La France

When I hear those two simple words, something inside me snaps wide-awake. They bring an extra skip to my step. And yes; I am not ashamed to say this, I get all giddy inside. Why?

Spring Break arrived and I crossed the Atlantic Ocean for my first time and found myself standing on the Île de la cité and staring at the façade of Notre Dame. The world was a bit different then.  It was indeed easier to board a plane.  Yet even with all the recent events, la france is still la france. The French are not any different in culture today than centuries and centuries ago.  The history of Paris, a city founded nearly 250 years Before Christ, still is being written.  The city was not as it is today.  It has been built outward, torn down, rebuilt, burned down, rebuilt, bombed and rebuilt. Yet it is still Paris.   And I was there to walk the same streets as Julius Caesar, Louis XIV – the Sun King, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon Bonaparte, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and the list goes on and on through countless names of Master Artisans, Musicians, Writers, Poets, Philosophers and Leaders. Paris was speaking to me, revealing its past, as it does to all who journey to its riverbanks.  And that was just the first day.  I was there for 10 days and was ready for it all, from the Chateaus in the Loire Valley, Normandy Beach, Mont-Ste-Michelle, Le Mans, and Tours. 

Reims, France – July 4^th I boarded a plane bound for Paris yet again.   I wasn’t destined to stay in Paris longer than needed to board a bus to Reims, where I was to attend the Univeristé de Reims for a summer.  I barely got to see the city as we circle its perimeter en route to Reims.  Upon arrival I met the family I was to stay with in the town square.  The Muntz’s were and still are a joy to talk to.  They welcomed me into their home with open arms.  Aymeric, the youngest of their three sons, is my age.  We hit it off right away.   As Aymeric was the sole member of the family that spoke English, the others only spoke French, Spanish and German, I had to rely on the 4 years of French I had just completed in high school.  Although I still felt like I spoke French much like a three or four year old I quickly gained the modern vernacular of the language.  I attended classes daily on grammar and some extracurricular classes. At the same time I was honing my language skills I was falling deeply in love with the French, their joi de vivre, and the country.   Especially in the city of Reims, which lies in the heart of the Champagne Region and was the host of the royal coronations for every French King since Clovis I.  The way of life, the food – who could forget the food, the people, and of course the wine and champagne; it was unforgettable.  Even today I can still smell the bakery by the bus stop I waited at each morning.

My most recent trip this past October, revived in me the joy I felt the first time and it is that joy that I wish to share with as many people as I can.  It was a dream of mine to see as much of France as possible. I feel like now it is my turn to help make others with the same dreams get there as well.  I enjoy history and all the lessons it can teach us so much that I feel it is my duty to share what I have become passionate about with others.  That is why I have sent you this.  I would like you to join me on a trip to France soon….

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