The Japan of Europe (France, Part 1)

20 minutes over the border from Spain and the grass was literally greener. The landscape seemed more idyllic. It sounds too good to be true. But this was France, and France is France.

The way I characterise France in my head is this; it’s the Japan of Europe. The most elegant, progressive, got-their shit-together, scenic, idyllic, fashionable, cultured and yes, a little bit elitist and snobby, country of their continent.  Like japan, it has distinct culture recognised the world over, and is a powerhouse in global politics and economy.  People live with grace here.

Toulouse was our first stop. It was a city in the guise of a town, and was perched neatly next to a river that was so still you could see the sky reflected off it. Some locals sat down by the rivers edge at dusk, while others had drinks at cool little bistros.

It was in Toulouse that we went to a restaurant and ordered duck; starting the trend of ordering duck (at least one of us) at every single restaurant we went to in France.

Next was Bordeaux, famous for the surrounding vineyards. Bordeaux comes from Bordeaux, like Port from Porto. It is the industry which led to the establishment of the city, and is a primary industry today. Of course we had to try some.

We also had some macaroons, the famous French sweet. We started off with ‘Lavender and Peach’, tried ‘Avacado and Balsamic Vinegar,’ and also, ‘Salted Caramae and Ginger,’ but the best was ‘Passionfruit and Chocolate.’ There was even a salmon flavoured one, but we kept well clear of it.

Here we spoke to girl, not much older than Rin and I, who was a true wine expert. She told us the oldest drop she’d had the pleasure of tasting was a Bordeaux from 1947.

This was just the beginning of my discovery of how much these French folks know food, wine, music and literature.

In Portiers, we rented a room in the house a young couple. He was a professor at the local university and she was a singer who travelled around France to perform. It was such a great experience being able to live with them briefly. They had pack bookshelves with proper writers (no crime fiction), practiced piano during the evenings, and spoke about movies in terms of the director not the title. One night we had dinner with Nimo, the professor, because Juliette was in Paris for an audition. We had a great time chatting with him about everything from travel to science, writers to religion. He is a member of the Skeptics Society, who put the scientific theory as humanities crowning achievement, and offer 1 million dollars to anyone who can use it to prove anything supernatural, fortune telling, hypnotism (the act like a chicken type) and astrology. Furthermore, this group isn’t shy about attacking what they think are the immoral and consequential aspects of superstitions, such as the Anti-Vaccination movement, homeopathy and religious fundamentalism.

Nima was a fun and smart guy, and sleepy Portiers was a nice contrast to the big cities in France. We spent our days going to produce markets, walking along the river, and wandering through the old town, which had some great original medieval buildings.

But this was just the beginning. We were on our way to Paris…