Why I think we should go to France on the cusp of Summer and Autumn ….

The base for travel is excitement. The intellectual, personal and physical experience of venturing to new places. Meeting new people, eating new food, smelling new flowers, hearing new sounds … discovering the natural and unnatural wonders of the world.

This is the main reason I want to go to France, but I need to be more specific if I am going to sell the idea to the HF:

1. During summer in France the weather is on my side. With average temperatures of 16-24 degrees and 7-8 hours of sun a day, we should be able to rent a soft top Citroen and cruise the country… (driving on the left-hand side of the road…). With lots of festivals and carnivals, exquisite gardens and breath-taking views and the odd countryside hike …. France in the summer caters for all tastes.
2. The beaches on the French riviera lie on the Mediterranean so think calm beaches, warm water ….
3. Nice (the 2nd largest French city on the Riveira) is home to the Marc Chagall (modern master) and the Matisse (old master) Museaum’s … and I did take Art for matric (OK back in the dark ages … but it still instilled an appreciation for all things art) surely HF wants me to be cultured ….
4. Nice is well known for its baroque architecture. The exteriors are excessive but wonderfully ornate while many interiors are lavish and opulent but stylish … very different to the often “more – shabby-than-chic” of our farmhouse
5. Nice, situated in the heart of the Provence region is home to many “provencal products”. And we all know that lavender is a vital ingredient to many provencal products and I LOVE lavender ….
6. Nice has an amazing promenade … 7km of Mediterranean Sea, palm trees, and interesting people. And they have breath-taking sunsets ….. there are also hikes we can take in the Parc du Mont Boron (hikes for all level of fitness …)
7. The food markets along the streets full of market activity with flowers, fruit, cheeses and charcuterie …. (love a food market ..)
8. Just a little inland from Marseilles …. also on the Med …. is Avignon. Here they make a chocolate truffle filled with liquor in the shape of a thistle … got to sample that!
9. It will give me a chance to practise my french – I am on level two in DuoLingo ….oui oui non non ….

Ok … the temperatures in autumn do cool down a bit but autumn is the time for ploughing the fields after the harvert … it is the season of wine ..The Bordeaux region is alive with colour as the tones of green, yellow and orange are complimented with the intense red of the vineyards.

And I haven’t even begun to look at Paris …

But all this is moot because … the rugby world cup is in France in Septemeber!