I’ve loved her for decades… I’ve loved her in a way that I cannot seem to love anything else in my life. And even though I was 15 years old when I was introduced to her for the very first time, she became HOME to my soul. I truly, madly, passionately love her, with all her vanity, her indecency, her deceitfulness, her instability… She is the perfect courtesan: France, the love of my life. She seduces with her language, the melody of her words is like no other language on earth, the meanings are countless, the nuances are subtle and hard to grasp. She unveils her beauty shamelessly, her valleys and hills, her curves and castles, discovering France is like an Arabic belly-dance, mesmerizing and luscious, amazing and free, refined and rustic, genuine and re-invented, old and new, mysterious and open, careless and opulent. She has it all, something for every taste, something to love for every visitor, and when I say “something”, I mean SOMETHING MEMORABLE! I made a vow to not use any of the famous destinations, in this post there will be NO pictures of the Eiffel Tour or Louvre or Versailles! This is a special menu: the hidden treasures of France, not in the sense that people don’t know about them, but in the sense that they are not the first thing that pops into anybody’s head when they say France. Out of the 13 metropolitan regions of France, I will just touch some of them, not all. The ones that I find special.
The most famous would be Mont Saint-Michel, in Normandie, the island-monastery build in granite, fascinating not only by its history and design, but also by the fact that it’s a pretty dangerous place to visit. The difference between low tide and high tide is between 14 to 16 metres, the speed of the tide, 
the moving sands surrounding the island, the fog that can appear suddenly and cover everything, it’s all a pact between nature’s elements to make sure human influence is at bay or at least under control. The island gives access to the top, where the Abby is built, through a serpent-like mount, a stroll uphill with restaurants and shops on the side and unique-style little houses. 
The top uncovers an amazing garden in the middle, guarded by columns and creating the perfect setting for meditation. It is a place of serenity 
and calm but with the touch of strange and grey, due to that deceiving sand all around.The night sight of Mont St. Michel is one of the most impressive in Europe.
I’ll never forget the moment I stood up at the top, near the Abby walls, taking in that view, along with the salty air…
The next stop, “Les Falaises d’Etretat”, also in Normandie, are a breath-taking mix of druidic cliffs 
and green spaces with grey beaches and turquoise water. Bearing a striking resemblance with Ireland, 
but maybe with more sun, the coast line caresses the sea, defending her beauty with sharp edges and rocks.
The “Pont de Normandie” is an amazing destination for the fans of American-style design. If you’re into the modern, daring and impressive architecture, this is definitely the stop for you.
Not only the bridge is enormous and beautiful, with that Golden Gate look, especially at night, 
but the engineers had fun with it, and besides being a toll motorway, it also has a pedestrian side and a lane for cyclists to cross, for free. It was the world’s longest cable-stayed bridge at the time it was build until 1999.
From modern and cables and engineering, we need 
another nature stop, and we have a mesmerizing one in Bretagne, Samzun beach, Belle-Ile-en-mer. The name is spot-on accurate, it is indeed a beautiful island in the sea. It provides endless trails for long walks in that amazing scenery, giving you the urge to hide and never go back to civilization. 
Photo-paradise at every corner, the perfect spot to wind down and let the world spin by and just take in the blue of the sea, the wind playing through the caves and rocks, making you understand how small we are and how big and amazing this Earth is.
Another Bretagne destination
is the city of Saint-Malo, which I had the great privilege to visit in the year 2000. Among other beautiful attractions, the one that really impressed me was the wall that the city is built on. It’s a wide wall you can walk on, the civilization on your right and the wild sea to your left, and you can stroll like that around the city, balancing between nature and man. 
The sight you get when a storm hits Saint-Malo, and the angry waves crash onto the wall and sweep the streets, hitting cars and whatever gets to be in the way… it seems to be taken form a movie with special effects, impressive and scary but to the locals, a common view that keeps them humble in front of nature’s display of force and domination.
The mandatory stop when visiting France is Loire Valley, and from the 42 castles that make up the UNESCO World Heritage Site, there are many options as to which ones to visit. It all depends on the type of building you prefer and are attracted to. The Internet is full of travel blogs and articles about “the 5 or 10 must see” castles on the Loire.
They are all well reasoned, there is the historical attractions,the most romantic, the most luxurious gardens, the best architectural pieces, the best tour you can do in one or two weeks, so all you have to do is know what you want to see, what you are most interested in, then choose from the multitude of exceptional pieces and you can be sure, no matter which way you 
choose to go, you will not be disappointed. And just because you can, take the hot air balloon ride, I hear the bus tours are so passé. I have many favorite pieces, I even visited a few, there are some that are so classic and glorious, that they inspired a few Disney movies. I chose 
the Sully sur Loire to spike your interest, it’s exactly how I imagine a fairy-tale castle to look like, defensive but beautiful, intriguing but secluded, accessible but not too easy, exquisite but not exposing all it’s beauty at the first sight, but instead waiting to be wooed and discovered.
My next proposed destination jumps to the French Alpes, into the famous Chamonix, 
where you have all the seasonal activities, winter or not, you have the great mountain views and air, the wide selection of hotels and cabins, trying to seduce all tourists, it’s definitely famous for good reason, the experience is one of a kind, for skiers or just visitors. But, I want to dare you, 
if you ever find yourself in that area, to not go only for the obvious, but explore the “Parc de la Vanoise”, with the village La Grave, that kept it’s original character with stone houses and incredible lavender gardens at 1500 meter high !
It’s one of the most beautiful villages in France, marrying the traditional architecture with sheep and cows, the traditional and original food, the “boiled bread” and “black bread” which have a rather interesting history, with stunning landscape and views.
We can’t talk about the touristic jewels of France and not at least mention the sweet Alsace, the French white wine capital. It’s a gorgeous region, including a romantic district called “Petite Venise”, a very interesting mix of German and French cuisine and architecture, due to it’s history and location.
And because it’s France, of course there are many superb castles, I picked this one just to give you a glimpse of what to expect if you go there on your next holiday:
This is Aquitaine,
the land of the 100 Years War, the Bordeaux wines and some of the most spectacular landscapes:
from the soft and calm lines of vineyards, to solitary lighthouse or desert dunes, it really will keep you guessing.
Or, if mystery is your passion, Lac Pavin, in Puy de Dome, Auvergne, 
is there to amaze you, in summer or winter. 
Almost perfectly round, a diameter of 800 meters, a dept of 93 meters, in a volcanic crater, it packs some legends and local tales bound to offer, along many seasonal activities, the vacation of your dreams. There are so many things we could talk about… So many places to discover and fall in love with! All with their specific history and legends, their original recipes for foods or cheese, it’s an inebriating experience, with long lasting effects. There is plenty of beauty to choose from. 
There’s beauty and then… there is…Provence! Bordering Italy and the Mediterranean Sea, it plays in diverse landscapes, flirting from the Southern Alps and Camargue plains to the rolling vineyards, olive groves, pine forests and lavender fields. Provence, the land of the Côte d’Azur (or French Riviera), where the elegant city of Nice and glamorous resort towns such as Saint-Tropez and Cannes line the coast! Just to see some of the pictures, and you’ll never think of kitchen spices when you hear Provence ever again. It’s pure poetry, sun and peace and green, with Gites and gardens but also with this: 
Parc National de Calanques, Europe’s only protected park to contain land, water, and semi-urban areas, and it 
can be a real mecca for outdoor adventurers. 
Whether you want to snorkel and sail, kayak and climb, or hike and watch out for wildlife, it’s like a Garden of Eden that has it all.
Two of the most spectacular sites worth visiting at least once in a lifetime are “Les Baux de Provence” and Arles. 
Positioned in the Alpille mountains, set atop a rocky outcrop that is crowned with a ruined castle overlooking the plains to the south, Les Baux de Provence proudly displays a superb stone fortress with a perfect view over Arles. The city on the Rhône River is said to have inspired the paintings of Van Gogh. Once a provincial capital of ancient Rome,
Arles is famous for its vestiges of those times, among which the Arles Amphitheatre (les Arènes d’Arles), hosting plays, concerts and bullfights.
Baie de Somme is another show stopper, one of the most beautiful bays in the world. 
It’s actually a large estuary, draining six rivers into the English Channel, being inspiration to Jules Verne, 
Colette and Degas, with it’s magical ever changing colors, the cliffs and greenery.
Oh well… I guess I have to stop sometime, right? Yes, this is my favorite, Cote Atlantique…
Ile d’Yeu, or the Island of Yeu, lies 10 kilomeres off St. Jean de Mont on the North Vendéen coast. It’s a magnificent place, a little island, no more than 5000 people, sandy beaches and dunes backed by pine forests. Along the west coast, sandy coves are dotted among low granite cliffs… The island has had a human presence since the Neolithic period, and bearing witness to this are the many Menhirs (standing stones) and Dolmens (burial chambers)
which can be found all over the island. Fortification of the island took place in the 16th century to guard against a perceived seaward threat and to control smuggling which was prolific at that time. The threat never materialized which meant that the defences were never tested. Of this fortification only the Vieux Château build on a rocky outcrop, which becomes an island at high tide, remains today…
I hope to have enticed you to at least consider one of these many exquisite possible vacation destinations, and if you do choose one of them, please let me know what your impression was.
And an honorary mention, or at least, a thank you to France for all the beautiful other joys it brought to us: the cheeses, the wines, the baguette, the fondue, the kiss… And yes, there is one thing I don’t like and never will : snails! France, my love, you can keep them all and no, I’m not even wiling to try them! Not even once!
Luly
