Sometimes I am perfectly happy acting like a tourist, out with my big old map and geriatric footwear, embarrassing all and sundry with my lack of knowledge about how to act in public. But once in a while, I’m tired of my day-to-day life in Thailand. Sometimes, I want to spread my wings and travel a bit. That’s when I go abroad — this year, to France. Our trip, via @SpecialKRB’s fantastic photos:
La Vigerie
We stayed in the “Perigord Noir”, so named because of the abundance of prehistoric dwellings in the area and known for its delicious walnuts, lamb, ducks, geese — and, of course, this:
Staying in a house allowed us to delude ourselves into thinking we could act just like the locals — zipping to and fro in tiny little cars, wearing berets and making fun of other people just like us (for the record, they really do wear striped shirts!). So we did just that, even after getting back to Paris, using the ample time at our disposal to do Frenchie French things like:
Buy lots of cheese at Barthelemy
Pretend to buy expensive macarons at Pierre Herme
Gorge on lots of lovely meat
Dine on mussels, even though I think they are Belgian
Order delicious escargots at every meal
Uh, eat lots of frogs
Partake of the local fruit and liquor, at the same time
Appreciate the local art
Mess up our recycling
Try out the lovely French squatters (for the record, far more challenging than the Thai ones. The footrests are lower in level than the surrounding basin, ensuring that you will most certainly splash your own feet — lovely.
Dislocate your shoulder and visit the hospital (sorry, no photos. FYI, the hospital trip: 23 euros. Excruciating pain: priceless.).
And, finally, sup at one of the most popular restaurants in all of France
Bon appetit!
Bangkok Glutton 
Perigord noir is called that because of the very dark foliage of the oak trees predominating in the area. This is the most-touristed area centred on les Eyzies-de-Tayac and Sarlat. Trust me, I lived there for four years and have owned two homes there.
There is also
1) Perigord pourpre (purple) centred on Bergerac which is wine country.
2) Perigord blanc because of white limestone, and
3) Perigord vert because of open green fields
Thanks, John!
Cheers,
I’m happy to have found your blog!
Haha!! Wonderfully hilarious post!!
Easily captivated the great fun we had!
Can’t wait for the next one!
Same here!
I see frog’s asses 😉 !!! Looks like a really nice holiday ! Yesterday I went to sukhumvit 38 with my family + friends and they all really enjoyed it ! We ordered like 5 times the noodles with pork, crab and dumplings. Yummy !
So glad! I think the egg noodles stand there is one of the best in town.
You are tooooooo funny!
Next time, I hope to finally get into L’Ami Jean!
Half the country was wearing striped shirts. After force feeding myself for 11 days, I turned my own liver into foie gras. Success!
Together we can make a terrine.
I love everything about France, thanks for sharing the photos.
My pleasure! @SpecialKRB takes wonderful photos, and you can find her flickr stream at http://flickr.com/specialkrb.
C’est fantastique!
Lovely–such happiness–