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Awesome!!! Right in their faces!!!

Glad to see us catching up.

Been fortunate to go 5 times and I hope in my retirement years to go their yearly.

Believe me, it is far from perfect there. Crazy rules and the government is somewhat overwhelming. And they can be as racist as any white people.

But having cut off the head of a king they always carry the knowledge they if worse comes to worse they call the shots.

I’m too much an American to ever live there, but still love it.

You’re right to zero in on the guillotine as a defining element. Let’s not forget the revolution started because people were hungry. To this day, France has the best bread on earth and prices have remained low by any measure. Coincidence? Nah.

Sometimes government knows best.

I speak French, I love the people. There is so much beauty there, all over the country.

And like many European countries, the government tends to if not fear, certainly respect the power of people.

Various programs although I must say Rosetta Stone worked best for me because they make your pronunciation Tolerable. My wife is always impressed with my ability to communicate things there. And believe me, when my wife compliments me it is the real deal. We got my sister and her husband to finally lose enough fear and meet us in Paris for a week. I just about ruined it for her but speaking with the cab driver on the way from CDG. She thought she needed to be able to speak the language and panicked. I was just asking him how his windshield was broken! Because I know the words for broken and glass. But I do speak enough to smooth the rough edges, if you catch my meaning. If I knew any French speakers I think I could improve rapidly although never be fluent.

I could not live there. I may be a liberal democrat, but the French outlook is so different from ours. And I would miss the Gulf of Mexico too much. 3-4 months a year? Bet your ass I could!

Wow. It was bad.

But yeah, I’m working my ass off now so this Floridian can spend every July and August in a cool region of France! But with Climate change those areas get smaller and smaller!

However it is an easy trip to Lyon. My favorite french city.

And yes, we travel for food as much as anything. It is a window to a culture and if you are a risk taker can get you into more convivial situation. At a non tourist bar in the 8th ARR. after hearing me talk about french food a man ordered us an order of Andouillette. As a test of course. After we polished it off I ordered us a plate of Bulots. The rest of our night was the best evening I have ever spent in Europe. Yeah, I was embarrassed about my poor French. But you only live once.

If I were president every American kid would spend at least 3 months traveling overseas. It would change our nation. It changed me from a republican to a liberal democrat.

Have a great evening. I’ve hijacked this thread enough!