Monday, December 8, 2014

Vive La France!!!!

Well, I have been living in France for a few weeks now and I must say the whole French country experience strikes a cord within me.  I love the unspoiled countryside with houses that have been there for centuries and whisper tales of bygone days…..  I love the sleepy little towns that rarely show any signs of life (like ghost towns really).  I love that the French (here at least) have the audacity to just enjoy life.  Imagine!!!!  No one seems to be killing themselves working.  They take their time to greet people properly (the kiss on each cheek as a greeting!!!!), to eat leisurely (at least two hours for lunch), and to enjoy life by putting living life to the fullest and family first instead of working and making money as the number one priority. 

The shops are closed a lot, butchers and bakeries especially only opened early in the day, and most have closed days not only at the weekends, but on Mondays and sometimes Tuesdays too.  Restaurants are the same, opening on what seems to be a whim.  Some people coming to France would find this simply inconvenient and annoying.  Not me, I love the eccentricity and charm of it all!  I love the grandeur and flair that the French put into everything.  I love the way they speak, the smoothness and romance in every rolled syllable.  I love the style and sense of fashion that is put into every outing.

This is a simple country life, a way of life that has spanned generations.  I can breathe in the deep history of every place I go.  Pain and pride intertwined.  The toil that went into each and every stone in every building.  The craftsmanship and life put into each and every thing, not enough to build, everything had to be and is, a work of art and beauty.


The rolling hills and beautiful green fields are reminiscent of my beloved Donegal, rekindling childhood memories of freely roaming the unfenced land, of beautiful summers and days filled with laughter and the smell of fresh hay and turf fires.  Here I find the peace my soul craves.  Here I am finding my long lost self…..I feel like I have come home!!!!









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