Go to Germany to learn French? That's the offer from the Hôtel Concorde Berlin which is offering guests a brief French immersion with their "Luxury French Lesson" package. The five-star hotel is a a member of Paris-based Concorde Hotels & Resorts and is located on the Kurfürstendamm shopping boulevard/. The package starts at $371 and includes two overnight stay in an Executive room with a buffet breakfast in the St. Germain restaurant, a two-hour French language class at Berlitz Language School, a guided city tour focusing on French history in Berlin, and a tree-course dinner at the French brasserie le Faubourg. Plus the hotel staff speaks French and will help you practice. The package is available through August 24, 2008.
Posted Jun 17th 2008 3:02PM by Rigel Gregg Filed under: Wine
The French Foreign Legion has gone into the wine making business. Fine wine isn't the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the many skills mastered by the famous military force but that isn't holding the group back from taking this innovative approach to raising money for its aging veterans.
The wines are sourced from grapes grown in southern France and tended by retired legionnaires, so they not only provide profits for supporting the Legion and its veterans but also work to keep the men feeling busy and productive well into their retirement years.
A small town in Switzerland is fighting to be able to do something most town's take for granted: put its name on its wine bottles. Despite the fact that the village has been in existence for over 1000 years, and has been producing wine since at least as far back as The Middle Ages, there's a ban in place keeping the town name of 'Champagne' from appearing on its wine and food labels. A deal struck back in 2004 between the European Union and Switzerland (in order to protect the French wine-producing region of the same name) is to blame, and as a result the poor town of 713 residents has been experiencing steady drops in sales and may even lose jobs in the future. The residents are fighting it, but so far to no avail. Poor Champagne.
Recently we heard that a section of staircase from the Eiffel tower, the last section actually, was going to be auctioned off and was expected to go for somewhere around $29,000-$44,000. Boy, who ever predicted those amounts was WAY off.
The auction took place on the 19th of this month and the old rusty chunk of the Eiffel Tower ended up closing at over $200,000 ($216,600 to be exact). The winning bidder was a Dutch entrepreneur named Erik Kurvers, who also happens to be the president of a Dutch basketball team aptly named the EiffelTowers.
Landlocked in Eastern Europe, the Republic of Moldova is making headlines with their wine trials in France. Typically light and sharply fruity these hidden treasures may help positively influence the impoverished republic if their vintages can win the hearts and palettes of the French. Parisian dealers are importing the wines for the first time and they believe they will do well.
Home to the biggest wine collection in the world, Milestii Mici in Moldova holds millions of bottles underground accessible through hundreds of miles of tunnels. Forty years worth of sweat and passion made the collection possible which waits in 1,300 oak barrels and over 2,000 stainless steel drums. I think it's great Parisians can try something new and support a struggling nation all in the same sip!
A Pierre Cartier clock that belonged to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is scheduled to go up for auction on December 4th at Sotheby's in Manhattan. Cartier gave the onyx clock with several different time zones (specific to key Allied forces locations in World War II) to the President back in 1943. Letters between Cartier and President Roosevelt regarding the gift are not part of the sale but can be viewed in the FDR Presidential Library in Hyde Park, New York.
The clock comes with a red leather presentation box inscribed with "F.D.R" and is expected to sell for as much as $1 million dollars.
So Eva Longoria and Tony Parker finally made it official this past weekend when they got married in France. What better way to promise their eternal love to each other than with these beautiful and unique Piaget Possession wedding bands -- made of two bands that are "inseparably linked, turning together for eternity." Eva's features double rows of brilliant cut diamonds divided by a row of 27 square cut diamonds down the center (for a total of 107 jewels), and Tony's is elegance in its simplest form. Both rings are 18k white gold and, per the couple's request, have a personalized French engraving on the inside.
In addition to choosing Piaget for their wedding bands, Eva also ordered a one-of-a-kind timepiece made as a wedding gift for her new husband. A customized version of the Piaget Polo watch, the Piaget 'Number 9' features a 43mm white gold case, a slate grey 18K gold and titanium bezel and matching slate grey dial, and 50 diamonds in the shape of his MVP number 9 -- so it's truly just for him.
Somewhere in the world there is going to be one very spoiled father this upcoming Father's Day. A gold-encrusted sword belonging to Napoleon and carried into battle way back in the early 1800s was auctioned off in France for more than $6.4 million dollars. After the battle Napoleon later gave the sword to his brother as a wedding present, and it was passed down through the generations -- never leaving the family. Despite being declared a French national treasure back in 1978 the sword's actual value is estimated at much less than the selling price -- only about $1.6 million -- and the winning bidder is not being identified. But the Osenat auction house did say that the sword will remain in the family, and that it was a woman who won the sword for her husband as "a very nice Father's Day gift."
Ayala, a French champagne house owned by Bollinger has launched a sugar-free version of French champagne. The Cuvée Rosé Nature is a a pink champagne with no added sugar. While a normal flute of champagne runs 89 calories, the new rosé will be around 65 for a per bottle total of 390 calories rather than 534. The wine is missing the liquefied sugar, called the dosage, which is normally added to champagne before bottling to balance the flavor. The zero dosage rosé is is designed to appeal to wmen looking for a low-calorie, low-sugar option. The bottles will sell for around £45 each. The company also makes a no dosage version of their Brut Majeur champagne.
What does it take to be the best restaurant in the world? Ask El Bulli, who holds the honor for the second year in a row according to Restaurant magazine's ranking of the top 50. Last year El Bulli squeezed out Fat Duck for the top spot, and this year all top six spots remain the same. The United States made a respectable showing also, with two restaurants in the top 10: The French Laundry and Per Se, and among others Alinea in Chicago made the list for the first time this year at #36.
In spite of bans and animal rights outcries against its production, fois gras might be more popular than ever before at eateries. Luxury and gourmet foods are becoming increasingly popular and more diners are seeking out high-end meals in general. There are only a couple of farms in the US, but the French fois gras industry is expecting a record year. 85% of the world's production of the fatty duck (or goose) liver comes from France and the French foie gras producers see the 6% growth from the last year as in indicator of things to come, though they do say that half of the annual sales of fois gras are generated in December.
As far as sugar goes, these French Sugar Hearts are as elegant as you can get. Each heart has a notch in it so that it can sit easily over the edge of a tea or coffee cup, adding a bit of whimsy to the presentation in a way that a regular sugar cube, a certainly a bowl of loose sugar, could not. The cane sugar hearts come in white, amber and ebony, with the darker colors adding a hint of flavor that is more akin to brown sugar or raw sugar than white. Each box is imported and includes 64 hearts. Price: $25.
Rod Stewart and finacée Penny Lancaster have ended a four-year search for the perfect house (in addition to Stewarts properties in Beverly Hills, Essex and Palm Beach), buying a £3.3 million ($6.3 million) estate in a village near Nice, France. The house is set on about an acre in the hills over Nice, looking out towards the coast with "stunning views", and has four bedrooms, a nursery, a swimming pool and spa, indoor gym and a theater. Rod and Penny plan to be married there later this year.
Hailed as the french standard for luxurious cooking, Morice Cookers have style as well as power in the kitchen. Their old-world look is far more sophisticated than some of the "retro" models available, and it is much warmer than sleek, commercial-style ranges and cookers, which have little or no personality of their own. One of Morice's biggest selling points is the fact that the ovens have a very thick steel base, which allows for consistent, even heat conduction. There are three sizes available, the Marengo, the Supreme (pictured) and the Grand Veneur, and apparently, there are 1,600 colors to choose from.
The Moodie Report has a piece on the expansion of French luxury menswear brand Zilli. The brand has recently opened a new boutique at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Zilli makes luxe leather accessories and menswear that features a variety of fine materials such as python, alligator, Egyptian cotton, ostrich and sable. The styling is perhaps a bit dandified for the American male but just right if you are looking to go international and it's especially popular with Middle Eastern clients. They also do made-to-measure items in their Lyons workshops. A handful of boutiques in the U.S. sell Zilli but if you want the full experience you will have to travel to one of the Zilli boutiques scattered around the world.
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