Liberte, Equalite, Fraternité (and a little Design)

Bonjour!  We have been in France for over a week!  We have seen Paris, the Chateau region with some dear friends, and now we are sharing an Airbnb in Provence with my mom and her husband, Charlie.  The words in the title (LIBERTÉ, EGALITÉ, FRATERNITÉ)  are etched in buildings, signs, and statues throughout the country.  I asked my French friend, Erick, if he had specifically taught these principles in school when he was growing up.  He had to think about it and said no, not really.  It was more of a feeling of how to be, and he could not explain it to me.  So I pondered these words, and it made me think of the Pledge of Allegiance that we were taught in elementary school.  “With Liberty and Justice for All.”  Sounds somewhat similar.

As I sit here in our Airbnb in Avignon, a city in the Provence region, I have been thinking about who I was 28 years ago, when I was last in France.  I was newly married, and Ed had heard about a deal to Paris on his commute to work.  I think that the entire round-trip cost was $500 per person!  We decided,  “Why not? We only live once!”  We stayed in a room in Paris that had room for a bed and not even our luggage.  The bath and shower were one space, and we had to close the bathroom door so that the bed would not get wet from the shower.  This was my first trip to Europe, and I was awestruck by the colors, the fashions, and the history.  The French seemed so different from Americans.  Their lifestyle intrigued me.  Their history baffled me.  How did they build these churches in the Middle Ages by hand?  How do you hoist a 30-foot round stained glass window up 100 feet without a crane?  The engineering feats are nothing short of miraculous!  I also marveled at the food.  Food that we had never seen before- rabbit, duck, escargot, truffles, pate, so many things that were served with the perfect bread.  The French took the time to farm it, raise it, and prepare it, and it was a point of pride that was meant to be savoured for hours.  Of course, we did not know that it should be savored for hours.  Now we do.

When planning for this trip, I had many thoughts going through my head.   I had created some myths, left over from my first visit to France, and new fears regarding current events that concerned me. I wanted to share those myths with you and my observations based on only one week.

Myth #1:  I may need to lie and claim to be Canadian, because I would be hated as an American.  This has not been my reality, and when I asked a few French people, they said that they are able to separate the people from the policies.  This was a huge relief.

Myth #2: French waiters are rude, especially in Paris.  This is simply not true!  We had kind and attentive service that was forgiving of my poor French and helpful in steering us in the right direction.  We did not feel awkward, and easily enjoyed 2-hour meals (sometimes even for 3 hours).

Myth #3:  French women are not fat.  This is not a myth.  C’est la vie!  I will probably return 5 pounds heavier due to all of this delicious bread, cheese, and wine.  (I guess that I am not French.)

There was also a big difference in France that I noticed during this visit.    France is much more diverse.  People from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia seem to be woven into the society.  I have watched the news and have seen the harrowing stories of crossing the Mediterranean, however, the new tapestry that has been woven is much more interesting.  Perhaps it also made me feel more comfortable, because it felt more like Atlanta.  I won’t go too deep into this, but needless to say, I liked the feeling.

After almost 30 years, I am still in love with the colors here.  There is a warm gray to the buildings that often imbues a blush hue with the sun.  The gigantic doors are heavy with brass hardware and almost every color imaginable. Yet, they all work and flow throughout the city.   I learned that each village has a specific color that they will often use in their city buildings, trim, and doors.  I need to do some more research on that!  I also love how the medieval cities have been built upon each other, yet, for the most part, are still visible.  These layers of ancient and modern are remarkable.

Looking back and seeing a lovely, somewhat naive newlywed with a degree in business and French, I miss her unwrinkled face and small body.  Yet I hope that it may strike a chord to remember the past self and still feel wonder about the future.  That is one of the most poignant feelings that I get when traveling, a sense of wonder and curiosity.  I leave in a few days, and by next week’s blog, I will be back in Atlanta.  Back to my friends and family, and back to work.  Hopefully, I will be able to share something new in design, we shall see!

Thank you for reading,

Stephanie