I am sure some people would think that France in reality is not what you would imagine. Is France as beautiful and picturesque as I expected? No. Actually, in reality, it is more stunningly beautiful than I can describe. Are the people as rude as they are stereotyped to be? No, actually everyone I have come in contact with has been extra nice and helpful. When my toll ticket refused to work at an unmanned toll booth, a nice man from the car behind came to help (as helpful as you can be when you don't speak a word of English!!!!) That is another nontruth I learned today. I expected most French people to speak at least a little English. I can say that nearly all the French people I encountered today didn't speak any English and because of that, I have ended up with skim milk instead of whole milk for my tea this evening. They have about 8 different cartons of milk with different names on them! After trying to converse in my very inadequate school french with three employees at Lidl's, I still don't know which one is whole milk, just which one isn't!!!!
I drove from Lyon to Issac today, about 325 miles. The roads are in excellent condition and were surprising free of traffic. The only complaint I have is that there are a lot of tolls and they are quite expensive. The scenery along the way was magnificent.....rolling hills, mountains, trees with fall foliage, French-style cottages, quaint little villages, beautiful churches, etc.
We arrived at our farmhouse "Le Chasseur" after dark so I am looking forward to seeing the estate tomorrow. The interior is full of character......very high ceilings, stone walls, wooden beams, etc. Our landlords were outside to welcome us and invite us in to their place for pumpkin soup (I didn't know there was such a thing!) and a beautiful spinach, leek and ham quiche that even Blue ate! How lucky we are to be here and what an experience this is already!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment