin is again in Clermont Ferrand, they’re sort of like the number one, it’s a massive sort of international company. And, you know, for those who aren’t aware of Michelin, the Michelin tires were sort of created in the late 19th century. And they kind of revolutionized lots of different things, and now they’re involved in everything from, you know, the tire making, to you know, robotics, to, I just saw the other day, they were testing some space tires.
They’re testing tires for, these sort of vehicles to go on the moon. So, no, on Mars, I should say, on Mars.
Yes. And they were testing the vehicle in the Volcan de Lemptégy, which I mentioned. So Volcan de Lemptégy is another sort of attraction. It’s across the road, pretty much across the road from Volcania.
It’s a volcano and you get all of this,it’s a volcano that looks like a volcano. So you can see a lot of this volcanic, what do they call it, pouzzolane? pouzzolane, reddish, blackish stone that sort of crumbles, it’s, yeah.
[00:37:40] Annie Sargent: Very nice. Yeah, see, I would go for the L’Aventure Michelin. I mean, I drive on Michelin tires. They’re good. They’re usually quite good for the most part. And of course, there’s a Michelin Guides which came out of a desire to get people to use their tires more, which is really interesting because that’s why they started the whole guide, the whole business of doing, you know, restaurant reviews and guides was to like, Hey, French people go out and drive more so you can use, use more tires.
[00:38:18] Andrew Manns: Yes.
[00:38:18] Annie Sargent: Really an interestingthing.
Orsival Basilica
[00:38:20] Annie Sargent: Okay. Other things that they mention is the Orsival Basilica. So this is a Romanesque basilica. I haven’t heard of it, have you?
[00:38:30] Andrew Manns: Yes, so Orasival, it’s actually not very far away at all from Mont-Dore.
And again, it’s within this kind of, sort of very mountainous area, lots of things to do around. Many years ago, I visited, but I haven’t been to Orsival since.
The last thing I will mention is called La Bourboule. So it’s spa town with Belle Epoque architecture. Well, that sounds good. That would be really pretty.
[00:38:55] Annie Sargent: Sorry. Do you, have you been, do you know anything about it?
[00:38:58] Andrew Manns: I’ve been there a few times, and yeah,it’s a fantastic place to go.
Planning Your Auvergne Adventure
[00:39:02] Annie Sargent: All right. So, the last thing I want us to talk about is geographically, how many days does it take to enjoy this area? What’s the weather like? Because I know it can get cold in the Auvergne, but are the summers pleasant? Is it super hot? Does it get muggy? I don’t know. Tell us about the weather, first and then the geography a little bit.
[00:39:24] Andrew Manns: Yeah, the weather is a very good question. So there are kind of micro climates because there’s so much variation in the altitude, and also it’s because we’re in the mountains, there’s a lot of variability. The weather can sometimes be mercurial in the sense that one day it could be, particularly in the summer, it could be extraordinarily hot and then all of a sudden you get a hailstorm. So I would say that probably the best time to visit is Auvergne, particularly the Puy de Dôme area, would be either in autumn, so probably from September up to November, or spring.
However, another thing that lots of people are not aware of is that sort of there’s a big skiing, there’s a, it’s a great place to go skiing as well, particularly Mont-Dore.
That’s really where you have a lot of these different ski resorts and it’s a fantastic, it’s been compared to different places in the Alps, except there are far less tourists. So that’s another thing to keep in mind. If you do choose to come during the winter, skiing is really the number one for you, and they’ve got around in Mont-Dore, they have, I think usually in March or February, they have something called the Sansi Jazz Festival. And that’s held throughout, so, Chambon sur Lac, parts of, you know, parts, areas around Chaux le Feur, Mont-Dore, Bourboul.
So that’s another thing for those people who love jazz music, they’ve had Grammy award people coming to perform.
So that’s certainly a great thing. So yeah, definitely again, the weather is there are variations. And I would say that to visit the region, I think that’s another good question because it depends on what, like if you want to split everything up into chunks or like if you want to go to Clermont Ferrand and then sort of the surrounding area, I would say you could cover maybe within three or four days. You could do some trips out to Saint Saturnin, some trips out to Bess, and sort of base yourself in Clermont, and then maybe kind of find a bed and breakfast a little bit further outside.
But I think if you were to go up into Mont-Dore, or you want to go even to Haute Loire or Cantal, I would say probably at least a week. And with a car, you would really, you would benefit the most in that context if you have a car or if you have like a personal, if you have a personal guide who’s sort of providing these services.
[00:41:32] Annie Sargent: Exactly, yeah.
[00:41:33] Andrew Manns: You’d really have a great time because you can see things that are literally off the beaten path.
There are things that you can’t really find online about Auvergne, because there are, there’s lots of things, even within the Office of Tourism, there are lots of things, I’ve gone to various villages, and you see something like a historic house or a monument, and there are no inscriptions or anything. There’s no, like, plaque that says, oh, this was built in the 12th century. But, you know, local tours know this, and local tour guides know this.
[00:42:02] Annie Sargent: Yeah. Yeah. It’s often the case, like in France, they don’t really put a lot of signs explaining what it is. It’s just, it happens a lot. So is that the sort of thing you, the sort of service you offer, is you take people around in your car or in a van or something?
[00:42:20] Andrew Manns: I do provide, yes, for groups, I basically can provide transportation. I can do custom tours further afield. Obviously, I have my walking tours in Clermont Ferrand, but I’ve recently done personal tours, for example, in Saint Saturnin, personal, I was able to take a group to have a private tour of the castle of Saint Saturnin. And they had a lunch within the castle. And again, they had basically the entire castle to themselves, so they really enjoyed that.
And I have the capacity to do other events as well, you know, different tasting sessions at restaurants. So it’s something that, you know, people can contact me on their website if they’re coming with the group or they’ve got a special event that they want me to organize.
These are the things that I also…
[00:43:03] Annie Sargent: Very nice. And so the best way to contact you is through your website, Visit Auvergne? Okay, org. fantastic!
Well, you’ve certainly given me a desire to go check it out because in a few days I’m heading out to Lille, which is a part of France I don’t know very well. But Auvergne is probably second on that list of areas that I haven’t been to very much.
I don’t know why, because it’s not that far from where I live, really. I mean I could probably drive there in five hours, you know, it’s from Toulouse, it’s not that far. And anymore, I mean, it used to be that it was very isolated, but now you have freeways going through there. There’s a major freeway,it’s one of the newer ones, isn’t it?
[00:43:52] Andrew Manns: Probably. Yes.
[00:43:53] Annie Sargent: There’s no reason, it’s highly accessible by now. It used to be very, very, isolated, but it’s not anymore. And it’s gorgeous. And people who want to experience France, you know, like genuine France, you know, the rural France, life in France for a few days and speak French, this is your chance to do that.
Thank you so much, Andrew, it’s been a very interesting conversation. And I hope that some people take you up on this and go visit Auvergne with you.
[00:44:26] Andrew Manns: Thank you so much. It’s a real pleasure speaking with you.
[00:44:28] Annie Sargent: Merci beaucoup.
[00:44:30] Andrew Manns: Merci.
Au revoir
[00:44:31] Andrew Manns: Au revoir.
Thank you Patrons
[00:44:38] Annie Sargent: Again, I want to thank my patrons for giving back and supporting the show. Patreon supporters get new episodes as soon as they are ready and ads-free. If that sounds good to you, be like them, follow the link in the show notes.
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And to support Elyse go to patreon.com/Elysart.
Tour Reviews
[00:45:36] Annie Sargent: Somebody left a review of my Marais tour this week saying: ‘Excellent immersion into the history and culture of the Marais. Highly recommended’.
And I like that this person used the word immersion, because when you are listening in your ears and you know this, if you listen to podcasts with earbuds, it’s really immersive, it’s a more immersive experience than just trying to follow a guide who may or may not speak loud enough for you. Thank you so much for that review.
And podcast listeners get a big discount for buying these tours from my website, but if you buy directly from me, let me remind you that it’s a manual process, I’m not a robot, I do sleep. So if you want the tour codes immediately, buy them from the app. If you can wait a day or two, then buy them from Joinusinfrance.com/boutique and you’ll get a nice discount.
And if you want to read more reviews of these tours, go to joinusinfrance.com/VMR. That stands for VoiceMap Reviews.
Consultations on Zoom
[00:46:43] Annie Sargent: I also offer two levels of itinerary consultations on Zoom to help you plan your trip. It’s all explained on joinusinfrance.com/boutique.
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French foods for Fall Season
[00:47:27] Annie Sargent: All right, let’s talk about French foods that I enjoy in the fall. You know, one of the best things about French culture is the deep love and appreciation for home cooked meals. While many French people enjoy eating out at lunch with colleagues due to their busy work schedules, dinner is often an affair shared with family and loved ones, prepared from scratch with seasonal ingredients.
Unlike in some other countries where packing a lunch is common, most French workers either eat at local restaurants or cafes at lunch, or take advantage of a shortened workday and generous breaks that allow them to savour a proper meal.
However, at home, the French embrace a slower, more intentional approach to food, which is evident in the wide range of classic French dishes that are cooked during the fall months.
It’s a wonderful season in France, the markets are bursting with seasonal ingredients like pumpkins, chestnuts, mushrooms, and root vegetables, not to mention game meats and heavier products suited to colder weather.
With this sort of abundance, it’s no wonder that many classic French dishes are ideal for this time of year.
So here are twelve of what I consider to be the best French classics to cook at home during the fall, along with a little bit of history for each of them.
Coq Au Vin
[00:48:46] Annie Sargent: So, the first one is Coq Au Vin. The ingredients are chicken, traditionally it was a rooster, but now it’s a chicken, red wine, mushrooms, onions, and bacon. This iconic dish is thought to have originated in the Burgundy region, where wine production is prominent. The traditional recipe calls for an older rooster, which would be tough, but after slow cooking in wine, it becomes tender and flavorful.
The wine adds complexity to the dish, while the mushrooms and bacon provide earthy and savory elements. It’s a perfect dish to warm up chilly autumn evenings.
Boeuf Bourguignon
[00:49:24] Annie Sargent: The second one is Boeuf Bourguignon, and this one is included in my cookbook, Join Us at the Table.
The ingredients are beef, burgundy wine, carrots, onions, mushrooms, and bacon. It’s another Burgundy classic. Boeuf Bourguignon uses the region’s renowned red wine to tenderize the beef during a long slow cooking process. So you can use the cheapest beef around. It doesn’t need to be, you know, an impressive tender piece of beef.
And we do have a lot of tough beef in France. And it will be very good because it’s long cooking. This is originally a peasant dish made with, like I said, inexpensive cuts of meat, and it’s one of the best known dishes from French cuisine. And you can also buy it at many restaurants all over the country, but it’s a go to comfort food for the Fall.
Cassoulet
[00:50:17] Annie Sargent: Cassoulet from my hometown of Toulouse. I have a lighter version of this in Join Us at the Table, my cookbook. The main ingredients are white beans, duck confit, pork and Toulouse sausage. Now this, this wonderful dish hails from the Languedoc region, around Toulouse, and it’s named after the cassole, which is the traditional earthenware pot in which it is cooked.
The dish has its root in rural farming communities in the southwest. We fight about who made it first, doesn’t matter really, but it’s a very filling and sustaining dish for the colder months. The beans are cooked slowly with duck confit and duck fat, which is actually not so unhealthy for you.
It’s not as bad as other animal fat. Pork and sausage, and it creates a really rich and deeply satisfying meal, that I enjoy.
Pot-au-feu
[00:51:12] Annie Sargent: Number four is Pot-au-feu. It’s in the cookbook, Join Us at the Table as well. Beef, root vegetables, which are carrots, leeks and turnips, herbs and broth.
This is considered France’s national dish. The Pot-au-feu dates back to medieval times when it was prepared in large pots, hung over open fires, and the name literally means pot on the fire, pot au feu. The key to this dish is the slow simmering of meat and vegetables. The laurel also is a very strong flavor there.
It’s a very simple yet elegant way to enjoy beef and root vegetables, making it ideal for the fall.
Tarte Tatin
[00:51:54] Annie Sargent: Number 5 is Tarte Tatin. This is a dessert. It’s in the Join Us at the Table as well. Okay, for this one, you need a lot of practice. I had to make this dozens of times before I got it right for the cookbook, because there are so many recipes, and it’s really important to be a little bit precise on this one.
But generally, it’s apple, sugar, butter, and puff pastry. It was created by accident, supposedly in the 19th century by the Tatin sisters. It’s a caramelized apple tart. It became an instant classic. Of course, Fall is apple season in most parts of France, and this dessert showcases the perfect balance of sweetness and buttery richness.
It’s really, really good. The sugar caramelizes itself, and then you put pastry on top well you bake it and turn it around it’s really, really good.
Gratin Dauphinois
[00:52:40] Annie Sargent: Number 6, Gratin Dauphinois, which is also in Join Us at the Table, the cookbook. The ingredients are potatoes, creamer of milk, garlic and butter and no cheese, please, no cheese. This is from the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France.
Gratin dauphinois is a quintessential fall dish. It’s often served as a side dish in restaurants as well. It’s a simple potato casserole, becomes really, really good when baked with the cream and the garlic. The history of this dish dates back to the 18th century.
Its richness makes it a perfect companion to roasted meats during the cooler months.
Soup à l’oignon
[00:53:23] Annie Sargent: Number 7, Soup à l’oignon, which is also in Join Us at the Table. So this one is mostly onion, beef broth, croutons, and a little bit of gruyere cheese. I think in restaurants they put a ton of cheese in there. At home we don’t put very much. Just a light sprinkling of cheese is enough.
French onion soup has ancient roots, but it gained popularity in the 18th century in Paris. It’s one of the few actually local dishes of Paris, particularly among market workers who could have it after a long day of work.
The onions are caramelized, cooked slowly. Caramelized doesn’t mean you add caramel to it, okay? It just means that you cook them slowly, with a bit of sugar sometimes, adding depth and sweetness, and it’s then served with a beef broth and topped with croutons and some melted cheese. It’s, oh, it’s absolutely fantastic for autumn.
Ratatouille
[00:54:19] Annie Sargent: Number 8, is Ratatouille, which is also in my cookbook, Join Us at the Table. The ingredients are eggplants, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. And as a matter of fact, in France, if you say: ‘Je vais planter la ratatouille’ it means that you are going to plant your summer vegetables. And at the end of the summer, sometimes you have a lot of tomatoes, a lot of zucchini, a lot of eggplant, a lot of peppers.
And so we make it into ratatouille, which is a traditional farmer’s dish. It cooks slowly. It’s very forgiving, and it’s delicious and it’s very healthy for you.
Poule au pot
[00:54:57] Annie Sargent: Number nine, poule au pot. The ingredients here are chicken, root vegetables, broth and herbs. It’s a lot, you know, can you… do you spot a theme to these recipes?
It’s famously associated with King Henry IV, who is said to have wished for every peasant in France to enjoy chicken in every pot. This dish, it has a long history as a symbol of French comfort food. The chicken is simmered with vegetables and herbs. It’s very flavorful. It’s very nourishing. It is wonderful.
Choucroute garnie
[00:55:31] Annie Sargent: Number 10, Choucroute garnie. So now we’re going to the eastern side of France. Sauerkraut, sausages, ham and potatoes. This is more germanic, so this is from the Alsace region. It’s heavily influenced by German cuisine. Sauerkraut is the star of the dish and it’s cooked with various meats like sausages, ham, and bacon.
This dish is hearty and filling. It’s fantastic for the cooler months of the fall.
Blanquette de Veau
[00:55:58] Annie Sargent: Number 11 is Blanquette de Veau. It’s also in the cookbook Join us at the table. This is what I’m actually going to cook today. Except I’m not going to make it with veal. I’m going to make it with turkey, turkey breast, or deboned Turkey breast. So the ingredients are veal, could be turkey, could be pork, could be saitan, if you wanna make it vegan. And it works, I tested it for the cookbook. It’s very good. So you have some sort of meat, carrots, onions, mushroom, cream and white wine. The Blanquette de Veau is one of the most beloved French dishes, particularly in the cooler months.
It dates back to the 18th century and it is named after the creamy white sauce, La Blanquette that coats the slowly cooked meat. The dish is a fine example of French comfort food. It’s mild, it’s creamy, it’s delicate. It is served with typically rice. Today, I’m going to serve it with some brown rice that I need to start cooking, as a matter of fact, as soon as I’m done recording this. It’s absolutely delicious, and you can also serve it with potatoes. It’s a staple of traditional French home cooking and it really, it has a flavor of its own. It’s very unique.
Soupe au Pistou
[00:57:11] Annie Sargent: And the last thing I’m going to talk about Soupe au Pistou, which is also in my cookbook Join Us at the Table.
It’s very easy to make and very delicious. White beans, tomatoes, zucchini, pasta, basil, garlic, and olive oil. So the Soupe au Pistou comes from Provence. It’s packed with the flavors of the Mediterranean, a simple vegetable soup. But the highlight is the Pistou, a fresh herb packed sauce made from basil. And I don’t know about you, but the basil is out of control in my garden this late. The plant is ginormous. I need to harvest more of it, so that’s why I make this dish. It also has garlic and olive oil, it’s kind of similar to an Italian pesto, but without the pine nuts, okay? Historically, this soup has been a celebration of the summer harvest, but it transitions wonderfully into the early fall when markets are still filled with tomatoes, zucchini and fresh herbs. And I like that it has beans and also some noodles in it. It’s often served with a swirl of pistou on top. And again, the pistou is olive oil and lots of basil pretty much. And you can make it at home in any blender, or whatever.
So if you cook these dishes at home, you’ll enjoy some of France’s culinary heritage.
And it will also connect you to the seasonal rhythms. And I think your family’s going to say, wow, this is delicious, make it again.
My thanks to podcast editors Anne and Christian Cotovan, who produced the transcripts.
Next week on the Podcast
[00:58:38] Annie Sargent: Next week on the podcast, an episode with Felix Wang, who is a tour guide at Vimy Ridge, the stunningly beautiful and sobering Canadian memorial of World War I.
Thank you so much for listening, and I hope you join me next time so we can look around France together. Au revoir.
Copyright
[00:58:57] Annie Sargent: The Join Us in France travel podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Annie Sargent and Copyright 2024 by AddictedToFrance. It is released under a Creative Commons, attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives license.
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Episode PageCategories: Lyon Area, Off the Beaten Track in France