COURS CULINAIRES ET CULTURELS: Autumn Leaves in Beautiful Brittany

In the Heart of Brittany
with
Chef Christian and Christiana Caille

La Prevenchere rated "excellent" by 6 travelers

(Trip Advisor)

and on Hotels Combined:

http://www.hotelscombined.com/Hotel/La_Prevenchere.htm

“La Prévenchère is a place for the soul.
And the meals were exceptional –
the best of our whole month in Europe.” Marjorie Donalds, USA

Christian and Christiana have created "Cours Culinaires et Culturels" -- our unique vacation packages -- for anyone who loves exploring markets and cooking with the freshest ingredients. It’s also the perfect opportunity to discover the beauty and treasures of the Breton countryside. We invite you to La Prévenchère for Autumnal Delight §§

And of course we would be delighted to help you plan a visit and to tailor a package especially for you.

"Lord, it is time. The summer was very big. Lay thy shadow on the sundials, and on the meadows let the winds go loose. Command the last fruits that they shall be full; give them another two more southerly days, press them on to fulfillment and drive the last sweetness into the heavenly wine." - Rainer Maria Rilke

A September to Remember,

An October Full of Splendor, and

A November to Treasure

In 2010: April (Quail) Adventures and Marvelous, Marvel-Us May!

Christian and Christiana also offer "Séjours Linguistiques" -- full immersion French classes and cultural visits with European, American and French professors at La Prévenchère Language Academy.

A SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER

"Do you remember the 21st night of September?/Love was changing the minds of pretenders/While chasing the clouds away/Our hearts were ringing/In the key that our souls were singing./As we danced in the night,/Remember how the stars stole the night away."- September, Lyrics by Maurice White, Charles Stemney and Verdine White

Day 1: Wednesday, September 1-

Arrival at CDG or travel from la Gare Montparnasse in Paris

Take the train to Rennes directly from CDG airport. We can pick you up in Rennes or you can rent your own car for your stay.

If you have arrived earlier in Paris, then take a train from la Gare Montparnasse to Saint-Brieuc where we can meet you or you can also rent a car.

Journey to La Prévenchère through the Breton countryside and the lovely village of Le Quillio

Reception at La Prévenchère

Dinner of “Omelette Napoléon”

Day 2: Thursday, September 17 Visit to La Ferme du Ruisseau (organic dairy and poultry products) and Le Chaucix goat farm
Visit to Dinan market

Lunch in Dinan

Culinary instruction and dinner

Day 3: Friday, September 18

Trip to the sea to harvest mussels and oysters

Visits to Cap Fréhel, Paimpol, and the Abbaye de Beauport.

Preparation of Moules Marinières

Dinner

Day 4: Saturday, September 19

Breadmaking at Guette ès Lièvres during the day

Foulerie de Pièces and traditional Breton music and dancing in the evening

Day 5: Sunday, September 20 – Free day

Explore the Morbihan or Finistère to the west and south or the Emerald and Pink Granite coasts to the north. Or visit towns near Saint-Caradec.

Day 6: Monday, September 21
In the morning, visit the Pontivy market and have lunch in Pontivy.

In the afternoon, visit artists’ studios at LaRécré, L’Atelier Graal and La Table Ronde. For a preview visit http://www.atelierlarecre.com/

Culinary instruction and dinner at La Prévenchère

Day 7: Tuesday, September 22 – Free day For ideas concerning distinctive itineraries, see http://www.beautifulbrittany.com/

Day 8: Wednesday, September 23 Departure from La Prévenchère Nous vous souhaitons bonne route et espérons vous revoir bientôt! ...

with the option of taking a three-day “Insider’s Tour” of Paris with Christiana Adams-Caille, who lived in Paris for nearly ten years and who now visits the City of Light regularly.

AN OCTOBER FULL OF SPLENDOR

Pommes et Cidre, Châtaignes, Champignons §§
Les Produits de l'Automne!

"There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Day 1: Wednesday, October 21
Journey to La Prévenchère through the Breton countryside. Reception and dinner await!

Day 2: Thursday, October 22
Visit to La Ferme du Ruisseau (organic dairy and poultry products), Le Chaucix goat farm and on to the Dinan market. Instruction and dinner.

Day 3: Friday, October 23
To the sea to harvest mussels and oysters: Cap Fréhel, Paimpol, and the Abbaye de Beauport. Preparation of Moules Marinières and dinner.

Day 4: Saturday, October 24
Breadmaking at Guette ès Lièvres. On the way home, gather ye chestnuts while ye may for roasting and cooking. Dinner to be determined according to market.

Day 5: Sunday, October 25 – Free day
Explore the Morbihan or Finistère to the west and south or the Emerald and Pink Granite coasts to the north. Or visit towns near Saint-Caradec.

Day 6: Monday, October 26
In the morning, visit the Pontivy market, hunt for mushrooms if it has rained and in the afternoon local artists’ studios and a cider brewery. Culinary instruction and dinner.

Day 7: Tuesday, October 27 – Free day
Suggestions for day trips are on La Prévenchère website.

Day 8: Wednesday, October 28 A bientôt or in Breton, KENAVO!

A NOVEMBER TO TREASURE: "The moon of the falling leaves"
with Beaujolais Nouveau and Fresh Turkey from Saint-Caradec, "Gibier" in honor of Saint Hubert, the Hunter (whose feast day is November 3), and More Châtaignes--roasting on an open fire!
"The name 'November' is believed to derive from 'novem' which is the Latin for the number 'nine'. In the ancient Roman calendar November was the ninth month after March. As part of the seasonal calendar November is the time of the 'Snow Moon' according to Pagan beliefs and the period described as the 'Moon of the Falling Leaves' by Black Elk."- Mystical WWW

Day 1: Wednesday, November 11 -- Armistice Day -- Journey to La Prévenchère through the Breton countryside. Reception and dinner await!

Day 2: Thursday, November 12 Visit to La Ferme du Ruisseau (organic dairy and poultry products), Le Chaucix goat farm and on to the Dinan market. Instruction and dinner.

Day 3: Friday, November 13 To the sea to harvest mussels and oysters: Cap Fréhel, Paimpol, and the Abbaye de Beauport. Preparation of Moules Marinières and Cotriade (the Breton answer to our friends from Marseille!) or Choucroute aux Fruits de Mer (Christian has made the choucroute from cabbages given to us by our friend and master gardener, Louis Quéro!) and dinner.

Day 4: Saturday, November 14 Off to gather châtaignes at the Canal Nantes à Brest (see video of Christian on youtube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAeZ6P7ryOg) and a visit to La Ferme de Cléguerec where the deer and the antelope and wild boar play until they become "gibier." Return home for a "Venison Dinner" reminiscent of the evening your hosts met!

Day 5: Sunday, November 15 – Free day Explore the Morbihan or Finistère to the west and south or the Emerald and Pink Granite coasts to the north. If you like, visit Madame de Sévigné's home near Rennes. Or visit towns near Saint-Caradec.

Day 6: Monday, November 16 In the morning, visit the Pontivy market, hunt for mushrooms if it has rained and in the afternoon local artists’ studios and a cider brewery. Prepare either a civet de lapin or the (eponymous) Cailles aux Raisins. Culinary instruction and dinner.

Day 7: Tuesday, November 17 – Free day Suggestions for day trips are on La Prévenchère website.

Day 8: Wednesday, November 18 Ce n'est qu'un au revoir!

Accommodations

La Prévenchère has six rooms -- five with double beds and one room (Sainte Anne) with
twin beds. Breakfast with fresh croissants and baguette and homemade jams is included in the cost of lodging.

Registration for Cours Culinaires et Culture is limited to six couples or to seven individuals (double occupancy in the Sainte Anne).

Pricing (in EURO)

Lodging and
breakfast

Single occupancy 225 E
Double occupancy 275 E

Accompanied visits as described above to markets, local attractions, cours culinaires and four dinners

Individual 450 E
Couple 750 E

Note:

The cours culinaires will take place at the nearby spacious kitchens of the Saint-Caradec community center.

Dinner will be served in the dining room at La Prévenchère. Wine pairing is included.

You will receive a notebook upon your arrival and all of the recipes for the meals that you will prepare.

Additional costs:

“The Insider’s Paris” : 150 Euro per day per person (honorarium)

Hotel and meals are not included but Christiana will make the arrangements for hotel upon request and has many suggestions for dining in the evening!

Not included:

Airfare, train fare (approximately 120 Euros per person) and individual rental cars.


With thanks to Michael P. Garofalo,Valley Spirit Center, Red Bluff, California and the following, wonderful website: http://www.egreenway.com/

For our dear Linda and Dave, Lovely Young Lovers

Linda, with whom I worked at Little Brothers, and David were united in Holy Matrimony on September 20, 2008 at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church in Minneapolis.

The bride and groom honored us this week with their presence in our home, where they chose to come on their wedding trip.

This is dedicated to them as they fly home today to commence their new life together.

It is "Hello, Young Lovers" from _The King and I_.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP5e4Imdg2c&feature=PlayList&p=5ABD769CB069F3B9&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=12
Please also visit the photo gallery at

http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?Ucollid=44049788208.131263740308&Upost_signin_override_collid=44049788208.131263740308&UV=464834583847_682463740308&collid=44049788208.131263740308.1222524215076&page=1&sort_order=0&navfolderid=0&folderid=0&ownerid=0

May blessings fill this fine young couple's life always and may their days be "rich and long upon the earth."

La Foulerie de Pièces at Le Moulin de Guette ès Lièvres

Saturday, 25 September.

Here is one link to the longest video and then you can watch the others!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_1MKLpVt0s

Check out the musicians!

What a great evening.

And here are some more pictures of a
September to Remember!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingReg.jsp?Uc=k8i3u40.913z64p0&Uy=-u1m4jq&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=125503564235_717691040308&localeid=en_US

Finally here is a copy of a press release I wrote in 2006 concerning "La Foulerie de Pièces." Just a little information on the origin of this event!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DISCOVER THE HEART OF BRITTANY
Participate in Traditional French Bread Making and Breton Dance and Heritage
at
La Foulerie de Pièces—“Stompin’ at the Grist Mill”

St. Caradec, France, June 28, 2006 – Make bread with Breton hosts at the enchanting 17th century Guette ès Lièvres grist mill in the morning and then dance the night away in a marvelously convivial atmosphere on September 16, 2006 in the heart of Brittany.

A unique event that showcases the traditions of the past, when the French gathered together annually to stomp down the earthen floors of their bread mills, “la foulerie de pièces” represents a centuries-old French custom. Bread was truly the staff of life in centuries past and when learning about the history of this grist mill and community oven, the place of bread in French life and history becomes crystal clear. Apart from their crops and the weather, nothing—with the exception of the Church—was more important for villagers and peasants than the community mill and oven, where both bread and meals were prepared. Millers and bakers were honored everywhere in France…and even had special dispensation from attending church! Villagers always came together in the fall to refurbish the mills for the winter and the new year.

In Brittany, they danced on freshly prepared dirt mixed with bales of wheat and moistened to prepare the floor for the next year’s use. (This also took place in French homes, some of which to this day retain their earthen floors.) Certain Breton dances were developed for this specific purpose, and they will be among the dances participants in this unique evening will learn.

After a day of bread making (described in detail at www.beautifulbrittany.com) and a community dinner (prepared in the community oven at Le Vieux Bourg—where the day’s bread is baked), Breton musicians will set up on the millstone at le Moulin de Guette ès Lièvres and begin to play and to teach traditional Breton dances. A wonderful French expression, “se serrer les coudes”—to clasp each other’s elbows literally and to help one another figuratively—comes from the dance as that is exactly what the dancers do! Bretons are renowned for their hospitality, clasping each other’s elbows tightly in their towns and villages, and their marvelous sense of community that is expressed in the joy of the dance. The organizers of this event, which takes place during a weekend dedicated to European heritage, welcome all who wish to experience this delightful evening. Its purpose is to bring people of all nationalities together at the mill to promote a sense of belonging and to encourage conversation and shared experiences.

Les Chantous d’Loudia, l’Amicale Laïque de Plouguenast-Gausson, and l’Echo de Gouet are the sponsors of « La Foulerie de Pièces » in Plouguenast, Côtes d’Armor, France.

Dinner on September 17, 2008

Our friend, Louis, came by last night with a gift.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM4rQLhF2Fg

And then...

THE "BEST OF" PHOTOS AND RECENT COMMENTS BY VISITING "ANGELS"

NEW PHOTOS! July and August 2008!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=k8i3u40.222tc420&Uy=rvv5oz&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=712691968644_704272099208&localeid=en_US

Please visit http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?UAUTOLOGIN_ID=44049788208&UV=941208119381_246962498208&mode=fromsite&collid=44049788208.205672498208.1216041412220&conn_speed=1

for "The Best" (or some of the best!) photos from our home and hearts to yours.

August 2, 2008

A note in our Guest Book from a little Irish angel, who stayed at La Prévenchère with her little sister and their parents on August 1, 2008 §§

"I have had a great time here. I have really enjoyed being here. It is a lovely calm pretty place. I hope that anyone else who visits here enjoys themselves like I did."

July 10, 2008

After seeing La Bleue and La Sainte Anne where he and his sister will be sleeping, a young boy asks his mother, "Mom, is this a 3-star hotel?"

****

A recommendation from the Sturzl-Tahija family (Minnesota)

Our French vacation

Last year my husband and I took our 10-year-old son to France for a vacation. We had the most spectacular time!

My husband and I do not speak French and our son only speaks a little. We took the train from Paris to Brittany where Christiana and Christian met us and drove us through the beautiful French countryside.

Our stay at their cozy bed & breakfast was so remarkable. Each day they took us on a day trip to see the fantastic sites. Most memorable were the Mont St. Michel and our day collecting mussels by the sea, having lunch at a seaside restaurant and coming back to La Prévenchère where Christian and our son cleaned and prepared the mussels for us to enjoy.

After an experience I could never have dreamed of, nor would we have attempted with a tour guide, Christian travelled with us by train to Paris where she gave us the insider's tour of Paris for several days. One evening after dinner, the taxi driver was taking us back to our hotel and Christian asked him to take us to a special spot (Le Palais de Chaillot) to see the Eiffel Tower lit at night. It was absolutely spectacular.

We will never forget the wonderful time we had in Beautiful Brittany and Paris because of our tour with Christiana and Christian.

From our 2008 guestbook

"La Prévenchère is a place for the soul." MD, USA

"De la gentillesse, de l'authenticité, Merci." R F, Belgique

"A time of many bests -- the best luck in finding La Prévenchère through the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; the best comfort in your home; the best meal; the best friends in two short days. Thanks so much for helping make the best memories." J & B R, USA

"Ici l'accueil est chaleureux, les chambres spacieuses, le petit déjeuner copieux...bref, tout est parfait." Famille H, France

"A delightful place with fantastic bread. We will be back!" S & R L, England

"Longue vie à la confiture de cassis! Merci!" LB, France

"Merci à Christiana et à Christian pour leur accueil si chaleureux." MRR, France

"Christian and Christiana, I enjoyed the nurturing of your home. Especially slowed down by a petit illness. I looked at every art object, every beautiful piece of furniture. It was like food to me (which I couldn't eat). Mille mercis!" AG, USA

"Décoration magnifique, chaleur de l'accueil, histoires nationale et amicale. Tout a été parfait." TB, France

"Séjour formidable parmi vous. Je n'oublierai pas." HH, France

"Thank you for your hospitality from your friends from Holland, and we hope to see you again next year." R & E, Holland

"We kindly thank you for your hospitality." M & H, Belgium