When General De Gaulle quibbled about governing a country with so many types of cheese, he obviously hadn't been on vacation in a while. If he had, he would have seen how manageable the French actually are.As soon as les grandes vacances approach, les Gaulois begin pairing off in an orderly fashion before packing themselves off for a quinzaine or two at one of the Hexagone's designated vacation spots. Originality isn't a criterion. It's all a matter of leaving one's primary residence for a period of two to four weeks: the partir part of the partir en vacances equation is just as important as the vacances half.
Of course, the French don't all spend their vacances in the same style. The more populaire crowd camps out in tents, while across the hedge, bourgeois vacanciers play home improvement in their own résidences secondaires.
But whether they're sporting BCBG white and navy stripes and bateaux or dreadlocks and bare feet, they're all in one place, enjoying the same sun and sand--though some might choose to eat American cheese before admitting it.
Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney as Joanna and Mark Wallace. [Online image] 1964.
