April selection of readings

Flammarion, one to the most famous French publisher propose you 3 books about France you may enjoy.

First of all, Daring French Explorations, Trailblazing Adventures around the World: 1714-1854, a book written by Hubert Sagnières (author of a serie of books about travels, logs and aventurous explorers), counting with a foreword of Australian historian Edward Duyker.

Daring French Explorations is an exceptional homage to adventure. Intrepid French mariners—including legendary explorers Lapérouse, Bougainville, and Dumont d’Urville, and unsung sailors La Barbinais, Pagès, and Roquefeuil—embark readers on sixteen voyages around the world from 1714 to 1854.

A selection of firsthand accounts culled from their maritime travelogues recounts the trials and tribulations the explorers encountered as they charted new routes to remote territories. Their unfiltered observations on wide-ranging themes—from geopolitics and commerce to climate change and global cultures—resonate with contemporary issues.

This handsome volume—featuring many previously unpublished illustrations, engravings, and maps—traces their extraordinary scientific, diplomatic, or commercial expeditions, which significantly marked the history of world exploration.

Good to know: Driven by a spirit of adventure and a passion for expeditions, inveterate collector Hubert Sagnières has drawn from his extensive library to curate this unprecedented introduction to the glory days of French naval history. Award-winning author Edward Duyker is a fellow at the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

The flowers of Saint Laurent

The Flowers of Yves Saint Laurent—opening first in Marrakech, followed by Paris—delves into the rich iconography of the floral world, which provided inspiration for Saint Laurent’s creative work.

The natural world played an important role in the daily life of the couturier. Flowers and foliage were omnipresent in each of his households, as well as at his couture house.

Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé were as passionate about flowers as they were for collecting objets d’art, furniture, and artworks.

And yet, the rich documentation of their homes—whether in photography or film—barely conveys the heady atmosphere and hothouse environment that prevailed in each of these legendary places.

The daily routine at their apartments and homes involved large teams replenishing water in vases, replacing fatigued bouquets, and receiving deliveries of tightly bound bundles of varying blooms, which were then placed throughout the Rue de Babylone apartment in Paris or in the succession of houses they owned in Marrakech.

In the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s, such florists as Lachaume, Moulié, and, of course, Arène—which fulfilled nearly daily deliveries to the apartment—were considered essential suppliers, as the great Parisian jewelers were to the fashion house (excerpt of the foreword by Madison Cox, President of the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent).

French Boulangerie, Recipes and Techniques from the @Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts

This complete baking course provides Ferrandi Paris’s expertise for preparing delicious breads and viennoiserie—French baked goods traditionally enjoyed for breakfast, including the iconic croissant. This book is the perfect complement to Ferrandi Paris’s best-selling French Pâtisserie, which covers baked desserts.

Aspiring and confirmed bakers will: Acquire essential kitchen skills for more than 40 culinary techniques, explained in 220 step-by-step photographs, to make homemade poolish; refresh levain; knead, shape, and score loaves; laminate butter; prepare puff pastry; or braid brioche dough.

Prepare more than 80 sweet and savory recipes for breakfasts and snacks, including French classics and modern creations: brioche, cruffins, babka, kouign-amann, beignets, kougelhopf, baguettes, country bread, grissini, pastrami bagels, croque-monsieurs, and more.

At Ballantine books, that’s another story… Here is the brand new French ingredient: Making a Life in Paris One Lesson at a Time; A Memoir by American author @Jane Bertch.

The inspiring and delicious memoir of an American woman who had the gall to open a cooking school in Paris—a true story of triumphing over French naysayers and falling in love with a city along the way.

“An engaging, multilayered story of a woman navigating innumerable cultural differences to build a life in Paris and create her dream: to establish a French cooking school.”—David Lebovitz, author of My Paris Kitchen

When Jane Bertch was seventeen, her mother took her on a graduation trip to Paris. Thrilled to use her high school French, Jane found her halting attempts greeted with withering condescension by every waiter and shopkeeper she encountered. At the end of the trip, she vowed she would never return.

Yet a decade later she found herself back in Paris, transferred there by the American bank she worked for. She became fluent in the language and excelled in her new position. But she had a different dream: to start a cooking school for foreigners like her, who wanted to take a few classes in French cuisine in a friendly setting, then bring their new skills to their kitchens back home. Predictably, Jane faced the skeptical French—how dare an American banker start a cooking school in Paris?—as well as real-estate nightmares, and a long struggle to find and attract clients.

Thanks to Jane’s perseverance, La Cuisine Paris opened in 2009. Now the school is thriving, welcoming international visitors to come in and knead dough, whisk bechamel, whip meringue, and learn the care, precision, patience, and beauty involved in French cooking.

The French Ingredient is the story of a young female entrepreneur building a life in a city and culture she grew to love. As she established her school, Jane learned how to charm, how to project confidence, and how to give it right back to rude waiters. Having finally made peace with the city she swore to never revisit,she now offers a love letter to France, and a master class in Parisian cooking—and living.

Published through Rick Steves publishers, Rick Steves & Steve Smith Provence & the French Riviera travel guide is what you need to discover the best part of South of France.

Now more than ever, you can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when traveling through Provence and the French Riviera. Stroll breathtaking coastlines, explore Roman ruins, and soak up some sun in the South of France! Inside Rick Steves Provence & the French Riviera you'll find:

Fully updated, comprehensive coverage for spending a week or more exploring Provence and the Riviera

Rick's strategic advice on how to get the most out of your time and money, with rankings of his must-see favorites

Top sights and hidden gems, from the Pont du Gard aqueduct and Impressionist masterpieces to warm stone villages and cozy wineries.

-How to connect with local culture: Relax at a waterfront café, dive into a bowl of bouillabaisse, and watch fishermen sail back to the harbor

-Beat the crowds, skip the lines, and avoid tourist traps with Rick's candid, humorous insight

-The best places to eat, sleep, and relax over a glass of Provençal wine

-Self-guided walking tours of lively neighborhoods and incredible museums

-Detailed maps for exploring on the go

-Over 500 bible-thin pages include everything worth seeing without weighing you down

-Complete coverage of Arles, Avignon, Orange and the Côtes du Rhône, Nice, Monaco, Antibes, the Inland Riviera, and more

-Covid-related travel info and resources for a smooth trip

Make the most of every day and every dollar with Rick Steves Provence & the French Riviera.

Exploring more? Try Rick Steves France for comprehensive coverage, detailed itineraries, and essential information for planning a countrywide trip.

To finish on a sweet taste, here is Classic French Recipes of Ginette Mathiot (who was a French food writer and home economist who wrote over 30 books)

'An excellent, encouraging introduction to French home cooking by an author who combines the best culinary qualities of Gallic versions of Irma Rombauer and Fannie Farmer, with just a dash of Ratatouille’s beloved Chef Gusteau.' – Library Journal, Starred Review

A stunning collection of the very best French recipes from the foremost authority on home-cooking in France

Celebrated food writer Ginette Mathiot, author of Je sais cuisiner (the best-selling home-cooking book in France for over 90 years), taught three generations of French families how to cook.

In this elegant cloth-covered new collection of tried-and-tested accessible recipes, complete with two ribbon markers, more than 170 of the finest French dishes have been selected from her works, such as the iconic Onion Soup Gratin, Dauphinois Potatoes, as well as regional dishes including Beef bourguignon from Bourgogne and Ratatouille from Provence, and iconic staples such as Vol-au-vent, Eggs in meurette sauce, Vichy carrots, Stuffed oysters, Crème brûlée, Pears in wine, and Tarte Tatin...

Many thanks to Sam Evans from ReadMedia uk (Flammarion) for her collaboration to this paper.