The French countryside is fabulous. Every few miles there is a village. The villages are very old. All the windows have shutters. Geraniums are grown here beaucoup!!
French people are delightful. Some more serious than others. Trying to speak francais is much appreciated and sometimes in small villages it’s your only hope. Only in the cities do you tend to find english spoken…although, as with every rule, there are exceptions.
The weather is quite pleasant in the summer. Flowers are much appreciated. They eat copious amounts of fromage (cheese). The generally don’t drink hard liquor. They are very quiet spoken in public places. We are rowdy in comparison. They love their wine and dilute it before giving it to children.
They love color. The buildings on the outside are subtle colors and regulated somewhat by the gov’t. The insides are colorful. I’m sitting in a Best Western in Dijon and the walls are light orange, the carpet is brown-orange, the lamp shades are animal print, for instance. Very beautifully executed.
Women and men wear scarves. Men carry sac au mains (purses).
Car are small, small, small. They are very fuel efficient. The toll roads are expensive and so is the petrol. The gas stations are fabulous. You can get hot meals (not fast food), sandwiches/panini, salads, chicken, stew etc. You can have a picnic as there are tables for such things outside. Plenty of toilettes which are clean and well equipped. Special roadside stops that include jungle gyms for the kiddies. And there are lots of these type of places to stop.
Lots and lots of roundabouts. We love the roundabouts. It really speeds travel.
The picture above is of fruit pates!! and other goodies!!
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