tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post3765225786371185656..comments2024-01-12T00:35:16.941+01:00Comments on French Leave: A Road in Francethe fly in the webhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-44630961944322599322012-08-21T01:52:35.384+02:002012-08-21T01:52:35.384+02:00Ticking off the sites 'visited' in the com...Ticking off the sites 'visited' in the company of hordes of others has never appealed to me....and I wonder how many of those who claim to 'love France' ever venture into areas like yours.<br />I was e amiling a friend and we reckoned we could come up with a sort of guide for the areas we knew which would keep visitors busy for a fortnight without ever going near a chateau.the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-64474765981306228172012-08-20T19:07:59.112+02:002012-08-20T19:07:59.112+02:00A marvellous post, Fly. Janice has said it all for...A marvellous post, Fly. Janice has said it all for me. :-) Your super description of driving the country roads of La France Profonde is what it's like for us every time we go anywhere from our house here. We're totally off the heavily-beaten tourist track (thank goodness) but those who do venture into our area find that they really love the peace and the space and the quiet gentleness of it all.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-42463521871327372922012-08-13T21:32:39.639+02:002012-08-13T21:32:39.639+02:00Red letter day! You're back from the jungle!
I...Red letter day! You're back from the jungle!<br />I had a little skip when I saw your moniker in the comments page!<br /><br />I agree whole heartedly.....off the beaten track for me too.<br />I reckon I'd only be able to visit somewhere like Florence after midnight in mid winter with a flashlight...the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-58615424127120674252012-08-13T20:50:47.510+02:002012-08-13T20:50:47.510+02:00Sorry I’m a bit late Mme Fly. Veered off the beate...<br />Sorry I’m a bit late Mme Fly. Veered off the beaten track a while back. Got hopelessly lost in the jungle. Couldn’t see the stars for the trees so I hacked around in circles for a little longer than anticipated. Several months longer in all truth. Long overdue for a change of scenery let alone menu. Boiled bat, lizard legs and mashed wood grubs every night becomes rather tiresome, and during the monsoon season you can rub two soggy sticks together for a week but all you’ll end up with is cold smoked bat, gristly lizard legs, a fistful of blisters and a very bad mood. Hence whilst in fever recovery mode, I thought I’d hack back in here instead for bit of long overdue catch up on the affairs of state in real France and Frenchdom from someone who's very much in the know.<br /><br />With you all the way with this topic. I’ve always been an ‘off pister’. Never could stand following the herds along the highways. When the kids were small we frequently used set off on long weekend drives before dawn to ‘nowhere in particular’, simply point the car up the road and keep going till we rolled up behind a trail of three or more slower vehicles on a main road or just a single vehicle in the case of country lanes, then take the very next turning off no matter where it led and keep on going till we came upon more traffic and so on. Thus a journey headed in the general direction of say Cornwall would invariably end up in North Wales, or even Norwich, and vice versa, with the added benefit of travelling through countless off the beaten track villages via scenery and whole remote regions we would otherwise miss completely, and hardly ever a traffic jam to get snared by. The sights, experiences, education and adventures I’ve had the good fortune to be party to across Europe over the years by heading off piste to the hills, backwaters and narrow alleyways, let alone some of the characters and hidden eateries you stumble into along your journeys are both priceless and immeasurable. The fact that most of the travelling holiday masses generally like to head straight for like masses of other travellers and not stray too far from the fort (or the English menus) once they’ve landed is just fine by me. Nothing scarier than the approaching sound of a loud group of east coast American tourists all trying to out loud each other at the same time up some remote narrow stone street in an otherwise beautiful, sleepy hilltop village in Tuscany. Definitely time to vault over the nearest wall.<br /><br />Observe the masses and do the opposite. It’s always worked for me anyway.<br /><br />Say “Hi!” to the parrots and the piglets for me. Talking of which, I’ve just had an idea for tonight’s dinner…<br />Bish Bosh Bashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01311092711040714994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-2096057733400506972012-08-13T17:57:32.291+02:002012-08-13T17:57:32.291+02:00That's a super idea.
I first visited Belgium ...That's a super idea.<br /><br />I first visited Belgium before 'acquiring' a Belgian family by marriage...and the difference between what I saw on my own and what they could show me was startling!the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-43446414708607318532012-08-13T17:46:50.390+02:002012-08-13T17:46:50.390+02:00I am thinking of becoming a TIB, a this is belgium...I am thinking of becoming a TIB, a this is belgium personal guide to people who want to travel out of the books and become a driver like yours in Luxor<br />This is Belgiumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13717829942768478705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-19327396491086136072012-08-12T14:02:58.330+02:002012-08-12T14:02:58.330+02:00We used to take last minute package tours....and i...We used to take last minute package tours....and it astounded me that people would take the tours organised by the hotel rather than getting out of the compound and doing their own thing...<br />We visited the Valley of the Kings by horse and trap from Luxor...not only did we have unlimited time there unlike the tour parties, but we also stopped off in a village to meet the driver's family, taste his uncle's grapes...great fun!the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-66648395866475803972012-08-12T14:00:03.580+02:002012-08-12T14:00:03.580+02:00Arcachon...home of the Dune and the annual ban on ...Arcachon...home of the Dune and the annual ban on eating the oysters....the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-51533533787357304602012-08-12T13:58:44.263+02:002012-08-12T13:58:44.263+02:00It must be frustrating for you.....and who are the...It must be frustrating for you.....and who are these advertisers who want to send people to Provence....the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-13835576234052129132012-08-12T09:51:31.040+02:002012-08-12T09:51:31.040+02:00Isn't it always the way in every country? I h...Isn't it always the way in every country? I hate the tourist trail. I love going off the beaten track. It's the only way to see the REAL country...and real people!Ayakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16903896106779269050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-45768356508567185262012-08-12T04:04:14.374+02:002012-08-12T04:04:14.374+02:00I spent a summer in Archachon, France during colle...I spent a summer in Archachon, France during college. Though it's likely still touristy, it was nice to see something other than Paris. What a wonderful way to earn college credit. :)Carrie Rubinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00149493592668163675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-3257796412973727732012-08-12T02:30:53.328+02:002012-08-12T02:30:53.328+02:00Many travel page editors are in thrall to their ad...Many travel page editors are in thrall to their advertisers, who only want to send people to Provence, etc. As you say there is so much more.Jenny Woolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16881781466502273314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-56822803896282920162012-08-11T14:55:54.095+02:002012-08-11T14:55:54.095+02:00One of the Belgians has one like that...wonderful ...One of the Belgians has one like that...wonderful except when on a tight schedule for the airport!the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-13655909368077389492012-08-11T14:10:44.148+02:002012-08-11T14:10:44.148+02:00Our satnav. does not understand the word tourist a...Our satnav. does not understand the word tourist and has taken us through some wonderfully unspoilt areas of France that I am sure we would never have seen if we had had to rely on map reading.cheshire wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944869219641386387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-27934661445913446292012-08-11T13:43:01.320+02:002012-08-11T13:43:01.320+02:00Yes, but you make the effort to get out and look a...Yes, but you make the effort to get out and look at places....and find some gems!the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-25280665941595340392012-08-11T13:42:12.363+02:002012-08-11T13:42:12.363+02:00I'll have you know that in my area that was a ...I'll have you know that in my area that was a main road!<br />The back roads were something else...going through old coal mining villages along a tiny river...the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-55700427912925979792012-08-11T13:41:09.750+02:002012-08-11T13:41:09.750+02:00Oh yes...tick the box stuff....how deadening to th...Oh yes...tick the box stuff....how deadening to the soul.<br /><br />I have a nasty suspicion that people are less and less culturally informed...they have no eye for architecture...no sense of period...no idea of history.<br /><br />As far as I know the doctor and his lady are still deep frozen....somewhere in Paris.the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-60848855353207358072012-08-11T13:38:13.636+02:002012-08-11T13:38:13.636+02:00You have hit the nail on the head....my frustratio...You have hit the nail on the head....my frustration with France is driven by fury at the sheer waste of human capability in the name of a system which proclaims equality....but there is so much to enjoy too and I've been lucky enough to have made friends who were keen to share their knowledge of their own area.the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-5221918983809984922012-08-11T13:34:39.034+02:002012-08-11T13:34:39.034+02:00I hope it's what I think it is and I'll bu...I hope it's what I think it is and I'll buy a copy...the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-12718242461217313282012-08-11T13:34:05.258+02:002012-08-11T13:34:05.258+02:00How true....there's tourist Costa Rica, lining...How true....there's tourist Costa Rica, lining the pockets of the big boys and then there's Costa Rica...on the back roads...the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-31101560890011095512012-08-11T13:33:07.507+02:002012-08-11T13:33:07.507+02:00It must be the same in the area you settled in...s...It must be the same in the area you settled in...so much going on and no tourist any the wiser....the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-67289180519678966602012-08-11T10:56:17.667+02:002012-08-11T10:56:17.667+02:00People so often ask me where I find the interestin...People so often ask me where I find the interesting villages in France. Even people who live here in large cities. Certainly they are not on the tourist routes but they are all around us many within cycling distances. It is sad that people visit and generally miss so much of rural France. Enjoy your weekend DianeDianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14782670749466305626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-86524826636874025112012-08-11T10:36:48.424+02:002012-08-11T10:36:48.424+02:00My GPS has the happy feature of delineating the sh...My GPS has the happy feature of delineating the shortest route as well as the fastest one. The fast one is inevitably on major roads, the short one on all the little back roads such as you describe. Wonderful.Mark In Mayennehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14987723233401368368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-70429085948706551812012-08-11T09:57:43.490+02:002012-08-11T09:57:43.490+02:00Hello:
It is frightening. By which we mean the ext...Hello:<br />It is frightening. By which we mean the extent to which tourists, for they are seldom travellers, fail to stray off the well worn, beaten tracks of 'attractions', simply there to be ticked off, as recommended by their guide books or, worse still, what has been outlined in some colour supplement of a Sunday newspaper.<br /><br />Increasingly too, in major cities, such as Budapest, they appear not to be interested in anything beyond looking at shops with the sole aim of recognizing a store name familiar to them.<br /><br />All of that said, you give a wonderful account here of a little known area of France where life, or indeed death, remains relatively untouched.<br /><br />And was the frozen corpse finally buried?!!Jane and Lance Hattatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16831890261259302647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021650718999668529.post-58077942655200379682012-08-11T09:35:46.144+02:002012-08-11T09:35:46.144+02:00Dear Fly, redaing this has made me realise why I l...Dear Fly, redaing this has made me realise why I look forward to your posts so much. Despite hating the "crap" ( generic term to cover ex-pat gushings, political corruption, general disorganisation, petty bureaucracy etc etc) you love France with a beautifully informed passion. This has been my favourite of your posts ( I haven't read all the back catalogue yet). I love the Chateau Congelateur tale....just perfect. Your lawyer friend will not find such fascinating roads on her trip, unless she put you in her suitcase. J.Janicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05449652020751269674noreply@blogger.com