July 27, 2005
A Trip to France
Stephen, Juris, Inc.'s president, and I just returned from a trip to France. I managed to place an” X” on a considerable number of items on life’s great check list:
X Flew 8 hours without a single drink
X Made it to Paris
X Spent my first Euro
X Watched the final segment of the Tour De France
X Was there when Lance Armstrong won his seventh yellow jersey
X Dined on fried duck fat
X Visited the great Chateaux of St. Emilion
X Rode the Paris Metro—i.e.—subway
X Stayed in a 13th Century Castle – now a hotel
X Drove on roads built by Romans
X Argued with security over my blunt-nose scissors
X Left my scissors with Paris airport security
X Spent a lot of Euros
X Had several drinks over 8-hour return flight to New York
X At last, found a great French restaurant – Bouley’s in New York
X Found another reason partners need “More Income”—Paris
There is a lot more that I would like to tell you. Maybe I can work some of it into future postings. But there are a few things about France I will tell you now. First, I had a preconceived expectation that the French didn’t like us. I expected to be treated rudely. It wasn’t true. Everyone I met and dealt with, from shopkeepers, chateau proprietors, taxi drivers and just people on the street were friendly, welcoming and very honest. The weather in southwest France is wonderful and bug free—no need for screens on your windows or air conditioners. The landscape is extraordinary. France is largely an agricultural country. Grapevines, corn, wheat and sunflowers cover the countryside. It is old with narrow streets. Houses and buildings are limestone and many are over 1000 years old. Restored castles dot the countryside.
If you haven’t been there already, put France back on your list of places to visit. While most people speak English, they really speak it only a little bit. If you try using a few simple French words, then between the two of you, you will get along just fine.
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