Brittany, France

Brittany, along France's northern shore, is a land of enchantment. It features rugged coastlines with some of the world's most breathtaking views. It features more than 4,000 chateaux, manors and medieval homes. It's an ideal destination for water sports enthusiasts, lovers of fine cuisine and seafood, and anyone fascinated by legends and history. Brittany beckons with beauty, a diverse culture and amazing cuisine.

Il s'agit d'un climat océanique, donc tempéré, surtout le long des côtes, avec de faibles différences de températures entre l'été et l'hiver. Le vent de nord-ouest domine au nord. Comme toute région avec un grand littoral, ici amplifié par le climat océanique tempéré, il n'est pas surprenant d'avoir des conditions météorologiques différentes entre le proche littoral et les villes à quelques kilomètres dans les terres. Il en va de même pour les températures. La région est également leader en France en production de certains légumes, comme les choux, vers Saint-Pol-de-Léon. L'économie de la Bretagne est tournée vers l'agriculture et les industries agroalimentaires, le tourisme estival sur la bordure côtière, et quelques pôles technologiques avancés.

Here are some of the best reasons to visit Brittany:
Outdoor sports, especially on the water. With its situation on the Atlantic, this is an ideal vacation spot for sailing, kayaking, canoeing, surfing and scuba diving.
Chateaux and historic attractions. This land is jammed with seemingly endless heritage sites dating back to megaliths.
Spa seawater treatments. France's famous thalassotherapie was born in Brittany.

French Easter (Pâques)

Easter is celebrated in France much as it is in America, with various religious ceremonies commemorating the rebirth of Jesus, and cultural customs having to do with rabbits, chocolates and eggs.

The predominant religion in France is Roman-Catholic. No city, village or town is without a church. Many of them date back to the twelfth century or before. Most churches have a bell, which is rung joyfully throughout the year marking various events and the passage of time. On the Thursday before Good Friday, all church bells in France are silenced in acknowledgement of Jesus' death. In fun, children are told that the bell's chimes have flown to Rome to see the Pope. Easter morning, the bells ring out once again in celebration of the Resurrection, declaring that Jesus is alive again. In some villages, people kiss and embrace one another when they hear the bells ring.

Easter morning is a happy time for children who wake to look for colorfully decorated Easter eggs (les oeufs de Pâques) hidden in their gardens, homes and playgrounds. Parents tell their children the eggs were brought from Rome (where the chimes had gone), and that when the chimes returned they brought the eggs with them. In some parts of France children look for small chariots full of eggs pulled by white horses.

As mentioned above, bells play an important role in the French Easter tradition. Candy shops sell chocolate flying bells alongside Easter eggs and bunnies, in the same way many candy shops in America sell chocolate crucifixes. These edible bells are another nod the the resurrection of Jesus, a time for celebration, and the end of Lent.

La tradition des oeufs de Pâques en chocolat ou en sucrerie pour les enfants est très répandue en France. On cache les oeufs dans l'appartement ou dans le jardin et les enfants doivent les trouver.
Manger du chocolat sous différentes formes est une tradition importante : oeufs en chocolat, poules en chocolat, cloches en chocolat ... Au repas du jour de Pâques, on mange souvent un gigot d'agneau, mais il n'y a plus de plats traditionnels.
La légende catholique selon laquelle les cloches partent à Rome le jeudi saint et reviennent le jour de Pâques est souvent exprimée.
En Alsace, il y a une tradition analogue à la tradition allemande. C'est le lapin qui met les oeufs pour les enfants dans les nids qui ont été préparés.
Le lundi de Pâques est un jour férié en France, mais il n'a actuellement aucune signification religieuse.

French Perfume

The French have a long tradition and skills in the art of making perfumes. The great names in fashion have assisted in exporting some of the most important names in perfume thoughout the world.

The birth place for French perfumes is in the Provence region and is called Occitane. The abundance of herbs, lavander and many other wild flowers on the rocky landscape, plus hundreds of years of experience in distilling mixtures and creating scents.

Since ancient times there has been a lot of production of French perfumes. French perfumes are regarded as the most well known brands of perfumes and to the present times they account for a considerable share of perfume exports. French perfumes are regarded as the most comfy and bring in sensuality and style in the present day lifestyle. The French perfumes have always been well accepted, admired and liked by people all over the world. The reason being their odor, packaging of the bottles and a brand image that is present in the minds of people. In fact, perfumes would be futile without the French perfumes.

Although the French have taken a back seat in fashion design, they still reign supreme in the making of perfumes. It is but natural that they should, since they have a solid three hundred year old pedigree behind them. The best French perfume, and for that matter, all French perfumes are luxurious, sensual and refined and last longer than most other perfumes. Located north of Cannes in the French Riviera is the town of Grasse, which has been manufacturing French perfume for the past four centuries. It houses the Musée International de la Parfumerie. The best French perfumes could be said to be that of "Chanel No. 5" by Coco Chanel and "Joy" by Jean Pateau. Chanel No. 5 was fashioned for Coco by Ernest Beaux.
Un bouquet de fleurs abstraites d'une indéfinissable féminité.Mai 1921. Gabrielle Chanel n'hésite que quelques secondes devant les fragrances que lui présente Ernest Beaux, compositeur de parfums. Ce sera la cinquième, qui deviendra N°5 de CHANEL.

Joy was launched in the early thirties and is known in the national and international market as the costliest perfume in the world and an ounce of it is reputed to be made from over 10,000 jasmine flowers ad 28 dozen roses. It is packaged in a crystal Baccarat Bottle.

En 1923, avec son beau-frère Raymond Barbas il crée la division parfums de sa société de couture. En 1925, ils sont rejoints par le parfumeur grassois Henri Alméras, en tant que maître parfumeur. Jean patou crée trois parfums baptisés Amour-Amour, Que sais-je ? et Adieu sagesse respectivement dédiés aux blondes, aux brunes et aux rousses. Puis, en 1929, Henri Alméras compose Moment Suprême.

Jean Patou souhaitait un parfum phare pour sa maison. En 1930, Henri Alméras proposa alors une fragrance composée d'essences de rose et de jasmin dans des proportions particulièrement importantes : il fallait plus de 10 000 fleurs de jasmin de Grasse et 28 douzaines de roses (roses de mai de Grasse « Rosa centifolia » et roses de Bulgarie) pour obtenir trois centilitres de parfum. Le prix de cette composition rendait sa commercialisation très risquée alors que sévissait la crise économique qui suivit le krach de 1929. Mais Jean Patou fut séduit et lança la commercialisation sous la marque Joy et en utilisant le slogan particulièrement audacieux que lui avait suggéré son amie et conseillère, la chroniqueuse américaine Elsa Maxwell : Joy, le parfum le plus cher au monde (the costliest perfume in the world).