I’m just wrapping up my two-week swing through France. Here are a few final French observations.
As the guy whose name is on the cover of 40 travel guidebooks, I am so thankful for the expertise, passion, and hard work of my co-authors. For well over 20 years, Steve Smith has dedicated himself to knowing France and sharing it with American travelers. I really think Steve must know France (the sights, hotels, restaurants, logistics, services, and so on) better than any living soul — French or American. And Steve has a special knack for meeting locals, assessing them for our travelers’ needs, and connecting the right ones with our readers. Each year I look forward to a couple of weeks working with him on our France guidebooks. Thanks, Steve, for a great time this year.
The French love their holidays. This sign announces that, although there are five holidays in the month of May, the Restaurant Le Jardin Mazarin (in Aix-en-Provence) will stay open for all of them. I ate there and can attest that it would be a shame to drop by and find the door closed.
Here’s a vivid reminder that you lose money if you’re sloppy in your exchange decisions. Imagine these rates for the US dollar to the British pound sterling: buys at $1.75, sells at $1.34. I still have a tough time understanding which are the pounds and which are the dollars, but it’s clear here: The tourist loses big-time. The real rate is midway between the buy and sell rate. And a reasonable spread would be about 10 percent — much smaller than this.
After all the cute Provençal towns, I’m glad I finished in the city of Marseille. Like other gritty and vibrant “second cities” (e.g., Antwerp, Hamburg, and Bilbao), it lets the traveler connect with an urban scene that seems to be particularly alive. And when I think of this list of great “second cities,” they are all port towns — which must have something to do with why they’re so fun to experience. This was the view from my hotel room on the last night of a 60-day trip.
From Marseille, I fly home for a couple weeks, and then head back to Germany and Great Britain for part two of my summer travels. As promised, I’m posting for “100 days in Europe.” This little interim will be a bit more ad-lib, and then we’ll hit the road again together in the end of June. Thanks to all of you for traveling with me. And stay tuned!
Love your postings..makes me want to go back again…
Since we are planning a similar trip in the near future, your blogs have been particularly apropos this time! Thank you!
Just to let you know, we were in France on our own for 10 days in May (well, with your book under our arm) but decided to not visit Marseille after one word that you used…”gritty”.Your words have great influence after 30 years of experience. By the way, we found the French people to be very helpful and friendly and your idea of a polite Bonjour Madame and Bonjour Monsieur and a smile went a long way through the countryside.Much more rural than I expected and we liked that. Towns were spotless. Is there a contest going on for most clean Village?
Thanks Rick and Steve for awesome guidebooks for France. Just back from 3 weeks in France and used your books everyday in every way. (3 books – France, Provence, and Paris.) They made our trip the best it could be. Of course, our tour guide Chris, made the Paris and the Heart of Normandy tour even better. Can’t say enough to thank all of you for your work.
Kathy and Jon
We’ve been in Marseille the whole time you’ve written the past two weeks, often touring the same towns around Provence as you were. I wish our paths could have crossed. Tomorrow we’re off to Aix-en-Provence again and will look for Le Jardin Mazarin. Thanks for all your great advice during this trip, and over the years.
between the final edit of my little French book and your posts and blogs, I’m reliving France all over again. Merci beaucoup!!
Don’t stop your fabulous travel experiences. So appreciative of you sharing them with us.
I am feeling quite emotional right now… my husband and I returned 1month ago from a 3-week trip to Provence. It was wonderful to say the least. I am a photographer who has been traveling to Europe about every 18 monthes since 1993 using Rick Steves’ books for itinerary planning and recommendations. Thank you Rick (and all your colleagues) for 22 years of European travel, and 16 successful years for my travel photography business!
Found your travel books at Kinokuniya in Singapore! Headed to London after our home visit in Atlanta, Ga. Your travel books have been my staple for travels in Europe and I panicked when I couldn’t find it at the first book store I went in!
Yes, thanks, I used your guidebook for Great Britain in 1999 for my first trip! It was invaluable and made that time in England so enjoyable. We found a great little hotel in Cambridge that was charming and ate outside at a pub and talked to some very nice people who lived there!
Thanks for making our world a better one.
By the way, I am going on the Berlin Prague Vienna June 21 – July 2 and can’t wait.
Judy B from Atlanta
I have found that travelers are still so confused over how to get money, where to get money, what type of credit, debit card to use.Maybe they need to talk to their bank and find out what is the best option. I know with Bank of America they even tell us which bank they are in a relationship with so we don’t have to pay the $5.00 fee. And also most banks now have no fee credit cards. They usually call them their “travel Visa” The only thing we pay any fee on now is the 3% at the ATM, I have not found a way to avoid that charge.
Thanks Rick. Love traveling with you.
Thank you for sharing your experiences