Vive la France! Great country, art, culture and most of all the food and wine. Undoubtedly, the greatest wine varietals in the world…sorry California. I’ve been lucky enough to have traveled there several times. My great grandparents were from Alsace-Lorraine and immigrated to Louisiana and Texas in the 1880’s. My grandparents named my Aunt, Lorraine after their homeland.
For decades my grandparents owned and operated the Hotel Martinet in San Diego, Tx. Captain Richard King from the King Ranch was said to have written in his memoirs, how much he enjoyed staying and dining there.
The view from above in a hot air balloon may be better than on the ground. Sadly, France finds itself in a difficult situation with its faltering economy and society. Unemployment and race relations are abysmal. Race riots, “no go zones,” and sexual assault against women are not uncommon. The result has given rise to the conservatives, Marine Le Pen, RN party.
It would seem that the imperial past has come back to haunt French society. Many from Africa and the Middle East have not assimilated well. The national religion of Catholicism has felt threatened by Islam and calls for massive immigration reform.
The grotesque spectacle of the Olympics in depicting The Last Supper in drag has angered many French and resulted in a massive prayer service in support of the church.
The leadership of Emmanuel Macron has been disastrous, high inflation, unemployment, crime…sound familiar?
French energy policy has been a bright spot. With 80% of electricity generated from nuclear power, it leads the world and should be a model for the US.
Where exactly does France store its nuclear wastes? That is the key to further expansion of this remarkable power source. Russians apparently use some very remote island in their Arctic circle territories. Is it true France uses their full French territorial rights island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean?
No, France has a similar hodgepodge system we do. Some repprocessing, lots of 'interim' storage on site and the hope of some deep long term storage (think WHIP) deep under Bure in eastern France.
And note, that yes they produce some 80% of their electricity from nuclear - we produce more in the US.
LT, just two notes which have.nothing to do with Calla's lovely ballon view of France but relate to what you wrote about your family. In the 70s my dad was a lawyer for BK Johnson who asked us to a BBQ on one of his smaller spreads :-) in Carmel. They were such lovely people and needless to say the bbq was amazing. When I met BK he looked me in the eye and said “I hear you're a rider. Polly, no matter what, never give up horses.” I did give up horses but considering how bowlegged my right leg is from bareback riding as an adolescent, I never really left it :-)
Also, you probably know how wonderful the food of Alsace Lorraine is - a few weeks ago I made Choucroute au Poisson and my husband loved it. It's that Alsatian marriage of ingredients you wouldn't think go together but do wonderfully, In this case sauerkraut and salmon.
Thanks, Calla. Love hearing about your balloon adventure! About France, this is my limited perspective, but Macron seems to me to have been a disaster. He seems to have divided France with his policies which to me seem insane and duplicitous rather than Centrist, rather like the DNC this week.
Sweet piece. I’m terrified of balloons myself, but what I wouldn’t give to see France from 1500 meters. Looking forward to more of Calla’s reflections about (and evocations of) France.
Hi Calla, after posting my first comment I read up on Macron - not easy since the media is as bad on French politics as it is on American. I'd be very interested in your view of why he called the election.
Calla, beautifully described depictions of your ballooning experiences! I can imagine what it must have felt like way up there in the clouds. How unfortunate it is sometimes to have to alight on ground to the realities of politics. Thank you for the article.
Vive la France! Great country, art, culture and most of all the food and wine. Undoubtedly, the greatest wine varietals in the world…sorry California. I’ve been lucky enough to have traveled there several times. My great grandparents were from Alsace-Lorraine and immigrated to Louisiana and Texas in the 1880’s. My grandparents named my Aunt, Lorraine after their homeland.
For decades my grandparents owned and operated the Hotel Martinet in San Diego, Tx. Captain Richard King from the King Ranch was said to have written in his memoirs, how much he enjoyed staying and dining there.
The view from above in a hot air balloon may be better than on the ground. Sadly, France finds itself in a difficult situation with its faltering economy and society. Unemployment and race relations are abysmal. Race riots, “no go zones,” and sexual assault against women are not uncommon. The result has given rise to the conservatives, Marine Le Pen, RN party.
It would seem that the imperial past has come back to haunt French society. Many from Africa and the Middle East have not assimilated well. The national religion of Catholicism has felt threatened by Islam and calls for massive immigration reform.
The grotesque spectacle of the Olympics in depicting The Last Supper in drag has angered many French and resulted in a massive prayer service in support of the church.
The leadership of Emmanuel Macron has been disastrous, high inflation, unemployment, crime…sound familiar?
French energy policy has been a bright spot. With 80% of electricity generated from nuclear power, it leads the world and should be a model for the US.
Where exactly does France store its nuclear wastes? That is the key to further expansion of this remarkable power source. Russians apparently use some very remote island in their Arctic circle territories. Is it true France uses their full French territorial rights island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean?
No, France has a similar hodgepodge system we do. Some repprocessing, lots of 'interim' storage on site and the hope of some deep long term storage (think WHIP) deep under Bure in eastern France.
And note, that yes they produce some 80% of their electricity from nuclear - we produce more in the US.
LT, just two notes which have.nothing to do with Calla's lovely ballon view of France but relate to what you wrote about your family. In the 70s my dad was a lawyer for BK Johnson who asked us to a BBQ on one of his smaller spreads :-) in Carmel. They were such lovely people and needless to say the bbq was amazing. When I met BK he looked me in the eye and said “I hear you're a rider. Polly, no matter what, never give up horses.” I did give up horses but considering how bowlegged my right leg is from bareback riding as an adolescent, I never really left it :-)
Also, you probably know how wonderful the food of Alsace Lorraine is - a few weeks ago I made Choucroute au Poisson and my husband loved it. It's that Alsatian marriage of ingredients you wouldn't think go together but do wonderfully, In this case sauerkraut and salmon.
Thanks, Calla. Love hearing about your balloon adventure! About France, this is my limited perspective, but Macron seems to me to have been a disaster. He seems to have divided France with his policies which to me seem insane and duplicitous rather than Centrist, rather like the DNC this week.
Sweet piece. I’m terrified of balloons myself, but what I wouldn’t give to see France from 1500 meters. Looking forward to more of Calla’s reflections about (and evocations of) France.
Hi Calla, after posting my first comment I read up on Macron - not easy since the media is as bad on French politics as it is on American. I'd be very interested in your view of why he called the election.
Calla, beautifully described depictions of your ballooning experiences! I can imagine what it must have felt like way up there in the clouds. How unfortunate it is sometimes to have to alight on ground to the realities of politics. Thank you for the article.