| Your reviews help travelers everywhere | ||||||
 | ||||||
|  |  | |
| | |
| ||||||
| ||||||||||
| Hi Christian Sorand |
| | |||||||
| ||||||||||
 | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
New TripAdvisor recognition & badge
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Hommage aux Côtes de Bourgogne, nouvelle adjonction de L'UNESCO au Patrimoine mondial.
La
France possède déjà une longue liste de sites classés au
patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO. On surnomme souvent l'Hexagone la
« Terre des Arts ». Cette expression est héritée du
poète de la Renaissance française, Joachim
DU BELLAY
(1522-1560). Dans un de ses célèbres poèmes, Du Bellay a écrit
ceci :
France, mère des
arts, des armes et des lois,
Tu m'as nourri
longtemps du lait de ta mamelle :
Ores, comme un
agneau que sa nourrice appelle,
Je remplis de ton
nom les antres et les bois.
Toutefois, si la
France est aujourd'hui devenue la première destination touristique
mondiale, ce n'est pas uniquement pour ses sites historiques et
naturels. Sa renommée est dûe aussi à la réputation universelle
de sa table et de ses vins.
Or,
voilà que l'UNESCO, réuni à Bonn, en Allemagne, le 4 juillet
dernier, vient d'ajouter à la liste de ses sites mondiaux les
vignobles de Champagne et de Bourgogne.
Le vignoble du Bordelais faisait déjà parti des sites du patrimoine
avec l'inscription de la
Juridiction de Saint-Émilion
en 1999. Dans une certaine mesure également, les vignobles du Val de
Loire, ont reçu la même reconnaissance en l'an 2000 lorsque
l'UNESCO a classé le
Val de Loire entre Sully-sur-Loire et Chalonnes.
La candidature des
vins de Champagne et de ceux de Bourgogne avaient été déposées
2006.
 |
| Vignoble des grands crus de Bourgogne |
Le
texte qui suit, illustré de photos, rend hommage à cette superbe
région dont les grands crus, tels que Romanée-Conté,
Clos
de Vougeot,
ou Chambertin,
ont acquis une réputation mondiale depuis des lustres. L'association
des Climats
des vignobles de Bourgogne s'en réjouit en s'exprimant ainsi dans
sa lettre nº17 de juillet 2015: « Ce
bien culturel a ainsi démontré qu’il possède une Valeur
Universelle Exceptionnelle, un trésor désormais mondialement
reconnu : ses 1 247 Climats, parcelles de vignes, aux noms
évocateurs tels Montrachet, Romanée-Conti, Clos de Vougeot, Corton,
Musigny, Chambertin… qui expriment la diversité culturelle de la
Bourgogne viticole. Après 8 années d’efforts et d’espoir, le
rêve des Bourguignons devient réalité. »
 |
| Entrée du domaine de Vougeot |
 |
| Château du Clos de Vougeot |
 |
| Le vignoble de Chambertin |
 |
| Le village de Vougeot et ses vignobles |
 |
| Une cave de Gevrey-Chambertin |
 |
| Dans les vignes des grands crus |
 |
| Pied de vigne |
 |
| Gros plan sur une vigne |
 |
| Le nez du vin (musée de Vougeot) |
 |
| Château de Gevrey-Chambertin |
 |
| Toit bourguignon à Fixin |
 |
| Nuits-Saint-Georges |
 |
| Cave de Clos de Vougeot |
 |
| Cave de Gevrey-Chambertin |
Liens :
Christian Sorand,
Bangkok, juillet 2015
Sunday, July 5, 2015
BAAN YUAN ('Vietnam Town')
This
is the story of an unexpected encounter relayed by the Net social
medias. I belong to a
|
 |
| Book cover picture by Bùi Huy Rang |
Although
I have lived in Bangkok for the past four years, I had never heard of
Baan Yuan and its
historic community. Trang told me that it was
estimated that there were about 100,000 Vietnamese in Thailand
including many recent clandestine workers. However, I learnt that the
community had existed since the 17th
century during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Being Christians, they had fled
persecution in their country. Year after year, it grew until they
were granted two Catholic churches at Mitrakham
near the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. First, it was the
Immaculate Conception Church,
known as Bot
Baan Yuan
('Vietnamese village church'). Then in 1851, King Rama IV gave the
church a new piece of land to built St.
Francis Xavier Church.
This area became the center of the Vietnamese community.
 |
| Map area |
Trang
had also mentioned there was a weekly open market on Sundays at Soi
Mitrakham between Soi Samsen 11 & 13. But it was only there from
6.00-10.00AM.
So,
early on Sunday morning, I decided to go there with a friend, who was
also interested in finding out more about this little unknown street
market. It is at the other end of town but on Sunday mornings traffic
is so scarce that getting there was a real piece of cake !
This
area is near Krung Thon Bridge, just south of Dusit. It is an old,
historic part of Bangkok with a
maze of narrow alleys and some
traditional wooden houses or more modern constructions. There was an
ongoing Catholic mass at St. Francis's. The church was amzingly
packed. The open market is just next to the church and was well
frequented. People were extremely friendly there and did not mind at
all to see two farangs with their cameras blipping away what
they saw ! Here are the photos:
 |
| Mass at St.Francis's |
 |
| St. Francis Church |
 |
| St. Francis Xavier Convent |
 |
| Vegetables |
 |
| Fish |
 |
| Vietnamese street market |
 |
| Thai monks |
 |
| Market stall |
 |
| Temple flower offerings |
 |
| Pork meat |
 |
| Ingredients for salad |
 |
| Fishmonger |
 |
| Fruits |
 |
| Food ready to go |
 |
| Chicken |
 |
| Green vegetables |
 |
| Pork sausage making Google+ slide-show |
Christian Sorand
Bangkok, July 2015
The Siam, Bangkok
 |
| Map area |
The Siam in Bangkok is not only a beautiful, luxury hotel but it holds so many authentic collections that it also looks like a private museum. It is located in Dusit on the bank of the Chao Phraya River. I had never heard of it before. But as it was on an early Sunday morning and that I was in this area with a friend, we decided to get there for coffee. I was stunned to discover such a treasure trove!
What makes it different is that it is an assemblage of modern & traditional. It has a very pretty interior design, where curios and plants display an amazing addition to its typically Thai heritage atmosphere. The accent is on the turn-of-the-century items mixed with authentic pieces of artworks, statues, paintings and bygone Asian items like a beautiful pedicab or a primitive metal merry-go-round.
Getting there meant certainly more than just having coffee by the Chao Phraya open lounge!
 |
| Courtyard |
 |
| Corner display |
 |
| Unique atrium |
 |
| At the riverside café |
 |
| Chao Phraya hotel pier |
 |
| Lotus pond |
 |
| Pool |
 |
| Mirror reflection |
 |
| Antique door |
 |
| Billiard room |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)