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Pierre Guernier's avatar

Bonjour Betty! I love that fact: “74% of French people plan to stay in France this summer.” It really shows how much domestic tourism fuels the French travel industry — and I can definitely relate!

As a child, we always spent our summer holidays in France, whether in the Alps or along the Mediterranean. I suppose France is so vast and varied that you feel “dépaysé” each time, even without crossing the border!

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Betty Carlson's avatar

Yes, you can even feel “dépaysé” going from one extreme to the other of certain departments, for example Aveyron of course!

Your childhood experience sounds fairly typical of this tradition, if you can call it that.

When my parents were still alive, I spent all summer, every summer, in the USA, which explains why I still have so much to discover in this beautiful country! I did get around some for work and for some social occasions, but it was often not real “holiday travel.”

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Rachel Shenk's avatar

I love these little details! And I always look up the places you are mentioning, big and small.

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Betty Carlson's avatar

Thank you for reading! I've been collecting a lot of information over the past months and I had fun putting it together. Good job on looking the places up -- there were a lot!

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Cathy Thome's avatar

How fun! I enjoyed these tidbits.

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Betty Carlson's avatar

Thank you! I save a few items every day. I have hundreds stocked up! It’s become a bit of an obsession.

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David Gemeinhardt's avatar

I would definitely go to the Pierre Loti museum. If I follow through on my plans to visit Lille, I'll definitely take a side trip to Saint-Quentin.

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Betty Carlson's avatar

I think your list for your next trip is getting pretty long! I too am intrigued by the Maison Pierre Loti, and Rochefort would be a suitably sized destination.

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