July 11, 2022
“At the next roundabout, take the second exit…”
- By far the most common phrase we heard from Google maps on this long road trip
“(France), hours in the café, a certain spirit of rebellion, one side a bit too stubborn, the sea, the true, in Bretagne, the walking in Provence, the taste, the passion for literature, the libraries, the beautiful editions, remaking the world in a set of hours around a table and a bottle of wine. Talking without really saying nothing, just for the pleasure of talking. The museums, the theatres, the elegance, the delicacy, the heritage of the Illustration, a humanistic philosophy. The balance we got between a nordic rigor and a latin savoir-vivre, the insolence and the freedom..” - Clemence Poese
It is time to come home. It has been a long but curiously glorious trip. We wanted to see the country beyond Paris and find out why it remains the most popular country to visit for travelers of all kinds.
The reason is obvious now. France has everything.
It has mild weather, beautiful- vibrant cities and villages, charming rural countryside, stylish beaches, and the highest mountain on the continent.
It is amazingly diverse yet has remained a united country for over 1,000 years.
And the history - Verdun, Dunkirk, Agincourt, and the Marne were fought here. The Hundred Years War mostly played out across this land. There are more castles and Roman ruins here than anywhere else. When Julius Caesar decided to cross the Rubicon river and change the history of the world, He was in France. William the Conquerer invaded England from France, changed British history and therefore our our destiny. Napoleon conquered Europe, then promptly lost it, from here. Here, the fire of revolution swept out the old royalists in a bloody purge and changed all of history. The entire bloody tableau of World War I and World War II was here. There are so many stories to explore.
It was France that showed the world what elegance can be and the greatest artists in all the world all came here to study and create.
France taught us manners, the importance of a meal with friends, what beauty looks like, and why there is always time for another glass of really good wine.
John Gunther writes, “France is the most civilized country in the world and doesn’t care who knows it.”
Oh did i mention the food?
"Light, refined, learned and noble, harmonious and orderly, clear and logical, the cooking of France is, in some strange manner, intimately linked to the genius of her greatest men." - Rouff [Marcel] (1887-1936) French journalist and writer
Everything, I mean everything here tastes better. Yet the French are no where near as overweight we Americans.
All of this is from travel outside Paris. If we included that fabled city as well, what country has more?
We have much to learn. As always, travel teaches us just how much we don’t know about the world. It is exciting and a privilege, we do not take lightly, to explore and learn more.
For those that followed along, thank you for sharing the journey with us. You were great company.
Thank you Google, you omnipotent and omnipresent A.I. . We never would have found anything without you.
Episode XIII starts in January 2023. .
Charlie, Gracie - we are coming home. You were missed terribly.
Here is a collage of this epic chapter from the road.
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