Paris & Provence: Gabe’s 2025 Trip Report

Paris & Provence: Gabe’s 2025 Trip Report

Hello everyone and welcome to Monday night travel with Rick Steves Europe. Whether this is your first time joining us or your 200th, we are glad that you’re spending the evening with us. My name is Gabe Gunn and I have the distinct pleasure of packing you all in my virtual suitcase this evening as I relive my summer trip to Paris and Provence. [Music] So without further ado, we are going to jump right in because I have a big and busy trip in store for you all. So we have a lot of ground to cover and we are going to get started. Welcome everyone aboard Gabe Airways where we will be taking a journey tonight to France to retrace my steps from my Paris and Provence trip from this summer. Now working for a European travel company, I’m fortunate that I typically embark on one big Europe trip each year. But if I’m honest, at the end of 2024, I was seriously contemplating skipping a Europe trip in 2025. I had enjoyed two incredible trips the previous two years. the Germanic world and the Pharaoh Islands in 2023 and Bulgaria and Istanbul in 2024. Both of which you can find my previous trip reports for in the Mnt archive. But they were both long involved trips. And quite frankly, I was tired. Then three things happened. First, I discovered that the Eurogame, which is a multiport LGBTQ sporting event that takes place in Europe each year, was going to be in Leon, France in July 2025. Second, my dear sister accepted a one-year position as an OPAIR in Paris ending in July 2025. And third, Lamar Shambbley, the founder of Teens of Color Abroad, informed me that they were starting a new study abroad program in Exxon Provence and said if I would be in the area, they’d love to have me stop by. And when was the program, you ask? July 2025. So, while I may have been ready for a little rest from European travel, Europe clearly had other plans in mind. Now, a few months after the trip, I’m so glad that I went, and I’m very excited to share it all with you this evening. So, this is the route that we’re going to be following, flying into and out of Paris, and then taking a high-speed train down to Provence to explore some of the most iconic sites of Provence along with a little jaunt into the mountains and a trip to one of France’s second cities of Leon. Now, to clarify, I am not a France travel expert. We here at Rick Steves Europe think that there’s great value in learning from experts, people who have been guides or written guide books in regions, and we often have those types of guests on Monday Night Travel. But we also think that there’s value in hearing from fellow travelers like you. And so tonight, I join you as a fellow traveler. My trip is not an exhaustive exploration of Paris or Provence, but I do hope that it offers you a few things. I hope that it gives you some ideas for a future France trip you might like to make. I hope that you learn from some of my mistakes because yes, there were some to hone your own travel skills. And most of all, I hope that you just have fun coming along on my trip with me. But we are going to start in the city of light, Paris. For the most part, I have used my own photographs taken on my trusty iPhone. I’m not a great photographer like my colleague Cameron Hwitt. So, if you ever see a particularly beautiful photo like this, it is from our Rick Steves Europe image vault, um, where we have a lot of professional photographers that take these nice photos. But I hopped off the plane in Paris at the simultaneously retro and futuristic Charles de Gaulle airport where you have all of these tunnels with escalators piped through them. And I found my way to the metro station. Paris has the best metro system in Europe, the most stations and most lines of any European city. Um, there are 14 numbered lines that operate within the city and then there are five lettered lines ABCDE that connect the city with the suburbs. The good news for me is that I only needed to take one of those suburban lines which are called RER trains. I just had to take the RERB line. The bad news was that I had to take it from Charles de Gaul, the furthest station on one side, all the way to the suburb town of Jieuret, which was almost at the other end of the line on the opposite side. Um, all the way off the map actually here. It was fun though going through the city and watching people, the swell of crowds in the car as we got to the city center and then the EB as we reached the outskirts again. and I eventually arrived in Jief where my sister was living as an Opair. Zief is a nice bedroom community with a lazy economic pulse, cute shops like this one that simply named gourmet treats and beautiful objects which I find very charming and even in small towns like this worldclass petisserie. My sister was living in Jief with the family that she was working for and she acted as my interpreter um throughout the week. And you may wonder what fantastic ruin are Maddie and I visiting in this photo. And the answer is simply the modest local castle from the 11th century just a 15-minute drive down the road. The castle was built to protect the charming village of Sari below. And today you can stroll down to walk the idyllic lanes and pop into the little shops. And that’s just what Maddie and I did. Now, I don’t say this to encourage you to visit Same specifically. And certainly if you’re making a first or second visit to Paris, you have your work cut out for you just with what’s in the city. But if you love this area and you’re on your third or fourth visit, why not take one of the rear lines out to the outskirts? Um, in France you kind of have to try hard not to find a beautiful historic church or castle. After our visit with Sani, we then went to another chatau located on an RER line out from the city, but this one I definitely recommend a visit to, and you may have heard of it. It is the Chateau Versailles with its sprawling gardens. I didn’t realize that Versailles is open Saturday nights from early June through late September for a garden lights show as the sun sets. It’s 33 per ticket and they keep the area fenced off until 8:30 p.m. at which they let the floodgates open and people pour into the gardens. Walking past these statues, I thought about all of the wild revalries they must have witnessed over the decades and centuries. And as we filed down the wide Royal Avenue toward the Grand Canal, cannons shot fireballs timed to the music in a display that I think even Marie Antuinette would have been impressed by. So I want to give you a little taste of that now. [Music] Personally, I think that we need to have more classical music choreographed with flamethrowers. We finally reached the Apollo Fountain at the end of the Grand Avenue and the Grand Canal stretched for over a mile beyond it. And seeing this, you can understand how foreign dignitaries visiting the French king centuries ago would think him the most powerful man on earth, able to even bend nature to his will. Maddie and I were excited to explore this nature. And so we dove down these covered paths to cozy glenns studded with statues, ornate pergolas, and playful fountains choreographed to the music. It was incredible to discover scene after scene illuminated by the colors of the setting sun. And once the sun disappeared beyond beyond the horizon, the flood light snapped on bathing the hedges and statues in an otherworldly glow. And then the fireworks started. It wasn’t the most fire power I’ve ever seen in fireworks, but I do think it was the most artistic rendering of fireworks I’ve ever seen with them carefully timed with the music, different types of fireworks meant to match the mood of the music. It was certainly a crowded spectacle, but it was worth it and a unique way to experience Versailles. So, while there are many charming small towns like Sanrai, there are not many places on Earth like golden glittering Versailles. And I highly recommend doing your research, studying your guide book, and finding a way to visit a popular site like this that will mitigate the impact of the crowds and maximize your experience. Plus, in the gardens, there’s always plenty of room to spread out. Having been in Paris for a total of about 2 weeks before in my life, I didn’t feel a strong desire to strategize around too many crowds to enjoy Paris’s blockbuster sites. So instead, Maddie and I spent a day enjoying some second sights of the city. I began with a run with the Paris Frontr Runners. FrontRunners is an international organization of LGBTQ running and walking clubs. And I always like looking up if there’s a local chapter that I can go for a run with um to enjoy the city and meet locals. You might consider doing something similar for an interest you have. There are lots of meetup groups in major cities. and we met at the beautiful park debut shaml. Afterwards, we did not have to go all the way back to Jief for me to shower because in the summer Paris has the Paris plage or Paris beaches where they set up beaches along the canals and rivers of the city. So, I was able to get a free if cold shower while Maddie just luxuriated with locals on the beach. Next, we revisited one of my favorite second sites from my first trip to Paris, and that is the Perilleschez Cemetery. With over 70,000 graves, Rick refers to it as a city of the dead. And it has such notable residents as writers Oscar Wild and Gertard Stein, singers Jim Morrison and Adith Poff, composer Rosini, and the infamous city planner George Eugene Houseman, who we will hear about in just a bit. Walking along the hilly cobbled paths, it just strikes me that this is a perfect compliment to all of the indoor art splenders of Paris. So, if you’re there on a beautiful day, I highly recommend doing this. And I highly recommend Rick’s audio tour. I actually haven’t done many of his audio tours before. And doing this one, I definitely want to do them more because Rick breaks out into song at least three times in the Peril audio tour. Next, in the afternoon, we stopped by the apartment of French author Victor Hugo, known for his works Le Miser Rob and the Hunchback of Notradam. His apartment was certainly striking with a lot of oriental flare and china plates, and there were artworks from his notable works and examples of notes that he jotted down. We then went to dinner at one of Rick’s recommended restaurants, um, this vintage woodpanled restaurant in the Mon Matra neighborhood called La Pro. The food was excellent. My favorite was, of course, the baked kam bear cheese in honey. But most delicious was this view of the Mran neighborhood. Watching this intersection all night, I just felt like I was watching a movie set. And we even had a dose of movie serendipity when one of my colleagues walked in the door. This is my colleague Rosie. She’s one of our guide book editors and researchers. I had no idea she was even going to be in France, but um I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to find her at one of the restaurants recommended in our book. Um one thing I love working at a European travel company is not being surprised bumping into one of your colleagues in a Parisian restaurant. My third day in Paris was um focused on one thing and that was Bastile Day which is the biggest French holiday uh which is celebrated each year on the 14th of July. Um I’m going to share a little clip actually from Rick. This is actually from one of our new season 13 TV shows which are currently airing throughout this fall. So, this one was released just last month, and it has a nice little Easter egg for some of you longtime Monday Night Travel viewers. So, we’re going to hear from Rick briefly about the origins of Bestile Day and a bit about modern Paris. The good life in Paris is easy to take for granted, but today’s freedoms and civil liberties didn’t come without a struggle. And the pinnacle of that struggle, an epic event that reverberates in the spirit of its people to this day, was the French Revolution. It was launched in 1789 with the storming of a prison that stood on this square. That notorious prison was called the best deal. Angry Parisians stormed it, released its prisoners, and then tore it down. Today, it’s one of Europe’s great nonsites. There’s nothing left to see. But what we do see is the modern city that followed that revolution. A city designed not for kings but for people. That urban design goes back to the mid 1800s when the government commissioned Baron Housemen to modernize the city, including its riverside embankments. Along with that, he ripped up most of medieval Paris and created the city’s grand boulevards. And he lined those avenues with what became known as Houseman architecture, stately buildings with uniform facades, rot iron balconies, and iconic slate rooftops. Paris has built upon that planning heritage, making the city ever more green and livable, creating pedestrian zones, favoring bikes and public transit over cars, and even turning elevated rail lines of the industrial age into skinny green belts high above street level, ideal for bikers and strollers. today. Like a citywide game of connect the dots, wide Parisian boulevards lead to famous landmarks, like the Pantheon built to honor illustrious Parisians and to the stately opera house. All right. So, those of you I the the architecture things went a little off topic from Bestile Day, but um those of you who are longtime Monday Night Travel viewers, I hope you were excited to hear that our Monday Night Travel theme music made it into the TV show. Um I was very pleased when I first watched that clip. But that’s a little of the history be behind Bastile Day. But Maddie and I were excited for the celebrations of the day. Staying so far outside of the city, we decided to choose between the military parade in the morning and the fireworks in the evening. And I think you can tell from this image, which we chose. Um, unfortunately, we did not realize that to get the prime viewing spots on the Sham Demar, the park in front of the Eiffel Tower, we would have had to have gotten there many hours earlier. So, we were relegated to the river banks with the throngs of people, but we still had a decent view as the fireworks began. You can see here that they began with the glittering of all of the drones, building suspense, and then came the sparkle of the Eiffel Tower, getting the crowd excited. From there, fireworks began shooting off of the Eiffel Tower while the drones made intricate uh patterns such as this bird. And the grand finale was a lot of booming fireworks while the drones spelled out the words egalitan, liberty, equality, brotherhood, which has become the slogan of France since the revolution. One final um Bastile Day tradition is the Bald de Pompier, which is the fire firefighters balls. The firefighters host these elaborate parties at firehouses throughout the city. Typically, they are the couple days before Bastile Day on the 12th and 13th of July. And these parties have drinking and dancing late until the night, 4:00 a.m. in the morning. Maddie and I kind of half-heartedly tried attending, but the lines to get in were already eight blocks long. We estimated it would be 2 to three hours, so we decided to just get drinks instead at a corner bar and enjoy the ambiance. So, the Bastile Day activities are very fun to experience, but you do want to plan ahead and pack snacks if you want to make the most of them. The next morning, July 15th, it was time for me to hop on this Rainbow Express, the high-speed TGV train to Exxon Provence, which brings me to a recurring segment uh in Monday Night Travel of Gabe raving about European trails, uh trains, rather. So, I did the math and for today, Monday, December 1st, the fastest train connection from Paris to Exxon Provence, 400-ish miles, is under three hours. If you were to fly to nearby Marseilles instead of X, that the fastest flight would be an hour and 20 minutes. In the US, an equivalent distance roughly from Boston to DC would take over twice as long, 6 hours and 38 minutes by train, which leads me to two takeaways. The first, whenever you can travel by rail in Europe, do it. It is cheaper. It’s more sustainable. It’s more comfortable. It’s much less hassle. And when you factor in the time it takes to get to and from the airport, going through security, getting there earlier, usually taking a train is just faster. Second, in the United States, we are woefully behind in the rail game. So, whenever you have the opportunity, encourage your representatives to continue investing in good rail infrastructure. Now I’m going to get off my soap box and we are getting going to get off the train in Exxon Provence in the south of France and in beautiful Axon Provence, people are even relaxed and laidback at the train station. And despite my dia tribe moments ago, um while it is true that many trains do go from city center to city center, Exxon Provence is an exception because it’s a big hub for the whole Provence region. There’s a separate high-speed rail station that’s about 20 minutes by bus away from the city. Now, this is another example of how a guide book comes in handy because I spent about 20 minutes wandering around looking for that bus. And when I finally cracked open my guide book, there were very detailed instructions of which staircase to go down to find it. Uh it was in a tricky spot, but I was well informed and I found it in just 2 minutes. Which is another reason why it’s always good to have a guide book that is researched in person by actual human travelers like you with their boots on the ground rather than just people doing online research or AI that is unable to have boots on the ground. So um this guide book was very much my friend throughout the trip. Upon arriving in Axon Pervence proper I was immediately enamored. It’s built from this yellowish stone that kind of makes it always feel like it’s golden hour in the city. And the broad market street was just a joy to stroll. I didn’t find any heavyweight historic sites and I found myself describing X to a friend as it’s just beautiful. Wondering if I was missing something, I again checked Rick’s description in the guide book if there was some deep historical dimension I was missing. And I loved Rick’s description. He said, “For a tourist, Exxon Provence is happily free of any obligatory turn styles, and there’s not a single ancient site to see. It’s just a wealthy town filled with 150,000 people, most of whom, it seems, know how to live well and look good. Nowhere else in France is L de Viva, the art of living, so stylishly lived.” So, I was excited to live artfully. Part of this was my wonderful hotel, Hotel Le Katra, named for the fountain with four dolphins um just a block from the hotel. And this was a quintessential Rick Steve’s Europe hotel. It was small but comfortable. It had fewer amenities than a cookie cutter American hotel, but maximum charm, and it had the best quality, which is a great proximity to the heart of the city. Another part of this art of living was the food. I think that my favorite meal of the trip was at a restaurant here called LT Mat, the green tomato. And fittingly, my favorite dish of the trip was this green tomato tart taton with a kind of savory goat cheese ice cream on the side. It was this perfect balance of traditional French flavors and kind of an inventive spin. Um, and then for dessert, there’s this beautiful swirl of local apricots in a luxurious syrup. But that dessert actually was not mine. It belonged to Lamar Shambley, the founder and director of Teens of Color Abroad. Because my main purpose for traveling to Axon Provence wasn’t simply to a eat great food and beautiful plazas, but rather to visit the brand new teens of color abroad program in X that they started using donations from our Rick Steves Europe seasons giving holiday event. Those who have watched Monday Night Travel for a while may remember that uh Lamar joined us a couple years ago for a show on Sevilla where Teens of Color Abroad has operated a program for several years. Since then, they have become one of the beneficiaries of our seasons giving holiday event where from Thanksgiving through the end of the year. So, it is currently active. Um, anytime somebody purchase a Rick purchases a Rick Steves Europe tour, they’re prompted at checkout to select from a grouping of nonprofits and we as Rick Steves Europe will donate $100 on that traveler’s behalf. Um, in addition to teens of color abroad and several other study abroad programs, um, this also benefits the ACLU, Doctors Without Borders, and our very own climate smart commitment. So, TOA, Teens of Color Abroad. Uh, they then used these funds earmarked for them by our very own Rick Steves Travelers to develop a new study abroad program in Axon Provence focused on art and French culture. For the program, students stay with host families to maximize the cultural impact. They then learn about art in the classroom and put their learning to practice in the field, literally in the field. And of course, they do some iconic day trips to proven highlights like bustling Marseilles and the serene lavender fields. To facilitate the program, TOA partners with the Leo Marutz School of Painting and Drawing. The school was opened in the 70s by an artist and scholar by the name of, you guessed it, Leo Marshoots. He was more specifically a scholar of Paul Seaison. I wasn’t terribly familiar with Seaison, but he is the big hometown hero of Exxon Provence. Um, a native of X, who is today considered by many in the art world to be the father of modern art for his role in the transition from 19th century impressionism to 20th century cubism, serving as a big inspiration for artists like Picasso. Today, the school describes itself as a school of vision, which encourages students to practice not just painting, but seeing deeply, taking care to notice every aspect of the figures and colors in front of them. One of the board members and instructors, Barry, actually said to me, “When students leave here, they may never paint another landscape, but they’ll never stop seeing.” Uh, so I loved that, not just as an approach to art, but an approach to travel, practicing seeing. On the first day of my visit, I got to see this seeing firsthand as I followed the students into the billowing golden fields of the French countryside amid a glorious cacophony of cicas. The school rents half of an old French farmhouse, which is in a beautiful state of dilapidation. Uh, the students kind of use it as their home base while they paint, but they spend most of their time out in the hot proven sun. I, meanwhile, wo through the fields and just pestered and distracted them with questions about the program. And one of my favorite conversations was with uh, Seoula, who said that he was not a painter before this trip, but when I asked him how it felt to be painting out in the French countryside, he responded simply, “I feel free.” which was just such a sweet response. The next day, we then went to the Chatau Noir, which is a neo gothic residence that featured in many of Seaison’s paintings and also offered some prime viewpoints of Saison’s favorite subject, the Salvoir Mountain, which you’ll see featured in many of his works. Today, the Leo Marshoot School is the only institution allowed access to this private property. And after a short hike up the hill, it was such a joy to watch the students set up their easels and analyze the landscape much as Paul Seaison did. Now I again went around and pestered the students and I interviewed a few of them and I want to share some of their thoughts now because even though they are talking about the experience of study abroad, I think that a lot of what they learned and have to say applies to travelers in general. And I always appreciate it through European travel. So we’re going to seaison Josiah. I’m here with impressive impressionist Sabira. I am here with young master painter Talia. And I’m going to learn a little bit about the Toa XM Provence program. And Talia, the first thing I would love to know is what drew you to this program in particular? Um, the thing that drew me to this program in particular was being able to see the intersection between art and um, psychology because that’s what I’m planning on majoring in school. I really want to be one of those art therapists to because I feel like people’s thought process is very reflected in how they express themselves on a page or on a canvas. How do you feel like your painting this week has connected with what you’re thinking and feeling in this new place? Well, I feel like it’s um connecting with it because I’m just experimenting this week. Um, there’s nothing there’s no method to my madness right now. And I feel like that’s how I am in ex. I’m just trying a bunch of things and whatever I’m doing, whatever um sticks the landing, it stays. What would you say has been the most challenging part of the experience? Um, even though I do call myself an artist, I really really had to reinforce that this trip. I I just keep saying to everybody that I’m an artist and I’m telling myself that I am an artist even though I have a very hard time believing that. But, you know, I had to mother myself a little bit. Kind of say you’re here to study. You’re here to improve. The reason why you’re here is because you have a dream and you want to reach it. And you don’t start off at level 100. You have to build your way up. And you talked about mothering yourself, which is all of us need to learn to be our own best friends at times, but you also have a host family. How has living with the host family been? It’s been great. I’m I’m someone who’s very in my shell. So, um, my roommate, who’s also in this poker program, she’s been kind of carrying the conversations a little bit, but it’s been good. I feel like I’m honestly the best daughter to have around. But it’s they they give us such good food. It’s actually crazy. I’m goat cheese. Never thought I’d be into that, but like I’ve eaten it so much. And the family is so caring. Like we went to the opera earlier this week and our host mother adores the opera and we just really connected over my first opera experience and her like 112th and it was amazing. What would be an example of something that you were a little uncertain about but you pushed yourself to do anyways? Um, for one thing, Paintton today and right now we went on a giant hike all the way up to the top of this mountain just to find a good landscape spot. While the trip up was definitely not the best. It was definitely tough, right? But like seeing out there and I feel like me personally, I feel like it was worth it just to see all this, you know? So it was challenging but I think at the end the journey is also what matters in a way. And I guess my final question would be what advice would you have for other students that are thinking about doing their first trip abroad? I again the the same thing that I taught myself is to always just keep an open mind in like every new thing that you encounter yourself with because again you might not know what is going to happen but chances are it will be a pleasant experience if you do try you know so a big thank you to the TOA scholars again while they’re talking about study abroad I think the messages of openness to experience connecting with people um are messages that all of us travelers should keep in mind. They finished the program with a showcase of their work. I unfortunately had to leave before that, but um I love this photo because that painting of Annie’s um is actually one that I saw her doing um the first day that I was visiting. I remember seeing her up on the top floor of the farmhouse looking out the window making that painting. So because Axon Provence is light on sights and heavy on beauty, I thought this visit to Toka and the Leo Marshoot School was a perfect way to experience it. I learned to deeply appreciate the city’s artistic legacy and see the wonders of Europe through the eyes of 10 firsttime European travelers. I also want to give a shout out to the teens of color abroad leaders who after two days I felt like I spent a full week at summer camp. And in a special shout out to Fernanda who took many of the photos, all the good photos that were included in that Exxon Provence section. So lastly, if that seems like an exper experience you would like, it is not only open for high school students. Um the Leo Marshoot School accepts students of all ages. There were many adults studying there when I was visiting. Um and they offer programs in Exxon Provence, Venice, and online for various lengths. And if following in the footsteps of Seaison isn’t your thing, figure out what is. There’s a lot of great classes that you can take in Europe. Everything from Italian language classes in Peruia, Italy to artisan baking classes in Granada. Um, so it is certainly something to check out if you have the opportunity. We are going to continue on now though. I’m going to zoom in because we’re now down in Provence and the next thing we’re going to do is pick up a car and go to Arl. Now, this was actually a new experience for me. I had never rented a car in Europe by myself before, so I was quite nervous and did a lot of research. One thing I learned is they do actually care that you show up promptly in the 2-hour window. You tell them you’re going to a month before. Uh, luckily, the person at the counter was lenient with me, and I did pick up some helpful lessons I wanted to share on renting cars. Um, avoid big city pickups. Driving in a new place can be overwhelming and so starting out in the middle of a place like Paris or Rome um could be quite overwhelming and especially in Italy, some major cities have restricted zones where it is easy to get a ticket if you don’t know where you’re allowed to drive. So, try picking up in a small town or midsize city. Um, sometimes pickups at airports and and rail stations can have higher prices. I decided that I it was worth it and I just picked up at that TGV highspeed rail station. But something to look out for, compare prices at transit hubs versus um kind of in town pickups at uh smaller cities. Plan your travel in 24-hour periods. So, car rental companies will charge by 24-hour periods. So, if you pick up a car at noon one day and drop it off at 2:00 p.m., you’ll be charged an extra day just for those two hours. So, plan your drop off and pick up accordingly. Don’t cross international borders unless you do a lot of research because if you pick up in one country and drop off in another, it often has a hefty and prohibitive fee. It is almost always better to pay upfront when renting a car. Get collision coverage. I had it through my credit card, but you can also get a collision damage waiver. My dear colleague Lisa Friend always says, “Make sure you have a way that if you return the car as a steaming pile of rubble, you can walk away without a care.” And lastly, it’s always wise to check in a couple days before and reconfirm your reservation. A final thing I always do is I do my own little inspection of every angle of the car, taking photos just in case there’s ever a dispute about who caused a scratch on a vehicle. And with that done, I hopped in and drove to Arl. At Arl, I stayed in the local youth hostel. Now, you might notice that I had an eclectic array of lodging options on this trip. I had six places where I stayed overnight and over those I did two home stays, two hotels and two hostels. One common misconception is that many hostels in Europe like this one are still called youth host but they don’t have an age restriction. In fact, at this hostel, I kind of at the age of 34 felt like I was the median age. There were plenty of people in their 20s, but there were also people in their 60s. there were families that had, you know, middle-aged parents and kids. Um, so hostiles certainly aren’t for everyone in the sense that it’s not everyone’s preference, but they are open for everyone. I also learned that maybe if you can help it, July is not the best time to visit Arl. It was a blistering 95° when I started my sightseeing. Um, so if you can go in shoulder season, that’s probably best. My trip didn’t allow for that, so I just slapped on some sunscreen and packed a water bottle and hit the road. Arl is famous for two main reasons. First, it has impressive Roman sites, and secondly, it is the former home of famous artist Vincent Van Gogh. Um, throughout the city, they have these kind of stone easels set up that show various works that Van Gogh did in Arl against what that scene looks like today. Uh, some of these are mentioned in the self-guided walking tour in the book. I’m going to continue to promote this because I used these books way before I worked here. And the self-guided walking tours are my favorite. I feel like Harry Potter in the sixth book when he has the potions book from the Half-Blood Prince with all the special notes jotted in it. I feel like I like have this sneaky insider knowledge about the history of places that everybody else is just blindly walking by. Um, and so I’m going to share a few of the highlights from that little walking tour with you now. So, we start by entering the city through the 14th century towers that used to have the city gate. And we walk immediately into a very kind of workingass neighborhood which has the office of the local communist party. Um, Arl is a very red city in that regard. Um, and then this plaza that has a lot of humble shops and bars and bakeries. Further up the road, we get into the major Roman sites. We have the amphitheater, where gladiators once fought wild animals centuries ago, and where locals still take on fearsome beasts in the city’s bull games. The classical theater nearby has not fared as well preservationwise, but still hosts concerts with up to 2,000 people. We went through the Plasta Republic which has a Roman era obelisk, the city hall and the St. Trophim church which Ricks describes as having quote the finest Roman-esque main entrance I’ve seen anywhere. And he will tell you about that romanesque entrance at length. The highlight for the walking tour of me though was the Mesa Sante which is the hospital where Van Gogh was eventually kept under medical supervision. Inside there’s a lush colorful courtyard with gardens looking much the same today as it did during Van Go’s time as evidenced by this easel. Today, the building is no longer a hospital, but it houses the Espas Van Go Cultural Center, and locals and tourists alike enjoyed the relaxing gardens and enjoying a drink in the shade. I was fortunate to be there during a citywide week-long music festival, so I got to enjoy it with some nice background music. And I capped off my walking tour with the best ice cream in the city, which felt pretty great after a long hot walking tour. I have a couple other observations from my walk around the city, kind of independent of the sites themselves. The first was this poster that I saw on kind of a nondescript ledge, and it just said, “Tourist, your air, your Airbnb is raising my rent.” I found this sign to be really powerful at a time when a lot of headlines are dedicated to more sensational anti-over tourism demonstrations like the ones in Barcelona where a handful of travelers got sprayed with squirt guns. Um, I found the directness and kind of politeness of this poster to have quite an impact. And while a lot of the responsibility for mitigating the negative effects of not tourism but over tourism belongs to local officials to pass regulations on the tourism industry. I do think it’s important for us travelers to be aware of those and aware of those issues and how we can also help to mitigate them. So I did some research on some lodging tips. One is to when you travel prioritize more traditional lodging like hotels, host and traditional B&Bs. These pay taxes, pass inspections, and they do business in tourism approved zones. You can also consider more creative solutions like home exchanges and housesitting so that you know that you’re staying in a real person’s home that is occupied during other times of the year and not sitting vacant half the year. There are a lot of ethical Airbnb alternatives these days. There’s one called EcoBNB where whenever you stay somewhere uh a certain amount of the profits go to um ecological projects. If you are going to stay in Airbnbs, it’s not that they are always bad, but try to find places that are in actual homes. I’ve stayed places where there’s kind of a separate part of a house that people own and live in. Um, and you can also click on the Airbnb’s host page to see how many properties they have. That will often signal to you whether or not there’s somebody just scooping up a lot of residential property that they can make more money off of with short-term rentals than by actually renting it to residents. So, a good thing to be aware of. The other thing along the walking tour that really stuck with me was seeing these two plaques. The one on the left is a stone monument to two American pilots who died in the liberation of Arl during World War II. The monument actually wasn’t erected until 2002, though, as a sign of solidarity with the US after the 9/11 attacks. And on the right, there is a street that’s dedicated to President Wilson, who was really honored by the French for his efforts to create the League of Nations after World War I. That of course being a precursor to today’s United Nations. So it was really emotional to see these tributes to a strong American French friendship, especially at a time when our country is tilting towards these policies of America first and really being more hostile towards our long-term allies. But they also gave me a lot of hope that we citizens can continue that friendship and continue to be um ambassadors for that relationship. And since we’re on the topic of ethics and politics, let’s just talk about bull fighting, too. Now, Arnold does not have bull fighting in the way that Spain does. There aren’t people waving red capes, and there aren’t spears being forced into the bulls, and it does not end in the bull’s death. Rather, the bull games feature local daredevils who try to pluck ribbons off of the bull’s horns, and locals insist that the animal participants eventually die of old age. Now, as the resident Monday travel vegetarian, I approached this exper this experience as an experiment. I knew I would never pay personally. I would never pay money to watch an animal die, but I felt like this was a gray area and I was just kind of intrigued to see what feelings it brought up for me. So, the day I was in town, it was just kind of a small amateur night. They definitely have bigger bowl games, but the modest crowd, it kind of seemed like a lightly attended minor league baseball game with kind of an announcer and they played a song any over the speakers anytime the bull um had an especially good charge and there were food vendors weaving through the crowd. Um mostly the interactions with the bull were fairly sedate, but occasionally there would be a thrilling nailbiting pass. I got an example and nobody gets hurt, don’t worry. Um, but here’s what it the bit of the bits of excitement look like. [Applause] So there you get a sense of what the bowl games are like. Now I know Rick’s opinion of bull games or the bloodier bull fights. Um his outlook is usually that so long as these are kept alive by locals and are just part of the local culture, um he supports them. He just doesn’t want them to be kept alive only for tourism. For me, after about 45 minutes of watching, I have an admittedly sensitive stomach around these kinds of things. And while the bull certainly wasn’t being actively harmed by the people, I didn’t get the sense it was having fun. It would sometimes try to jump the walls and kind of get caught and fall over. One of the bulls, I think, got a bit of a bloody nose from it. So, is it a more ethical version of bull fighting? certainly. Um, would I go again? I don’t think so. That said, the real highlight for me was during the kind of halftime break. I just wandered up into the rose, the stone rose of the arena, um, so I could get a full view of the ancient Roman amphitheater and eventually I had this entire beautiful corridor to myself as the sun began to lower. Um, I felt like I had was in some heaven of antiquity and this was definitely my wow moment of being in Arl. But next we are going to continue on to the Pontard but we need to take a little detour before we get there into my personal shame because I had one of my most embarrassing travel stories. Um, I had decided to get an automatic rental car because I used to drive an automatic. Uh, uh, sorry, not an automatic, a manual. I used to drive a manual 5 years ago and it was slightly cheaper, so I felt confident in picking it up again. So, I was proud of myself. The morning I was going to leave Arl, I woke up early, which is not easy for me. I packed up all my things. I got in my rental car. I turned the key and there were no sounds. There was just some dis uh exclamation point illuminated on the dashboard. I remained calm. I tried starting the car again and I tried again. And after about the fifth time, I was no longer calm. I had no idea what I was going to do. I was convinced I had left the lights on and the battery had died overnight. So, I called the car rental company and they said, “Okay, we’ll we’ll send a repair person in an hour.” I had already booked a time slot for the kayaking, so I was decided that I wasn’t going to get to do that. I went for a pity walk to the local market. Came back. Hour and a half later, still no repair person. Called again. Oh, sorry. Sorry. He’ll be there in half an hour. 45 minutes later, you know, a full 2 and a half hours almost after I called, a repair person shows up, I describe the issue to him in broken French. He takes the key, sits in the car, turns the key, and it starts miraculously. It turns out I had forgotten, despite having driven the car 2 days previously, that you have to push in the clutch to start a manual car. So I left 3 hours later than anticipated, livid with myself. But the silver lining was that it had been a rainy morning, so they were still able to get me in with my kayak rental. And in fact, by early afternoon, it had cleared up to be partly cloudy. And so I got to go on my Pont Duggard kayak trip in slightly better conditions. And I’m going to share this with you with a little video that was actually posted by one of my colleagues on Tik Tok on our company channel uh yesterday. So this is a look at my trip floating down the Gardon River. France is Europe’s most diverse and delicious country to explore with popular tourist staples like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and petisserie upon petisserie. But if you’re craving an incomparable experience far from a city center, kayaking under the pond guard in southern France is a historic and satisfying excursion. I reserved to start time a day in advance with the local kayak company recommended in my trusty Rick Steve’s guide book. Then when I arrived in the village of Kolas, a 35minut drive from Avenon, I strapped on my life jacket, watched my kayak slide eagerly down to the river, and began my adventure. The Gardon River flows from the Seavon Mountains to the Ron River. And on this Saturday afternoon in July, it provided a calm and relaxing paddle suitable for all ability levels. After an hour of lazy river bends and modest rock formations, the P de Resistance appeared around the corner. The Pont Duggard was constructed by the Romans in the first century as part of a 30-mile aqueduct, channeling water to the city of Neim at a staggering 100 gallons per second. Today, it’s one of the greatest Roman ruins anywhere and a favorite summer swimming spot for locals. After a quick dip, I paddled under the ancient arches and wrapped up my float a few minutes later. After about two hours on the river altogether, the kayak company staff retrieved me and brought me back to the start, wet and wideeyed after a memorable French adventure. All right, thank you for joining me on that little paddle uh down the Gardon River. I had a couple more things I wanted to point out. First, I didn’t mention this in the video, but while the arches look like they’re roughly the same size, the one that actually straddles the river is slightly larger and is the largest um the largest arch in all of antiquity, which is pretty cool. Second, just a few meters from where I took this photo, um when I pulled my kayak up on that little sandbar, I heard somebody say, “Gabe.” and I looked over and it was one of the instructors from the Liam Marshoots school. Um, so it is a place that locals truly go. It’s where she likes to go on her day off and I felt like a temporary local for bumping into a friend at this site. So certainly something that is a beautiful experience. I think it’s accessible physically to almost all travelers and I would recommend it to anyone. I did have to hurry though to make it to Cast in time for dinner. Now K is a city that is far from any typical um American tourist track. It’s in the not at all a household name region of um Oxitani, the Oxitin region. And it has a special place in my heart because at the tender age of 24 10 years ago, um I lived there for a month uh through the I found through the website Workaway, a host family that I lived with in exchange for room and board. Um I helped out with the kids and the garden. And after a month of long dinners and little adventures with them, I definitely think I got the better end of the deal. Um, and after 10 years since I lived with them, I was excited to spend a couple days more with them. As I drove through the mountain roads to Cost though, I did feel some nerves building. Um, I wondered if K would feel as magical to me as it did now as it did then. I wondered if I’d feel just at home with my host family a decade later and worried whether or not I might be intruding. But those worries were immediately dispelled. The Edwards were just as uniquely wonderful and deeply welcoming as I remembered, and being back with them was one of the joys of the trip. Um, I also discovered that my host sister Zeli had become an exceptional cook since my previous stay. And I I hope I don’t offend the Edwards when I say that I’m not necessarily recommending K for the average American traveler. It’s quite far from a lot of the other places we recommend for first or second time French travelers. If you find yourself driving between Albi and Carcasson, by all means, it would be a great stop. Um, but it doesn’t really have much that international travelers would make a pilgrimage for. Instead, for me, the m the magic of K is that it doesn’t try to fulfill some travelers fantasy. Instead, it is a thoroughly real city that showcases the good life the French people demand of their communities and their society. So, downtown on the Agu River, uh it’s lined by these lovingly maintained old tanneries that are a beautiful site. The city’s Goya Museum rounds up an admirable art collection for its citizens to enjoy. Just outside the window is a delightful French garden fit for strolling, and whimsical cafes spill out into cobbled lanes. And the main plaza while quite empty here during summer market days is filled with ruby red strawberries and bouques of greens. So I say this not to recommend cost specifically but more that if your life ever gives you the opportunity to invest some time in a place off the regular tourist path. Um I think it’s a worthy investment that will connect you deeply to a place and its people. Um, and it’s a gift that keeps on giving, as evidenced by me returning 10 years later. Before we returned to Provence, though, the Edwards had one more travel thrill in store for me, and I do mean thrill. On the second day of my visit with them, we drove to the nearby city of Mazame and made a steep climb up to this foot bridge that the tourism website describes as quote swinging 70 m above the void. Fortunately, the bridge didn’t really swing. It was quite secure, but looking down through the metal mesh was enough to make even a brave American traveler a bit dizzy. It was fascinating though because on the other side of the bridge was a medieval mountaintop hamlet called Opul which was fabled to have been founded by the Visigoths in the 400s and was a famous stronghold of the Cathar religious group um which the Catholics deemed uh heretics and rooted out in the 13th century with the Crusades. Today, the village is being reclaimed by artisans and is ready to reward any um intrepid hikers with some snacks and handmade goods. So, overall, my visit with the Edwards and the trek up to Oatpool was a literal and figurative highlight of the high point of the trip. Um, and I was sorry to have to leave again so soon. I have just a quick note on the way back. I was determined to try to visit a place outside of the guidebook coverage. I was initially intrigued by Bezier, which is the second oldest city in France behind Marseilles, but my French host family um informed me that there were protests there that day. So, I instead rolled the dice with the third oldest city of Agd. Um, I say roll the dice because when you, in my experience, when you go beyond the guide book, there is a thrill to adventuring into some unknown that has not been um described to you previously, but you do assume more risk of having a an experience that you’re not as excited about. Rick, when he talks about his research of the guide books, he describes it saying that he he hits and misses and hits and misses across Europe and then just puts the hits in his guide book. Um, and so I was very excited to explore Agda. I think it is probably a wonderful place for many people to live and other visitors enjoy it. It was a bit of a miss for me personally um just from a sightseeing perspective. There was this nice snarl of alleyways in the old town with some really colorful buildings and some signs of the city’s history with these uh medieval ramparts. But overall for me, I found the town itself to be light on notable sites and light on charm. So I say this not to dissuade anybody from going off the guide book and exploring new places. rather, it just made me really appreciate how reliably the places that Rick puts in the guide book are hits. Um, and so I want to continue on to another one of those. Now, we’re going to hop in the car, uh, drop it off at the, um, car rental station and then take a train to the town of Cassiss. Um, so the seaside gem of Cassiss, if cost is magical for its downto-earth French charm beyond the tourist trail, Cassiss is its opposite. A seaside tourist paradise so beautiful you can’t fault it for attracting so many vacationers. During the day, people flock to the city’s convenient beach and need to be reminded to get dressed when they walk back into town. And at night, people fill the waterfront restaurants and stroll the prominade and play pon in the park as the city lights up. I know I’ve mentioned the cicas before, but I don’t think I’ve fully done them justice. So, I have this little clip that illustrates the soundtrack of Cassiss and much of Provence during the summer. I honestly had somebody staying at my hostel that said that they had a hard time falling asleep because of the cicas. Um, but while the t the town itself is charming, it is dwarfed by the grandeur of the Kank National Park at the edge of town. And the best way to spend a day in Cassiss is by hiking or boating out to one of the dramatic colon. A Kalank is a narrow rocky inlet along the Mediterranean that harbors usually a secluded beach and the national park boasts many excellent examples. While it’s possible to rent a kayak or a boat to go to the Kank, I opted to hike uh the national park. You you can start in town and you walk to the national park and from there there are well-marked trails that give helpful estimates of how much hiking time you have to each kang. The closest one is about 45 minutes from the center of Cassiss. The furthest and most impressive one is a 2hour walk for the average hiker. And I’ll give you one guess which one I chose. So, of course, the Colon Donvo. I also want to mention the rocks, though. I was told that the rocks were slippery, and I assumed that they meant slippery when wet. And no, the rocks are just bizarly slippery, even on a hot, dry day in July. The the adjective I kept settling on was buttery. The rocks felt almost buttery underneath my feet. And so you do have to make sure that you are packing shoes with good traction and stepping carefully while doing these trails. Passing by the second colon, it was clear that it was going to be a popular day in the park. And when the trail began to steeply descend to the Kank Donvo, it quickly became clear that the farthest Kank was not for the faint of heart. Eventually, I was surrounded by soaring cliffs, though, and emerged to find the hidden Mediterranean paradise. With little room to spread out, the beach is packed during peak hours with people clamoring onto the rocks for space and to find shade. And as you’ll notice, it is a rocky beach, so again, wear shoes or it will feel like walking across a beach of Legos. That said, the water was beautiful. I climbed up to watch the kayakers float in and enjoyed one of the most scenic picnics of my life. I took a couple swims in the refreshing crisp salty water. And while the Kongs are busy during the day and during peak hours, if you stay early or late as I did, you can have them nearly all to yourself. That is the same scene just a few hours later as the sun has finally disappeared from the beach. The last thing before we depart Cassiss um I just have one more note which is that I stayed in one of the most beautiful and pleasant hotels of my life simply called Cassiss Hostel. The hostel is located in a villa. It’s a little trek up the hill but it offers a pool, excellent views and an easy breezy ambiencece that I’ve never experienced in a hostel before. Um so definitely something to check out if you are a hostler. The day after my colon adventure though, I checked out of my easy breezy beautiful hostel and shifted from pleasure to business as I departed for my athletic competition in Leon. Now to start, I want to clarify that Leon is not in Provence. Rather, it’s the capital of the difficult to say OA ran Alps I’m going to go with. Um, so it is the capital of that region. Um, and I apologize to anybody particularly excited about Leon because I did not have much time to sightsee there because again I was participating in the Euro games which is an LGBTQ multiport event with usually a couple dozen sporting events that rotates between different European cities each year and it is a joy to see how much these European cities roll out the rainbow carpet I’ll say for the participants. I participated in my specialty, the long-distance running events, and very much not my specialty, but a lot of fun, the climbing event. And I spent a lot of time reconnecting with European friends that I’ve met at previous games. I do though have three tourist takeaways that I’m going to share with you. The first is a strong recommendation to make the steep hike up to the Basilica of Notraadam of Fufria. That is the name of the hill that goes up from one of the two rivers in the city. Um around the year 1870, the bishop of Leon promised to build a tribute to the Virgin Mary if the Prussians spared his city. They did and so he began construction and the church was completed just in time for World War I. So because of this, it is a much more modern church than many that you’ll tour in Europe. And it has a very art nuvo flare. And I am a such a sucker for Art Nuvo. Um, inside, if the outside’s impressive, the inside is respplendant. Mosaics coat the floors and walls. There’s incredible stained glass and an ornate gilded ceiling. I could have studied the Alons Mukesque mosaic murals for hours. And this basilica has made my top three church interiors of Europe along with the Cigarada Familia in Barcelona and Copenhagen’s Church of Our Lady. I was in a hurry, but I would love to go back and spend longer admiring it. I’d also love to do the tour that goes to the roof overlooking the city. This is not my photo, but it is an option for travelers. The second tourist tip that I have is to save up your fine dining pennies for Leon, which delivers incredible meals at reasonable prices. In fact, Leon is the relatively undisputed gastronomy capital of France, which in a country like France makes it a contender for gastronomy capital of Europe. And while the classic places to dine in Leon are the simple, hearty homestyle bon restaurants, I opted for a newer, trendier place that was recommended to me by a Leon native um as an especially good vegetarianfriendly option. So I thought I’d give you a quick tour of my meal. Um it I started out with a a cool gaspacho, which is a chilled tomato soup with several several flavor curve balls. It had a purple basil, almond, a smoky stretchella cheese, and most unexpectedly strawberry. Uh, that was followed by a more straightforward hummus dish that was sprinkled with sesame seeds and bejeweled with golden raisins. And for dessert, I was adventurous and opted for the roasted apricots served with olive oil cake, sorbet, rosemary, and colamada olives. I will say the colamada olives made for a saltier, more pungent dessert than I’d ideally like, but I was just enamored by the intrigue and the inventiveness. I’m still very much a bud budget traveler and primarily get my food from grocery stores when traveling. Um, but I’ve learned the value of a few well-placed, highquality meals that serve as a sort of show with different acts delivering drama, and it’s just fun to have an opinion on the food. My final note is that I’d simply like to live in Leon. It’s the kind of place that strikes a perfect balance between cosmopolitan capital and livable second city. from its broad inviting plazas to its two rivers lined by lively pedestrian paths and spanned by glittering bridges. Um, it really is a joy to stroll and I would highly recommend it. But my time as a temporary local in Leon was over too soon and I headed back to Paris for just 20 hours before I had to fly out. But I made the most of those 20 more hours. First, I stayed with my dear friend Berti, uh, one of my Eurogame friends. He gave me a tour of his um of his neighborhood in the kind of stately uh and trendy second aisa mall. Um he also insisted I get this photo by the door to the offices of Emily from Emily in Paris. I then moved on to another iconic site um where people were lining up in cafes to watch the final day of the tour def France um annual biking competition. It just so happened that my host family from K was visiting family in Paris. So I met up with them again and we watched as before the bikers come through all of the various sponsors have these elaborately decorated trucks. When they go through the smaller towns they they throw out prizes and goodies for people. Unfortunately they don’t do that in Paris. Um, but I got to see some um sponsors that were familiar, some that needed some more explanation um from the host family, like these chickens that were just making their way into the Louv complex. But after all the sponsors had gone by, the bikers whizzed past. They were in one um pelaton or pack um and truly went by in probably less than 8 seconds, which would have been underwhelming if not for the fact that we were standing at a place where they passed by three times. And so I was able to get a nice little video of one of the times that they comeoo [Music] So, here comes the leader. [Applause] So, after years of my parents watching the tour to France, it felt incredible to be there and be part of it. I loved the energy and as if I needed more reminder of France’s sporting legacy. Right behind us was the giant hot air balloon Olympic torch from last year’s summer Olympics. Also, um just outside of the Louvre. And just as we were walking away, France treated us to a celebratory jet flyover. Thanks, guys. After that, though, my trip came to a close and it was time for me to jet home. The next morning, I reported to Charles de Gaulle’s surprisingly trendy terminals. I’ve had a layover in um in Dublin again where I passed through US pre-clarance for the first time. It’s a way to go through customs before getting to the US that’s only being used on select routes right now, but it meant I didn’t have to go to through customs when I landed, which was excellent. If you aren’t going through pre-clarance or don’t have global entry, a reminder to get the MPC mobile passport control app. It is free to download, doesn’t require a background check, and in my experience, vastly reduces your wait time in customs at uh over 50 US airports. And finally, after a few hours of flying, watching Ratatouille, and eating some cheesy potatoes, Majestic Mount Reineer greeted me back to Seattle. So, here I am at the end of my trip on my doorstep. I know Rick always says the best day of his travels is when he arrives home. Not because he doesn’t love Europe, but because there’s no place like home. And one thing I often think about is after traveling so far and so long, it almost feels improbable that you arrived back on this square meter back on your doorstep. I did the math and the chances of you being in any one square meter on Earth is 1 in 510 trillion. So when I get home, it always kind of feels like a small miracle that I’m home or that I’m back with this friend. Um, and so I love how traveling um makes you cherish those places and relationships more. And reflecting on my journey, I realized that on this trip more so than any other, it was about relationships. Yes, I saw great sites. Yes, I steeped myself in French culture. But most of all, I just enjoyed moments with the the TOA leaders, with my friends at the Euro Games, with my French host family, and with my biological American sister. Um, and it’s those kinds of connections that made the travel most rewarding. So, thank you for joining me on this trip. We are going to get to Q&A in about 45 seconds, but I’m going to remind you once more that we currently have our Rick Steves Europe seasons giving um holiday event now through the end of the year. If you purchase a Rick Steves Europe tour, you will be given one of four options at checkout. No code is needed. You can um contribute to the ACLU, to Doctors Without Borders, to our climate smart commitment, or to a selection of nonprofits that help underserved communities, um youth from those communities study abroad. So, if you select one of those options, Rick Steves Europe will donate $100 on your behalf. Um so, be sure to check that out. And now that I am exhausted from this journey, I am going to welcome back on Emily from behind the scenes. Emily is going to ask me a few questions. Hello, Gabe. Well, first of all, I just have to say, wow, we had great food. We met a new generation of artists. We hiked, kayaked, and crossed a void on a swinging suspension bridge. So, that trip report really had everything. And thank you. You were actually watching, Emily. It means so much. I was. I was watching. Um, and I I couldn’t get myself to answer quite as many questions because I just wanted to listen to all you had to say. So, um, yeah, it was awesome. And you got a lot of love in the Q&A um, and many questions. So, why don’t we start with one that we actually received over email from Damon. So Damon is planning a trip to France um next fall and he is going to Paris, Provence and the Alps. Uh and he is wondering first which Paris Arendism would you recommend staying in and then also what towns in Provence would you recommend that he stays in? And he is looking at spending one month in each location. So he is well that is an amazing trip Damon. Uh congratulations in advance. Um again I am far from an expert. Um so I would definitely and I I don’t know you personally and what you like in a place. For me um the Paris AOS um they they are the neighborhoods aroniz are the the neighborhoods in Paris and they there’s see I don’t even know ex I think that there’s 19. Do you know I think there’s 19. Um and they spiral outward from the middle of the city. So kind of the higher the number the further you’re getting from the center. So certainly I’ve heard a lot of good things about the second and third districts. The second is a little bit more posh and polished um but is very artistic. That’s where the opera is. Very stately but still very much in the middle of things. The Marray is kind of the lively trendy nightlife district. So if you’re somebody that likes to be in the middle of things and excitement, I would look there for something a little bit quieter. I know Rick loves the R Clair which is kind of near the Eiffel Tower in the seventh Arondisa mall. And then I also I that restaurant that I went to in Mon Matra I was like if I stayed in Paris I want to stay here. It’s certainly very busy if you’re near the Sakraur church but if you go a little further in that 18th Arondisa mall I think that there’s some really lovely neighborhoods. As for down in Provence, the first thing I want to do is go back and explore more. I know that there’s a lot of lovely small towns to visit that I just didn’t have time for, like um Lebo and Gourd, I believe, um are two that come highly recommended from Steve Smith, our resident France expert. Um but I loved Exxon Provence. I truly wanted to go back. I truly want I’m not even a painter and I’m like, I want to do that program. It is a beautiful place to be. Um, and if you have a rental car, being able to do day trips out from there or taking the 20-minute bus to the rail station and then zipping to other cities would be excellent. Thank you. And because you brought up your rental car, uh, there was a lot of people in the comments who were just so grateful that you shared your little misadventure. Um, so they, yeah, they really appreciated, you know, even the most experienced. I don’t know if I’ve ever been so mad at myself. It happens. It happens to everyone, I suppose. Yes. Uh well, um Gary H, he was wondering after, you know, your experience just renting a car by yourself, you know, would you do it again? I would. My my number one priority in Europe is always taking the train. I love riding the train. I think it is. I love that it’s greener. I love that it’s convenient. I love that I feel like I’m participate rather than a car which very much sequesters you in your own experience. The train feels communal. That said, when you in places like Provence, especially with small towns and getting out to cast, um it just wasn’t realistic. So, I would definitely rent a car again aside from my embarrassment. There weren’t any strong negative experiences that were like I would not intentionally not do that again, but I would always prioritize trains first when possible. Me, too. And just being an American, it just feels like such a treat to get to travel by train in Europe. So, I I’m totally with you. Nice. Um All right. I will ask you just two more questions. Um, and firstly, uh, how did you deal with the language barrier while you were traveling? Thank you for asking this one. I meant to find a way to weave this in. France is a little unusual in Western Europe and that you still have a lot of people that either don’t have a super strong command of English or just aren’t as ready and quick to speak it with you. Um, certainly you hear about people that are a little cranky about it in Paris. And for that, it really is a good idea just learn a few pleasantries and phrases. Hi, how are you? Sorry, I don’t speak French. Do you speak English? Just that little bit goes a long way to kind of thawing that. Though I haven’t had those negative experiences with Parisians. That’s just good common practice. Um, but it really is a little bit goes a long way. you are not trying to become conversationally fluent. Even knowing basic vocabulary like train station helps out a lot. Um it’s just about getting the point across. So even spending a month or two on Dolingo with flashcards can be helpful. We sell a French phrase book that you can take with you so you can just look up words. And of course Google Translate does amazing things these days. I have a base level of French, so I was able to scrape by. Um, but for a lot of like parking signs and things, they have a camera feature where you just hold up your camera to something and the text on your screen magically changes to English. So, Google Translate is a must-have app on your phone. Wonderful. Thank you. And I’m going to finish with one that is very suited to you and that is what is your favorite French pastry? Oh my god, they are all so good. Honestly, my favorite ones are I don’t even like have a name for them. Like as much as I adore a croissant and a panel of shaka and whatnot, I just want something that is in a pastry case that’s either domed or like cut into a nice rectangle with a lot of visible layers. The brighter the colors, the better cuz I kind of love like the the fruity ones with the mango and the raspberry. So honestly, the the ones that I don’t know the names for are my favorite. I just completely just go based on on their looks and whatever is flashiest. So, I very much judge a pastry by its cover and I’m actually rarely disappointed. Yeah, the the lamination. You mentioned all the layers. For me, as long as they’re just a little crispy, they’re always good. So, see, I like more of kind of like a moussey sort of or like a little something with a little jiggle. Okay. Okay. Yeah. I mean, Gabe, for you years, Gabe is known to bring a lot of pastries into the office, so he’s treated me to quite a few. So, I when somebody asked that, I knew we had to discuss pastries. Well, I am the the resident pastry expert, and I intend to hold on to that title. Emily, thank you so much for those questions. I greatly appreciate it. And thank you to all of you once more for going on this journey with me. Um, it it was a joy to experience. It was a joy to share with you again and I hope that you gleaned even little nuggets that help enhance your next experience in France. So, thank you again for joining us and please join us next week when our very own Ben Green um is joined by one of our England guides, Tom Hooper. He is a blue badge guide um in London and they are going to watch our new London TV show um and chat along and offer additional insights. So, we hope to see you then. [Music] Gabe, where can I find the subscribe button for the Rick Steves Travel Talks YouTube channel? According to the map, the subscribe button should be over there, and you can click it to be notified of more great travel videos. Oh, I see it. And if you look over this way, you’ll find a link to register for upcoming Monday night travel shows. It’s so beautiful. Oh, Gabe, you have a little pretzel in your teeth. We hope you’ll join us again soon.

France is Europe’s most diverse and delicious country to explore, and this summer, Monday Night Travel host Gabe Gunnink indulged in this diversity from Paris to Provence and from mountaintop hamlets to seaside escapes. Together with Gabe, we relive this adventure, bookending the trip in Paris with a Bastille Day bash and Tour de France fanfare. In between, we zip down on a high-speed train to market-filled Aix-en-Provence, drive to workaday Arles to study its Van Gogh history, kayak under the vast Pont du Gard aqueduct, and swim across the azure waters of rocky calanques near Cassis.

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– Rick Steves’ Europe Article on Renting a Car: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/booking-a-car
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– Teens of Color Abroad: https://www.teensofcolorabroad.org/
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– Hôtel Les Quatre Dauphins in Aix: https://www.lesquatredauphins.fr/
– Cassis Hostel: https://www.cassishostel.com/fr
– Le Progrès Restaurant in Paris: https://leprogresmontmartre.com/
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