Ma Vie in France

One of my favorite things about living in France is discovering the country. I've learned a lot about French culture and history from visiting some of the major cities and regions. But what I find equally interesting is discovering the countryside, tiny villages and hamlets. There are hidden treasures everywhere. This, for me, is one of the best advantages of living in France, discovering the nooks and crannies of the country that you don't necessarily have the time to see on a 10-day European tour. There are several things that I get out of these discoveries. Exploring the countryside and villages allows me, in a way, to reconnect to my love of everything French. Whether its climbing the stairs of an old dungeon to gaze upon a lookout, reading a plaque and discovering an archaic word I've never seen before, soaking in the silence of a 12th century church, or tasting a local specialty (sometimes even the smallest villages have their own food specialty), I redisc...

a beach on the Mediterranean coast This post is going to be primarily informative about the quirks of summer vacation in France, including the common dates, weather, and other relevant details. First, a little lexique: Language: canicule -extended heat wave bison futé - the 'smart bison' path for car travel, which basically alerts you to the severity of traffic jams in different areas using colors as an indicator (black = heavy traffic jams, green = free flowing traffic) bouchon - traffic jam (also the work for 'cork' as in a wine cork) juilletiste/aoûtien - Julyists and Augustists, words French people can use to describe those who go on vacation in July, and those who prefer to go in August Dates: The first thing you need to know about France: since the school system is centralized, summer vacation is between July and August, in June school is still in session. The start of the vacation season is literally at the end of the school ye...

In the US regional differences are stretched out for miles and miles. Even though are regions and landscapes can be incredibly diverse, the change from one to another is fairly gradual and you often have to drive a long way before anything changes. Not the case in France. Just taking the area Lyon, you have to the east flatlands with small lakes and ponds, and if you go further, you run into the Alps. To the northwest, vineyards and rolling hills with naturally ochre colored stone for building constructions, and further west still the Loire river valley and then, the Massif Centrale, dormant volcanoes which make up a small, low, mountain-like range. Not to mention due south, where you can find prehistoric caves, or the north where you eventually leave the Beaujolais vineyards for Burgundy vineyards. All of these changes are within about a 2 hours drive of Lyon. But it's not only landscape we're dealing with, it's also regional identity, and of course food. Eac...