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Eccentric France (Eccentric Series)
 
 
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Eccentric France (Eccentric Series) [Paperback]

Piers Letcher (Author)


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Book Description

July 1, 2003 Eccentric Series
Want to visit the Garlic and Livestock Festival in Provence? See a homemade full-scale reproduction of the Sistine Chapel in Normandy? Follow the Truffle Trail in Périgord? Or just find out about the fascinating, madcap, and sometimes tragic lives of the hundreds of real eccentrics who have made their mark in France?
Eccentric France brings travelers all this and much, much more--on and off the beaten track. Between the covers of Eccentric France readers will discover entire museums dedicated to eccentricities such as Camembert cheese and corkscrews, and fairs celebrating the virtues of edible snails and absinthe. The Montgolfier brothers, Nostradamus, and Marie Antoinette all rub shoulders here, along with some American exports such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemmingway, and Henry James. Bizarre buildings, outrageous artists, ridiculous royalty, impossible inventions, and peculiar people populate France; this guide tells travelers what to visit, when to go, and who they can meet. It's also a great book for the armchair visitors or for those planning their next trip to La Belle France.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Informative and highly entertaining." Living France "Compulsive reading for all of us who have a love-hate affair with our nearest continental neighbour: Eccentric France. All the facts and trivia that you never needed to know are there. To make a tonne of boudin (blood sausage), for example, you'll need 440 litres of blood, 65kg of fat and 65 sets of intestines. Bon appetit! As you'd expect, food and drink underpin a rich selection of museums and festivals, including the Frog Festival at Saint-Andre-le-Bouchoux, the Sardine Museum in Sete and the Pig Trotter Fair in Sainte-Menehould. And not forgetting the Pig Squealing Championship at Trie-sur-Baise, where human contestants have to imitate the noise a pig makes at various stages in its life, starting off as a piglet and followed by noisy lovemaking. Don't try too hard: the prize is a whole pig, ready prepared, including the head and feet." The Times "This is the sort of book I love. Pick it up and open it, anywhere - and there will be some fascinating piece of information on each of its 294 pages. It quite truly is a 'guide to mad, magical and marvelous France' with plenty of maps for you to locate it all...If you are not careful the washing up will not have been dine, the dog not taken for its walk, etc as one intriguing entry leads you to another and another and another." Motoring & Leisure

From the Back Cover

So you think eccentric France means frogs' legs and pigs' trotters? Think again.
Piers Letcher takes you to places where you can feast on forgotten vegetables, saddle up for national donkey day, or gorge yourself at the world tripe championships. He also reveals the truth behind France's most colorful characters, including Coco Chanel, Joan of Arc, Mata Hari and the Marquis de Sade.
This latest addition to the Bradt eccentric series makes fascinating reading for those looking to discover the hidden side of France, as well as for armchair travelers who delight in the extraordinary.
Feeling adventures? Try your hand at pig-squealing, or brave the Rhone Valley's Crocodile Farm; Romantic? Visit the Lovers' Wall in Montmartre, or Provence's hidden Paradise; Festive? Indulge yourself at the Palais du chocolat, or take a Champagne cure; Or just plain curious? Check out the country's most unusual towns, gardens, hotels and restaurants.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides; 1st edition (July 1, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1841620688
  • ISBN-13: 978-1841620688
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #663,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
Musée du Vélo, water jousting, troglodyte village, snail farm, sec page, eccentric collections
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
World War, New York, Van Gogh, Père Lachaise, Mont Blanc, Eiffel Tower, Cole Porter, Natalie Barney, Erik Satie, Oscar Wilde, Father Christmas, Désert de Retz, Sarah Bernhardt, Statue of Liberty, Arc de Triomphe, Jim Morrison, Joan of Arc, André Breton, Saint Claude, Georges Sand, English Channel, Camille Claudel, Yves Saint Laurent, Lee Miller, Ferney Voltaire
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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