Preparing for France
Going to France is a big deal. To really appreciate France, you shouldn't just hop on a plane to Paris and go visit the Eiffel Tower. One has to know at least a little about French culture, travel a little bit around Europe first, drink a little wine, and then perhaps work your way up to the Holy Grail of travel destinations. I didn't realize it, but I've been preparing myself for this trip of a lifetime most of my life. It all started in high school when my psychology teacher took me to see Black Moon, my first French film. I didn't understand the movie, but I immediately knew this one was different. This was an "art" film. Later, when the director's name appeared on the poster for Pretty Baby and I intuitively became aware of what I later learned was called the "auteur theory" (a French invention). Soon I was following Louis Malle, then Francois Truffaut, Alain Resnais, and later Michel Gondry -- and I became a film geek. Then there were the actresses: Isabelle Adjani, Catherine Deneuve, Dominique Sanda, Bridget Bardot, how can a teenager resist? My French culture education has begun.
Then there was my first cookbook, gifted to me by the chef as I left my first restaurant job after high school. The book was Paul Bocuse's French Cooking (first edition, no less) and I actually cooked from that book without realizing who the man was (the Internet didn't exist back then and information was hard to come by). When I moved to New York City in 1986, I lucked into getting a waiter position at the dining room of the French Culinary Institute. How did I get the job? I dropped Monsieur Paul's name. It was here that I got to taste and see what French food was supposed to look like. And wine lessons, too. Every night, the wait staff was schooled in what wines to feature based on what's on the menu. The lessons continued and other French cookbooks followed (Jacques Pépin, Julia Childs, etc) and eventually I worked myself up to hosting a seven-course Formal French Dinner pop-up event. Maybe now I'm ready to visit the homeland?
But wait, what about French music? That started with Jean Michel Jarre's "Oxygène," a classic electronic track that I discovered while watching the 1981 film Gallipoli. From there I went with Jean-Luc Ponty for jazz fusion, then started digging into the classics and discovered Edith Piaf, Serge Gainsbourg, Francois Hardy, and more. Today, I follow Jain, Angèle, Indila, Nouvelle Vague, and my favorite French group of all time -- L'Imperatrice. French music, check. French movies, check. French food, check. I think maybe I'm finally ready to visit France.
In preparation for this trip, we also became members of HomeExchange.com, an alternative to Airbnb. For a $220 annual membership fee, we were able to list our house on the platform in exchange for the right to stay in homes of other members anywhere in the world. This opened up the possibility of actually living like a local while playing tourist. We met Michel on HomeExchange.com and were able to arrange for a seven-night stay in his lovely three-bedroom condo in Colmar. We paid Michel with "guest points" which we earned by agreeing to host another Home Exchange member at our house later this year. We found the platform easy to use but did have to spend a bit of time inquiring about possible exchanges for the dates we wanted. The time investment was worth it because in the end, we were able to stay at Michel's place almost for "free."
Another reason we wanted to visit France was because my partner Bonnie's ancestors were from the Alsace region. Her father's last name was Burgund, which was obviously a shortened version of Burgundy. Her mother's maiden name was Bigard, which might be a variation on Picard, another popular surname in this region. So with seven nights locked down in Colmar, we could easily visit some old cemeteries in Alsace and visit tombstones with her family's names on them.
We also wanted to enjoy another riverboat cruise from CroisiEurope, a French company that serves Michelin Star-quality meals onboard. We chose the Rhone river cruise because the itinerary included dinner at one of Paul Bocuse's restaurants. Fortunately, the dates coincided with our stay in Colmar, so we jumped on this opportunity.
Since we're flying in and out of Paris, I wanted some unique memorable experiences out of the deal. From past trips, we knew that having a guide really enriches your experience in a foreign country. The best guides are always people you know (like friends or exchange hosts). Since we didn't know anyone in Paris, paying for a guide seemed like a reasonable option. We've paid for tour guides in Budapest, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Kolkata, etc, and we've found them all to be great experiences and great values. But the best guide we had so far was in Mexico City in 2021. I had asked Mojdeh from Journeys Beyond the Surface for a custom experience and she came through with flying colors. It wasn't cheap, but it was well worth it for me because I got to do exactly what I wanted in a huge megalopolis where I didn't speak the language. I wanted to beat that experience in Paris, so I was thrilled to find Juliette Dubois from Cine-Balade. I'm a huge movie buff and so was she. I could tell from her website that this woman knew her stuff, so I made contact and the planning process for a custom tour began. She even gave me homework: a list of French films to watch before our departure. And I watched them all (wouldn't want to disappoint my tour guide).
The last component of the trip was a visit to Baden-Baden, a spa resort in Germany. This was a low priority destination but as it turned out, there was an express train from Strasbourg to back to Paris, and Baden-Baden was only one hour north of Strasbourg. Now it made perfect sense to add a spa day to our itinerary because it was an easy stop on the way back to the airport to fly home. So now all we have to do was book the flights and we're ready to go!
With plane tickets in hand, we were ready to drive to O'Hare to board when I noticed that Chicago's City Winery had booked a band called Paris Chansons on the night before our flight. I scrambled for tickets, booked a hotel, and was very excited to start our French experience one day earlier. What luck to be able to start our cultural immersion in Chicago with some great French music and be really in the mood for Paris. Except I was in such a hurry that I forgot to research the band. I mean with a name like Paris Chanson, they must be from Paris, right? Nope, they're from LA. Did they sing French songs? Sure, but they also did Russian songs. Turns out these folks are from Ukraine, Morocco, and California. To be totally fair, these seasoned professional musicians were at the top of their game, had the crowd singing along and dancing and having a great time (me included). But French? Non.
Postscript (written after the trip): Sometimes it's the little things that matter. Here are a few take-aways from our trip that may help other future travelers.
- Language: It makes sense that knowing a few words in the language of the country you are visiting will help bridge the culture gap. But we found out that in France, you only really need to know one French word -- Bonjour! Saying this word with a smile will open doors on any occasion. Not saying it upon entering a shop or arriving at your hotel is a big faux pas. Oh, and maybe pardon might be helpful on some occasions.
- Tipping: The guidebooks say no. While that may be true in restaurants, there are other occasions where tipping might be expected. While the French don't usually tip, French people who work in the tourist industry (like tour guides) know that Americans do. So if they know you are American, they don't hesitate asking for a tip without missing a beat. I have no problem with this double standard. If the service was good and I had a good time, I usually feel generous.
- French trains run on the "wrong" side of the tracks: On the streets, the cars travel as expected (on the right side). But when you go underground and take the Metro, the trains pretend they are in England and run in the opposite direction. This may not be a problem if you read the signs carefully and know the "destination" of your train. But don't make the mistake we did and enter the station expecting the trains to run like they do in NYC and then having to exit the station, cross the street and then pay again to enter on the other side.
- The first floor is not the ground floor: When someone says go the the second floor, they really mean the third floor. That's because the ground floor is labeled "0" in elevators, and the basement is "-1." So logical, it's almost sane. This is not a French thing, but also true throughout Europe.
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