@titteryenot4524

2 months ago

As a frequent British visitor to France, one of my favourite things about the country is the fact that it’s simultaneously a northern European country and a southern European country (a good way of illustrating this is noting that Dunkirk - 51.03°N - is almost on the same latitude as London - 51.51°N - whilst Perpignan - 42.69°N - is more or less on the same latitude as Rome - 41.90°N), and the food, people, architecture and general lifestyle reflect this fact. There is nothing I like better than getting a ferry to Brittany and Normandy, enjoying the Franco-Celtic green and pleasant scenery for a few days, then hopping on a TGV and 4hrs later I’m soaking up the sun, listening to the electric buzz of the cicadas, and walking among the palm trees of Nice, or Marseille, or Perpignan. The colours change to reflect the predominant skies. Paris, with its resolutely monochrome palette, knows it's a northern town. 250 miles south and you’re in Lyon, a city whose colours resemble a box of ripening peaches and with bleached red roofs reflecting the southern sun. The fact the country also borders 8 other countries makes it endlessly fascinating, as you get that Flemish vibe in Lille, a distinctly Germanic tone in Strasbourg, and that seductive Latin magnetism of Spain and Italy in Bayonne and Nice. Food, people, weather, architecture all distinctly change to a fascinating extent from region to region, city to city, village to village. In many ways, notwithstanding its strong centralism and the prevalent 21st century globalism, France feels like about 3 or 4 countries in one. For all these reasons (and more!), it’s an endlessly captivating place.

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