Sunday, November 8, 2009

I'm Off To France - Brittany, to be Exact.


Even the most worldly-wise traveler must be continually struck dumb by the infinite variety of France.In the U.S., the standardization of goods and services has all but eradicated the once pronounced identity of individual regions, but in rural France long held customs are living, breathing forces, deeply cherished and lovingly nurtured.
The ethnic and linguistic differences from region to region are as startling as the swift and dramatic changes in landscape, architecture and cuisine. In Alsace one sips Gewurztraminer and speaks in a clipped German accent, in Nice the lyrical French is practically Italian in intonation and in remote parts of the Basque country the French language altogether disappears.
So on the 15th of November for about 2 weeks, I am off to the land of myth and legend, a wonderland of seascapes - the tides, the crashing waves, the rocky inlets, wide beaches and coastal cliffs - the area of King Arthur's legends, of an amazing array of fish and shellfish (Oysters and sardines my true love) and of people who are friendly,outgoing and completely without airs. The region of France known as Brittany.

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