The French connection

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France is really nice - I don't know why more people don't choose to come here! It's an interesting little country nestled between Luxembourg to the east and Andorra in the south-west, but from what I have seen so far it is well worth dropping by for a few days to see what you can see. Come and check it out before word gets around about what a great little country this is!!

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I've been here for just under a week now and I'm really enjoying pretty much everything about France. It is crowded, yes, and rather hot, but these are issues for which I shall not hold the country itself exclusively responsible. The scenery, architecture and most of all the food and wine have been brilliant. Even language has not been too much of a problem - I am travelling with my friend Elizabeth, who speaks fluent French, and my own bumbling attempts to speak the language have so far also been treated by one and all with good humour. So far we have been travelling in the east: Lorraine, Alsace and Burgundy. Our plans to travel south to Bordeaux were thwarted by the bizarre policies the French rail use regarding their fast TGV trains: they sell rail passes that require the user to make a reservation, but then release only a tiny number of reservations for such a use. So despite having a ticket, travel by TGV around France has proven super-difficult (and sometimes impossible) necessitating some ingenious and circuitous re-routing by yours truly, as I endeavour to find us a way to travel on regular trains.

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But enough talk of trains. The highlight has been the food and drink. The names Petit Chablis, Sylvaner, Auxerrois blanc and Pinot Gris , amongst others, will live as long, if not longer, in my memory as the names of the cities and regions in which I have travelled. And the food! Escargot, flambayed prawns, mustard-marinated mussels, escalopes, the wing of a stingray (yes!), amazing pastries - France has been a culinary dream come true! And there is of course so much more to come.

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The cities themselves have been really good too. I actually started my trip in Trier, south-western Germany, which claims to be the oldest city north of the Alps. Regardless of the truth of that claim, it is rather nice and has a nice mix of Roman and German influences. Next was Metz, which is a calm and relaxing city, and then we moved on to Strasbourg. While the name, location and history of Strasbourg suggest a strong Germanic influence, I wasn't really prepared for quite how German Strasbourg would feel. Petit France, the centre of the tourist area of Strasbourg resembles a stylised German pavillion in Disneyland more than a "little France", and the centre of the city abounds with German architecture and restaurants selling wurzt, saukraut and other Alsacian specialties which are very German by nature. Now, after a welcome cooling in temperature, we are in Dijon. Dijon is excellent. It has a nice centre, great little hidden districts with distinct personality, more great food and a very nice atmosphere. Tomorrow we will day-trip to Beaune before heading to Paris in the evening. I'm loving France and happily still have 6 more days here before returning to Oslo!

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