everything is cooked with love. People care about their food and it’ s a big part of their culture. JP tried everything from Escargot to Frog legs and rabbit. Half-way throughout the tour we had a day off and visited Pascal and his wife Emmanuelle in Provance. When I think of French lifestyle, I think of Provance and in my dreams this is where I would like to live. Pascal prepared the most amazing Rabbit Paella. It truly was one of the most incredible dishes I’ ve ever tasted in my travels.
In Bordeaux we had a fabulous meal with escargot, mussels and lamb. These are what memories are made of, or should I say, taste like.
Our journey took us to famous places such as Dijon where you can get real Dijon mustard that you can’ t find anywhere else in the word, we went to Champagne, which is the ONLY pace in the world allowed to call their sparkling beverage,“ champagne”. They are so proud of their champagne that at the interval in my lecture they opened two bottles, and we were treated to real champagne. When I travel, I absolutely remember places by their food.
We had a few days off in Paris and explored this amazing city. Climbing up the winding stairs of the Eiffle Tower or visiting the playing field and stadium of PSG( Soccer club for the North America readers) was one of the many fun things we did. We even decided to take a trip to Disneyland Paris which we
loved. It was much quieter than any other Disneyland we’ d visited, and we were able to do multiple rides, up to three times throughout the day.
A trip to Paris wouldn’ t be complete without visiting Musee De La Magie. The Musée de la Magie( Museum of Magic) in Paris is a unique and enchanting museum dedicated to the art of illusion, magic, and prestidigitation. It is Located in the historic Marais district at 11 Rue Saint-Paul, the museum is housed in 16thcentury cellars beneath the former home of the Marquis de Sade, adding a mysterious and atmospheric setting to its exhibits. Founded in 1993 by Georges Proust, a passionate collector of magical artifacts, the museum showcases an extensive collection of items related to the history of magic, from the 18th century to the present day. This day was made enjoyable with Maxence Vire as our guide. We finished our day with a visit to Le Double Fond, the legendary magic café-theatre located in the heart of Paris ' s historic Marais district and I finally got to meet Alexandra Duvivier.
We could feel ourselves getting tired as the tour went on, and there were days where we would travel nine hours then get picked up and taken directly to the lecture. We would often eat late around 11pm and head to the hotel about 1am ready to do it all again the next day. I had designed the two-hour lecture so that each routine was packed up as I explained it so when I arrived at the next city it was ready to go. It just made things a little less stressful for me knowing we might have a full day of travel.
This trip was filled with adventures including JP getting trapped in an elevator. On our last day in Paris we were heading to Luxembourg and JP got himself stuck in an elevator. It was very traumatic for him as the elevator was tiny, just big enough to hold him and one bag. He was trapped in there for about an hour before help arrived. We missed out train and had to rebook one later in the day to our next destination.
It was during the filming of my lecture in Paris, put on by my friend Thomas Thiebaut from www. virtualmagie. com, that JP phoned me to say he was lost. Thankfully I could track him on the phone, and we were able to send Maxence Vire out on his scooter to rescue him. When you live with JP every day is an adventure.
In Dunkerque we got to stay in a large house that the city offered artists to stay when visiting. This was an amazing house we had all to ourselves. Mind you, we did lock ourselves out and it took me 45 minutes to open the door with JP laughing his head off as I got more and more frustrated. There is
With Thomas and JP and another croissant
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