What I love about France...

I really love my life in Texas, but it would be a lie to tell you that I don't miss France. Some days more than others!

More than anything today, I feel nostalgic. And it's probably because my parents are on their way to the United-States as we speak. I am really excited to be able to show them my adoptive country once again (they came to Austin 5 years ago). Still, I cannot help but think about the things we would have done together in France. I can tell you it would have involved some big family reunions and probably a trip to our second home in the South in Antibes. And maybe, I think Juan and I might have gone on a short trip just the two of us, probably to Bretagne (the Brittany region).

But enough of my "rant", I know we are going to have a great time in Yellowstone with my parents - that's where we're meeting them. My Mom will make us laugh by trying to speak English - not the best English ever, but hey at least she tries! And I'm sure my Dad will take us on some crazy adventure.

So now, I leave you with a list of some of the things I love and miss about France:

• I love all the small shops from the boulangerie (bakery), to the boucher (butcher's shop), the poissonnerie (fishmonger's) and the petite epicerie (very small grocery store) -particularly if you live inside a city or small town, like I did in Lyon. You can walk to pick up your daily baguette and maybe grab some meat for dinner.

• All the different sceneries, from the Atlantic ocean, to the Mediterranean, to the Pyrenees, the Alps and the Loire valley. All the small villages, so unique in their own way, that I dream to discover. I vacationed around France every Summer with my parents and still feel like I have so much more to see.

• The proximity to so many day trips and vacation spots. From where I grew up in Bouvesse, I am 1 hour 1/2 from Switzerland, 3 hours from Italy, 4 from Paris and Marseille. I remember driving from Lyon to Brest with my parents and it felt like an eternity (we slept around Paris to break down the kilometres). Even driving 1 hour away to Lyon felt longer than ever! Now I've lived in Texas for many years and I am not scared of driving distances. It's a big big big state, so you have to drive a lot to sightsee. We used to make a 7-hour drive to see Juan's parents in Brownsville quite often!

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• Last but not least, of course, I love the cuisine. I love to know how much of it is influenced from the rich history of France and its profuse and diverse regional cuisine. I miss the typical Bouchon restaurants of Lyon and the mom-and-pop restaurants found along the countryside roads.