Back to Index

The Art of Slow Travel: Discovering France's Cultural Gems


Transcript

Culture is an interesting one because I think it's not something that easily fits on a checklist, but it's something that when you really experience it, it's so memorable. I had a conversation with Rolf Potts, who wrote a book called Vagabonding, and he said he was talking to someone who went to France and was so frustrated that all they wanted to do was they wanted to experience the culture of France.

And they went to a cafe, and they sat out on the sidewalk, people were walking by, and two hours later, they still hadn't been able to eat and get their bill. And they were so frustrated because all they wanted to do was leave the cafe to go experience the culture of France.

And he's like, "You just missed it." Like, sitting at a cafe, taking two hours to eat your lunch is literally experiencing the culture of this country, yet you were so focused on trying to go do things. So my new thing is relax, slow down, experience what's there, don't plan too much.

Absolutely. I mean, when you're racing to get to the next, I don't know, museum visit or food tour or whatever, that's when you miss some of the most memorable moments.