Background: Although ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II, France suffered extensive losses in its empire, wealth, manpower, and rank as a dominant nation-state. Nevertheless, France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. Since 1958, it has constructed a presidential democracy resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier parliamentary democracies. In recent years, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common exchange currency, the euro, in January 1999. At present, France is at the forefront of efforts to develop the EU's military capabilities to supplement progress toward an EU foreign policy.
July 22nd 2008Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bordeaux Today I woke up rather early (7 am due to not being used to sharing a bed lately....let alone a very small bed!) and had my breakfast. Ken slept until about 11 when I got him up so we could spend a bi ... 11 photos[full story]
July 21st 2008Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bordeaux Today seemed like a long day waiting for 6 pm to finally come around! I woke up and had a nice breakfast courtesy of Jean-François . His grandson, Mattis, was spending the day with him and Colette had ... 4 photos[full story]
July 20th 2008Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bordeaux I woke up real early again today (darn stomach!) but I had to be on the road for Bordeaux at 9 am so it wasn't all that bad in retrospect. Had a light breakfast of some bread and butter and a small gl ... 10 photos[full story]
July 15th 2008Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bordeaux We are sorry that us wayward travellers have been unable to update all of our readers. We do have a good excuse, we have been very busy, and internet in southern France is quite expensive.
We left ... [full story]
July 4th 2008Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bordeaux Today was a bit less of a busy day. In the morning, after breakfast, I went on a walk and took 130 photos of the railings/balustrades that adorn many of the windows in Bordeaux. There are hundreds and ... 13 photos[full story]
July 3rd 2008Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bordeaux What a day! What a day! Of course, I started out with my constant breakfast after sleeping ALL night! Finally, a night of undisturbed sleep. I have been waiting for that! After breakfast, Jean-Françoi ... 13 photos[full story]
July 2nd 2008Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bordeaux Today was cloudy and cool....just what I needed after the 32C yesterday! I am still waking up in the middle of the night. I sure hope that stops sooner than later. I got up today at about 8:30 and had ... 5 photos[full story]
July 1st 2008Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bordeaux What a beautiful day today in Bordeaux. It was very hot but very interesting, fun and active. We started the day by hopping on the bicycles and riding the short distance to the market to buy cheese. W ... 6 photos[full story]
June 30th 2008Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bordeaux YAY! I made it in one piece....24 hours door to door! The 4 hour flight from Calgary to Montreal was good except the landing. There was a LOT of turbulence on the descent and the landing. I did not li ... [full story]
June 28th 2008Europe » France » Aquitaine » Bordeaux June 26, 27, 2008
BORDEAUX, France
We arrived in Bordeaux in time on Thursday to take the local tram to the center of town to have a look around. Turns out our timing was perfect for me. The a ... [full story]
Map of France
France's Flag
