The Art of Slow Travel: Discovering France's Cultural Gems
00:00:00.000 | Culture is an interesting one because I think it's not something that easily fits on a checklist,
00:00:04.960 | but it's something that when you really experience it, it's so memorable.
00:00:09.040 | I had a conversation with Rolf Potts, who wrote a book called Vagabonding,
00:00:12.320 | and he said he was talking to someone who went to France and was so frustrated that
00:00:16.880 | all they wanted to do was they wanted to experience the culture of France.
00:00:20.160 | And they went to a cafe, and they sat out on the sidewalk, people were walking by,
00:00:24.960 | and two hours later, they still hadn't been able to eat and get their bill.
00:00:28.800 | And they were so frustrated because all they wanted to do was leave the cafe
00:00:32.320 | to go experience the culture of France. And he's like, "You just missed it."
00:00:36.240 | Like, sitting at a cafe, taking two hours to eat your lunch is literally
00:00:40.720 | experiencing the culture of this country, yet you were so focused on trying to go do things.
00:00:45.520 | So my new thing is relax, slow down, experience what's there, don't plan too much.
00:00:50.480 | Absolutely. I mean, when you're racing to get to the next, I don't know,
00:00:53.920 | museum visit or food tour or whatever, that's when you miss some of the most memorable moments.