Now that I've had some time to settle back into comfortable routine, let's take a look back at the trip.
Overall, it was a good experience - it was my first time travelling in a group of friends and there were a few hiccups but no lasting damage. Squabbles and ruffled feathers are bound to happen when you put 4 people who don't normally spend 24 hours a day together in close quarters for 3 weeks! On my part, having germophobic tendencies does not help when travelling (there are germs everywhere!) and I stressed out about everything that I organized for fear that it would be poorly received. Whenever I felt like there was a possible snag in plans - catching the trains, troubles with accommodations, reservations at restaurants that may have been on the pricey side - my anxiety would spike. My radar for the others' discontent went off constantly, and it wasn't until later in the trip that I eventually succumbed to common sense telling me it's impossible to keep everyone satisfied all the time and that maybe people just needed their own space. Yes, I know, I'm stubborn. I'm also competitive, which probably didn't help either. Better luck (or rather, effort) next time!
This trip taught me that France is indeed a culinary destination, and that being French doesn't necessarily mean being a snob.
First and foremost, the food. I miss French pastries, made fresh every day from the local boulangerie or patisserie. I tried my best to have a pastry every day, and I'm not sure if I'm fatter as a result, but it was worth it. The buttery, flaky layers cradling treasure that promised to be packed full of flavour. There was never enough, and knowing that I would never be able to get equivalent varieties in Vancouver made it even more of a challenge to stop myself from buying too much. Until the bike tour - that changed everything, with continental breakfasts provided by the hotel. Even then, the pastry quality was magnitudes better than anything served in a similar North American setting. Did I mention I miss French pastries?
Besides the pastries, the overall quality of food was incredible - unless we found ourselves without a reservation, roaming the streets for food. Sure, sometimes it was hit and miss with the reservations, but nothing was ever so bad it was inedible, like the way it can be elsewhere. Granted, I didn't try ordering stuff like kidney or tripe, but there were some who did, and they still ended up finishing their food. I had the pleasure of tasting phenomenal grilled prawns (gambas) on a random stop during our first day of the cycling tour, and melt-in-your-mouth beef bourguignon that was sinfully fatty at La Fourchette in Avignon. There was escargot served in their shells, shrimp souffle, Laduree macarons, and of course, the mind-blowing meal at David Toutain. I still can't believe we got to meet him in person.
What else? Oh yes, being French. It's really just like any other stereotype - some people fit the description, others don't. I did try my best to fit in, speaking French to the best of my ability, which I hope helped - I could tell some people did appreciate my efforts. The elitists were not the majority, and they made it clear that we weren't fooling anyone by immediately switching to English and only speaking as much as required. The majority were friendly, and very hospitable, including our Airbnb hosts - in Lyon especially, because we ran into issues, they were so apologetic that we felt like we were back in Canada! Other elements to being French: enjoying their leisure time (don't bother trying to find anything open on a Sunday, or any weekday evening), dining slowly (very few waitstaff meant an average of 2-hour meals), wearing shoes in the house, not having dryers (I guess they hang-dry everything), drinking wine with everything, not tipping (hooray!) and appreciating quality ingredients in their markets and grocery stores (we found actual 100% fruit juice).
Surprisingly, given their leisurely pace, the trains ran according to schedule! It was relatively easy getting around on the trains and the metro lines within each city. Everything was well-marked and clearly mapped - in Nice, we noticed that even the bus stops are labeled!
Also, cycling in a foreign country is definitely a great way to see things most tourists don't get to see, but having a guide take care of every little thing may be worth the extra cost. The turn-by-turn instructions that were provided by the tour company got us 95% through the navigation, while the other 5% came from looking up where we were with GPS and Wi-Fi. (Thank goodness we rented the mobile Wi-Fi device.) We would have visited more wineries and other points of interest, but poor knowledge of the terrain (we didn't want to attempt taking our bikes on the gravel roads we saw leading to the wineries) and operating hours (some businesses close for a few hours during the day, or they don't open on certain weekdays) made it difficult. We also would have appreciated a tour that did not have "middlemen" - the tour company who handled all the communication was not the same company that provided the bikes, so when we ended up with incorrectly sized bikes, no one took responsibility for the error.
Oh! I almost forgot. Never fly Air Canada Rouge. No TV screens; not even plain old radio. Budget beverages; no free alcohol on international flights. Boxed food with chicken found in Thailand. Need I say more?
If I had the opportunity to return to France, I think I'd stick to the smaller cities to escape the tourists, except maybe a small stint in Paris just for David Toutain. After all, it's always been about the food. Mmm... pastries...
Overall, it was a good experience - it was my first time travelling in a group of friends and there were a few hiccups but no lasting damage. Squabbles and ruffled feathers are bound to happen when you put 4 people who don't normally spend 24 hours a day together in close quarters for 3 weeks! On my part, having germophobic tendencies does not help when travelling (there are germs everywhere!) and I stressed out about everything that I organized for fear that it would be poorly received. Whenever I felt like there was a possible snag in plans - catching the trains, troubles with accommodations, reservations at restaurants that may have been on the pricey side - my anxiety would spike. My radar for the others' discontent went off constantly, and it wasn't until later in the trip that I eventually succumbed to common sense telling me it's impossible to keep everyone satisfied all the time and that maybe people just needed their own space. Yes, I know, I'm stubborn. I'm also competitive, which probably didn't help either. Better luck (or rather, effort) next time!
This trip taught me that France is indeed a culinary destination, and that being French doesn't necessarily mean being a snob.
First and foremost, the food. I miss French pastries, made fresh every day from the local boulangerie or patisserie. I tried my best to have a pastry every day, and I'm not sure if I'm fatter as a result, but it was worth it. The buttery, flaky layers cradling treasure that promised to be packed full of flavour. There was never enough, and knowing that I would never be able to get equivalent varieties in Vancouver made it even more of a challenge to stop myself from buying too much. Until the bike tour - that changed everything, with continental breakfasts provided by the hotel. Even then, the pastry quality was magnitudes better than anything served in a similar North American setting. Did I mention I miss French pastries?
Besides the pastries, the overall quality of food was incredible - unless we found ourselves without a reservation, roaming the streets for food. Sure, sometimes it was hit and miss with the reservations, but nothing was ever so bad it was inedible, like the way it can be elsewhere. Granted, I didn't try ordering stuff like kidney or tripe, but there were some who did, and they still ended up finishing their food. I had the pleasure of tasting phenomenal grilled prawns (gambas) on a random stop during our first day of the cycling tour, and melt-in-your-mouth beef bourguignon that was sinfully fatty at La Fourchette in Avignon. There was escargot served in their shells, shrimp souffle, Laduree macarons, and of course, the mind-blowing meal at David Toutain. I still can't believe we got to meet him in person.
What else? Oh yes, being French. It's really just like any other stereotype - some people fit the description, others don't. I did try my best to fit in, speaking French to the best of my ability, which I hope helped - I could tell some people did appreciate my efforts. The elitists were not the majority, and they made it clear that we weren't fooling anyone by immediately switching to English and only speaking as much as required. The majority were friendly, and very hospitable, including our Airbnb hosts - in Lyon especially, because we ran into issues, they were so apologetic that we felt like we were back in Canada! Other elements to being French: enjoying their leisure time (don't bother trying to find anything open on a Sunday, or any weekday evening), dining slowly (very few waitstaff meant an average of 2-hour meals), wearing shoes in the house, not having dryers (I guess they hang-dry everything), drinking wine with everything, not tipping (hooray!) and appreciating quality ingredients in their markets and grocery stores (we found actual 100% fruit juice).
Surprisingly, given their leisurely pace, the trains ran according to schedule! It was relatively easy getting around on the trains and the metro lines within each city. Everything was well-marked and clearly mapped - in Nice, we noticed that even the bus stops are labeled!
Also, cycling in a foreign country is definitely a great way to see things most tourists don't get to see, but having a guide take care of every little thing may be worth the extra cost. The turn-by-turn instructions that were provided by the tour company got us 95% through the navigation, while the other 5% came from looking up where we were with GPS and Wi-Fi. (Thank goodness we rented the mobile Wi-Fi device.) We would have visited more wineries and other points of interest, but poor knowledge of the terrain (we didn't want to attempt taking our bikes on the gravel roads we saw leading to the wineries) and operating hours (some businesses close for a few hours during the day, or they don't open on certain weekdays) made it difficult. We also would have appreciated a tour that did not have "middlemen" - the tour company who handled all the communication was not the same company that provided the bikes, so when we ended up with incorrectly sized bikes, no one took responsibility for the error.
Oh! I almost forgot. Never fly Air Canada Rouge. No TV screens; not even plain old radio. Budget beverages; no free alcohol on international flights. Boxed food with chicken found in Thailand. Need I say more?
If I had the opportunity to return to France, I think I'd stick to the smaller cities to escape the tourists, except maybe a small stint in Paris just for David Toutain. After all, it's always been about the food. Mmm... pastries...
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