There are some easily accessed mountains at the entrance to Haut Pays from which you have a super panorama to the highest peaks of Alpes Maritimes. Le Caïre Gros (2087m) and Tête de Clans (2081m) above the village of St-Dalmas Valdeblore (1290m) and the nearby the ski resort of La Colmiane are two such summits. Some guidebooks describing...
Quinoa is a gluten free grain which originates from the Andean region of South America. Quinoa has been called “Mother grain” or superfood because of its high protein content and favourable amino acid profile. Quinoa has become popular in the Western countries as there is growing interest in gluten free and vegetarian diets. The following recipe is an...
The well-to-do and friendly village of Aspremont (parking at 490 m) is a good starting point for several nice day hikes. We have previously described the ascent to Mont Chauve (853m). Today’s goal is Mont Cima (878m) north of Aspremont. In spite of the modest altitude, Mont Cima offers a splendid panorama and three viewpoint indicators, table d’orientation,...
Cime du Pisset (2233 m) is one of the lesser known summits in Mercantour National Park. It offers nevertheless a magnificent view over the higher summits nearby such as Gélas, Malédie, Caïres de Cougourde etc. In winter, the trail to the summit is one of the snowshoeing itineraries. It takes about 1h 20 (70 km) to drive to Boréon from Nice....
Rabbit has traditionally been as familiar on the table as chicken or duck in the Mediterranean countries. Lapin à la moutarde, rabbit with savory mustard sauce, is a very typical French recipe. The following simple recipe is a twist of this French classic. Somehow the carrots, fresh thyme, rabbit and grainy mustard, moutarde à l’ancienne, wonderfully complement each...
Col de Fenestre (2474 m), the mountain pass at the Italian border above Madone de Fenestre is ideal for spotting ibex(Bouquetin). These nearly became extinct and were reintroduced to Mercantour from Grand Paradiso on the Italian side. Every time we have visited Col de Fenestre we have seen ibexes that were half-tame and very easy to photograph. Trails...
When we recently visited Miami, our daughter-in-law served us this impressive apple dessert. She had got the recipe from a friend, who had got it from somebody’s blog…Later I saw in a French magazine a similar recipe, Roses de pommes en tartelette, in which the pastry sheet was made from scratch. It just proved that French girls are formidable pastry...
We have previously reported a moderate 4 hour day hike to Col de la Cavale from Camp des Fourches (2240 m) just before Col de la Bonette (2715 m) mountain pass. Today’s hike to Cime de Pelousette (2757 m) and back takes about 3 h. The trail first ascends in alpine meadows followed by some rocky parts. Because of the altitude, the...
Seafood paella is nowadays quite popular in the South of France. There are many adaptations of this most famous Spanish dish, and all sorts of dishes can be called paella. Nancy Harmon Jenkins writes beautifully in her Mediterranean Diet Cookbook about the true paella: it can be made only with the round short grain bomba rice, it includes only...
This alpine hike from the Gordolasque Valley over Pas de l’Arpette (2511 m) inside Mercantour National Park also offers a direct access to the mythic Merveilles Valley. The Merveilles Valley is famous for its prehistoric engravings. These are now protected, and you have to stay strictly on the path when visiting this valley. Mont Bego (2872 m) situated east of the Merveilles Valley...
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