, vin chaud, or hot wine, keeps you warm inside and out. During the holidays, chestnuts roasting on an open fire
are sold throughout the city. When it's time for Christmas dinner, oysters with petite sausages are often served in France
. The traditional dessert is called Bûche de Noël, but you probably know it as a "yule log." Thin pound cake covered with buttercream frosting is rolled up, then frosted to look like a piece of wood. But, this is one tree you won't mind chopping with your teeth. To celebrate the holidays, The Taunton Press is running a 25 days of Holiday Savings Sweepstakes. The Grand Prize? A 13-day Barcelona
to Paris
vacation package for 2 including airfare, on-tour accommodations, meals, sightseeing & more. The French portion of the itinerary begins on the 4th day in Carcassone, where medieval fortifications and fairytale turrets, dating back to the 5th century, provide a storied setting for a guided tour and tales of the crusaders and conquerors who occupied this city. In the evening, cruise along the romantic Canal du Midi aboard a traditional Gabare flat-bottom boat. Dinner with wine and music at a private Languedoc
vineyard follows.Visits to Toulouse, the snow-capped Pyrenees
, and the Atlantic coast are included. You'll also get a taste of French Basque country, where Cyrano de Bergerac
resided.Wine tasting in St. Emilion
and a cruise along the Dordogne
river are just a few of the things you'll experience before taking the TGV to Paris
. In the City of Light, a local guide will lead you through the 17th-century Tuileries Gardens
to the Musée de L’Orangerie, to see an extensive Impressionist
collection. Celebrate your journey with a River Seine
cruise and toast the art of French living.In a holidaze? Escape and enter.
Voilà - the link to the 25 days of Holiday Savings Sweepstakes:
http://www.taunton.com/promotions/25Days/th_register.htm
for 2, 15 nights in a hotel, and applicable train, bus, bicycle, and metro transportation while on the trip. You'll have the chance to unravel the allure of 
, check out the famous 
, sample gourmet treats of the 
, hike in 
, soak up the sun on a Spanish beach, see the architectural marvels of 
, discover 
's character-filled neighborhoods, and lose yourself in the 
and 
museum. There's no time to dilly-dally. The trip must be completed by December. Be bold and enter.
