If you
travel through France, you meet a great mixture of landscapes. There are green
forests, glittering rivers and a lot of mountains.
In northern
France you find the Paris Basin which has a flat type of landscape. In the
centre of this Basin is the city of Paris and the north side of the Basin melt
into the plains of Flanders.
In south-central France the peaks of land raise as high as 6,000 feet and the
land is mostly made by volcanic activity. This part of the country is named the
Massif Central.
The Alps
begin at the Mediterranean Sea where they are known as the Maritime Alps. Then
they go northwards and turn east where they enter Switzerland and Italy. The
highest point is on Mont Blanc which rises 15,771 feet.
The Pyrenees Mountains appear between France and Spain. The highest point of
the French part of the Pyrenees is Pic de Vignemale which rises 10,820 feet.
The Spanish part of the Pyrenees has higher peaks to above 11,000 feet.
In France
there are three main rivers, the Seine, the Loire and the Rhône. The longest
river is the Loire with a length of 634 miles. The water is coming from snow
melting from the mountaintops.
Because
France is bordered by 4 seas and 3 mountain ranges, theres also a blending of
weather patterns with different climatic conditions. The weather is determined
by the balance of force between oceanic weather systems from the west and
continental systems from the east.
There are 2 main climate zones. In the western and north-western half of
France, the climate is mainly oceanic. Its a mild climate but there is
rainfall possible at all times of the year.
The eastern side of France has generally a continental climate. It is drier
than western France, with winters that are colder and summers that are
hotter.Obviously the mountain areas
have a cooler climate.
If you want
to visit France it is advisable to consult the weather forecast for the part
you want to visit before you start to pack.
Absinthe is
a liquor based on anise, wormwood, fennel and some additional herbs. It is
usually green or yellowish green tint, but is sometimes bottled as a colorless
distillate.
At the
beginning of the 20th century Absinthe was banned in several European countries
because of alleged hallucinogenic effect and neurotoxicity of the substance thujone.
As a surrogate the company Pernod developed their famous anis, actually an
absinthe without wormwood. Other manufacturers entered the market with their
pastis, where the herbal extracts were not obtained by distillation but by
maceration.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de
Toulose-Lautrec was a French
painter,
graphic artist and lithographer.
He was also
the decadent aristocrat who portrays delights in the sleaze, political chaos,
hypocrisy and loneliness of his time. He outlines the outcasts of his society,
in their most intimate moments. He is also the broken man, who is part of the
black night of Paris.
Camargue
The
Camargue is a triangular area lying on the coast between the
Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence.
Camargue horse
The
Camargue horse is one of the oldest breeds in the world. At birth they are
coloured dark brown or black, but turn white around the fourth year.
Camargue
horses are smaller than other modern horses. They are technically ponies. They
are used in rounding up Camargue bulls.
Weather
The climate
of the Camargue can be harsh, ranging from scalding heat in summer, sometimes
with 100% humidity, to desiccating cold whipped by icy winds from the Alps in
winter.
Typical French
To end
with, I decided to list some things that are typical French and you also
encounter a lot during your visit.
1. In their
daily lives, with every meal, they also serve baguette, with or without butter
2. As one
of the largest wine-producing
countries in the world, there should be of course a glass of wine at every meal.
The wines are named after the region where they are made, such as the famous
Bordeaux.
3. Champagne is produced in the Champagne
region. It is an elegant drink for many Dutch people, which is drunk on special
occasions, in France it may be drunk at every opportunity.
On my way to France, Im perceiving lots of
propaganda. Not surprising at all if you are a bit aware of the current politic
situation.
President Nicolas Sarkozy is
struggling with main candidate François
Hollande. Also Marine Le Pen et François Bayrou are still in the running
for the title of President. However, it seems like its going to be a clear
battle between liberals and socialists. The results of polls prove that its
going to be an equal presidential contest.[1]
On 6 May 2012, the Frenchmen will know how matters stand.
Basically, politics of France cant be told in just
three hundred words. Because its a country with such a rich politic background
dating back to the Middle Ages, even a hundred books still cant describe its
process.
The official type of governance is a unitary semi-presidential republic with
strong democratic undertones. Thats a mouthful for what means that the
President is the head of state and the Prime Ministers leading the Government.
Democratic influences are to notice by the multi-party system.
The two main political parties in the Government are the UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) and the
PS (Socialist Party). Sarkozy sides
with the UMP, the rather conservatives who tend to liberalism unlike the PS,
standing behind François Hollande.[2]
The last emperor who reigned France was a nephew from
Napoleon. From then on, presidents took control. Currently France is in the
Fifth Republic, which began in 1959. Charles de Gaulle became head of state in
that year and apparently he was the best Frenchman France has ever known
according to a national poll in 2005 going by the name of Le plus grand Français de tous les temps.[3]
Obviously, second in the row of head of states on the sixteenth place was
Napoleon Bonaparte.
Staring at a poster of Nicolas Sarkozy, I wonder if he could ever get in the
top ten of that list.
