A Grand Opera and France Wrap Up

 On my last day in Paris,  I only had an hour and so sought out the modest 19th century opera house for a quick visit-

The place only took up little more than one city block.  The French really do know how to cover scaffolding.  

So, that is pretty much it for my latest visit to France.  A few surprising and unsurprising observations -

• The French are in many ways, tho not all, sneakily efficient.   They do a lot of things well and efficiently- e.g. resturaunt service, wine making, tours, biking riding, subways,bnbs, etc.  They are more business like and customer friendly  than one might think and I say that as a (American) compliment.

• While not openly convivial and sociable like some others (e.g. the Irish),  I found the French  very friendly in general and very solicitous and helpful on the many occasions where I needed assistance.  

• I found really no one averse to speaking English, including in Paris, and many who speak it quite well.  A change from the 70s when I visited Paris.  

• I found the country side of Northern France truly delightful, dotted with many ancient and interesting different types of places to visit 

• Unsurprisingly, given its history (TdF), France is quite bike friendly and offers safe bike routes almost everywhere.  Just a terrific place to bike. 

• Like  every country I have visited, I found the French justifiably proud (and not in an arrogant way) of their ancient and beautiful country.  As one explained to me, they see it as a place with so many different things to see- from Roman ruins, to beautiful medieval churches, to moving historical sites, to beautiful Chateaux, to the beaches of the Mediterranean or Atlantic, to the Alps, to the many vineyards and stone medieval villages, to Paris with its stupendous museums, monuments, churches and historical and cultural sites.  

• Where I went, the French seem to genuinely honor the American contribution to aiding and saving them in WWI and WWII and you can see that, not only in Normandy (where I heard many speaking French in the American cemetery) but also in other American military cemeteries from WWI- e.g,  Argonne and St. Mihail (sp?)

And if you add to all of the above, the fact that their food and wine is as good as any in the world- and I think a very good value overall-  well it would be darn hard not to enjoy a visit to France.

C'est finis.