I grant you it’s based on just a few visits, but I find that I like and admire the French. In general, I’ve found them to be courteous, friendly, hospitable and especially appreciative if you make an attempt to speak their language. If you’re an American traveling in Normandy, many of the locals — especially…
Here’s what impressed me about my three train rides today: the slow trains here are fast and the fast trains are really fast. When Matthew Foy of Railbookers in London presented me with my rail tickets and hotel vouchers, he described several of the rail segments as “local trains”, emphasizing that there was no reserved…
I’m staying at Le Grand Monarque here in Chartres and, just after breakfast this morning, I asked the woman at the reception desk if there was a photo store nearby. She looked at me, somewhat askance, and said, “Monsieur! C’est lundi aujourd’hui!” Yes, today is indeed Monday and that means just a few shops and…
As part of my European itinerary, I’m going to be taking a kind of detour after my visit to Chartres and before I return to France for my three days in the wine country around Beaune. There will be several trains involved, of course: Chartres to Paris and from there to Chur in Switzerland by…