As if the French needed any encouragement, this roadside sign says ‘Mangez de l’ail‘ (‘Eat garlic’). Fortunately, the rolling fields of garlic had no discernible scent when I drove through the region recently. I was avoiding the heavy traffic on…
Tag: road trip
EAT GARLIC
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: culture, food, French language, landscape, marketing, road trip, travel
“I’m just popping over to Italy”
When I was growing up in Australia, I was impressed whenever someone said they were “going overseas”. Indeed, the only way to leave the country is to fly over seas (and usually oceans too). Other countries are a long way…
And then suddenly, France seems logical!
France, I’m sorry. I’ve made light of you many too times and questioned why you do things in what seems to be the strangest of ways. I take it all back after visiting the Italian island of Sardinia. Looking for…
When ‘forbidden’ doesn’t really mean it
The sign in this photo translates roughly to “No public entry on work site”. Yes, on the left of the photo is a new building development. On the right is a picturesque view of the village of Les Plombieres les…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: culture, French language, landscape, Les Vosges, road trip, travel
How to survive Morocco
I’m back from a two-week trip to Morocco, with stays in Casablanca, Fez, the desert, the mountains, movie sets and more. Morocco is now independent of France, but the French influence is obvious throughout. Even with this influence, the Moroccon…
Accidentally visiting a dog museum
You might remember the fluffy St Bernard puppies and dogs I visited a few weekends ago at the Barry Foundation. A friend with a dog as big as a St Bernard had heard about the open day and was armed…
Is l’Aguille du Midi worth it?
Chamonix is not too far from La Clusaz, and with plenty of tourist attractions such as the cog railway and the Mer de Glace glacier and ice caves, it’s a great place to take visitors. My current visitors from Australia…
The Carnac Alignments
During my quick trip to Brest, I squeezed in a visit to the Carnac alignments – France’s equivalent to Stone Henge. Pictured is just one of the alignments, where rows of stones have been lined up from tallest to shortest.…
The Australian impact on Villers-Bretonneux
Living literally on the other side of the world, France really is a long way from my roots in Australia. Modern technology helps reduce that distant feeling, letting me stay in touch easily with family and friends. But when I…
The new busking trend in Paris
Paris is full of busking pianists. The city of love has changed in lots of little ways since I was last there two years ago. And the most entertaining change is the street buskers with pianos. I saw four in…
