Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0136/01366.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 13KB | 251 lines

$Unique_ID{COW01366}
$Pretitle{416}
$Title{France
Special Occasions}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{French Embassy, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{French Embassy, Washington DC}
$Subject{world
business
french
france
paris
every
far
it's
center
come}
$Date{1990}
$Log{}
Country:     France
Book:        Come to France for the Time of Your Life
Author:      French Embassy, Washington DC
Affiliation: French Embassy, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Special Occasions

     Learning the secret of French cooking from one of the great chefs,
hearing a wine-grower reveal the best way to select a cave, driving a racing
car on a professional race track, drifting over the most beautiful parts of
Alsace or Burgundy from a hot air balloon: these are some of the special
experiences you can have in France. And that's only a beginning. You could
observe the stars with the guidance of an astronomer, go white-water rafting,
explore vast underground caverns and sail down underground rivers, join an
archeological dig, perfect your proficiency in the violin or piano with
master classes taught by the greatest soloists; or in a totally different
vein, have a wedding reception in a real castle dating from the seventeeth or
eighteenth century!

     But to enjoy any of the above, or your trip in general, you really need
to feel fit and rested. Often, however, the very time you start a vacation is
when you're most exhausted. It is the pride of France to have developed two
methods for restoring fitness and vitality: mineral springs and
thalassotherapy.

     Both depend on special waters, but in the first case you drink it, in the
second, you bathe in it.

BENEFICIAL WATERS

     It was the Romans some 2000 years ago who introduced us to the benefits
of certain waters in the treatment of rheumatic, stomach and heart ailments.
Taking the waters at a resort spa is still a favored way for Europeans to
relax and improve their health while enjoying all the pleasures of a vacation.

     Today, Vittel in the Vosges, Evian on Lake Geneva, Vichy in Auvergne, and
Luchon in the Pyrenees have become outstanding vacation spots. Each day, of
course, one drinks the obligatory two, three or ten glasses of the water which
comes directly from the local mineral spring. The rest of the time is for
golf, tennis, riding, excursions, anything you like to lead a healthy,
enjoyable life. Combined with the peaceful country side and the hushed calm of
the big hotels, how can you not feel better? If you then choose to seek
excitement in the casino after dinner, that's up to you.

     Thalassotherapy, as it's name suggests, takes place along the seashore
and uses hot salt water in a number of ways. In France, the most notable spas
from the North Sea to the Atlantic are Le Touquet, Deauville, Saint Malo,
Roscoff, Quiberon, La Baule and Biarritz.

     There, after a required medical examination, you can take mud or algae
baths, swim in the warm salt water pool, or have a jet shower. Your home
jacuzzi will never seem the same.

     You complete your treatment with walks along the beach, with golf, tennis
or riding, and with a healthy, delicious diet that includes lots of fresh fish
and seafood. You'll see, the incredible sense of health and fitness you will
experience are what real vacations are all about.

PRESENT-DAY PILGRIMAGES

     For sceptics, this could seem a strange spectacle. But for catholics, the
pilgrimage to Lourdes is an emotional and spiritual experience, for it is one
of the holy places of their religion.

     This town at the foot of the Pyrenees was built to accommodate the
pilgrims who come from all over the world to pay homage to Sainte Bernadette.
In 1858 as a girl of 14, she claimed to see the Virgin appear before her on 18
occasions. These miraculous apparitions were validated the day a spring
spurted forth in a grotto.

     In summer, fervent crowds fill the grotto to bathe in the underground
pools, then gather reverently in the huge basilica. It's a moving sight to see
the many invalids who come, praying for a cure that medicine cannot offer. We
advise reserving hotel rooms far in advance; in 1989 almost 5 million pilgrims
came to pray at Lourdes!

     More colorful but less dramatic are the Breton pardons, religious
processions in which the women, wearing their traditional costumes with the
distinctive lace coiffes on their heads, go to church to be pardoned for their
sins. This ceremony is often followed by a blessing of the fishing boats to
the sound of drums and bagpipes. If you have a chance to see one, don't miss
it.

     Another impressive pilgrimage is the annual reunion of gypsies from all
over Europe at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. There in the Camargue on May 24 and
25, they celebrate their patron saint, Sara, organize processions to the sea
and elect their queen. They take advantage of the occasion to sing and dance
well into the night, and also to attend the local bullfights.

LET'S TALK BUSINESS

     Come to France and make money. That may be putting it bluntly, but it's
also accurate.

     The center of international business, in the heart of the Common Market
with ties to America and the Far East, and with exceptional accommodations for
your business convenience and personal comfort, France is the ideal location
for getting business done on a world scale. In Paris, the large hotels are
equipped to meet all your communication needs; they also have conference
rooms, superb private dining rooms, and facilities for hosting conventions
and seminars for 50 or 4000 delegates with equal ease. Hostesses, interpreters
and translaters are available to facilitate the exchange of ideas.

     Paris also has several exhibition centers that can hold the largest trade
shows; (Porte de Versailles has 2 1/2 million square feet, and the brand new
Villepinte has 900,000 square feet). So that each year, Paris becomes the
center of the fashion world with its men's and women's ready-to-wear shows,
with lingerie, and with jewelry shows as well. It becomes a yacht basin with
the boat show, when small sailboats mingle with luxury yachts. Computers,
music, interior decoration, food, housewares, agricultural machinery, each in
its turn attracts more and more visitors to their exhibits.

     Thus, in 1989, almost a million business visitors made useful
connections.

     That's not including the art market. Contemporary paintings of
international artists are shown in Paris; and the auction house Drouot puts
antique furniture and painting up for bids that are becoming astronomical. But
a good buy can still be found.

     Every two years, the International Automobile Show and the International
Aviation Show also attract buyers from every corner of the earth. And the
size of some of the deals made there could make you dizzy.

     Paris is the center of the action, but the provinces attract their share
of business visitors. No city is more than an hour by air from the capital,
for example. And after a long business meeting, it's nice to take a dip in the
Mediterranean or the Atlantic. That's the secret of Cannes' success when the
film world descends in May to make deals during the Film Festival. But Cannes
it also where the television industry meets in April, when old series are
given new life by international buyers. In January, it's the record business,
including classic music, jazz and variety.

     Nice has direct flights to New York plus the superb Acropolis exhibition
center, which opened in 1984. The vast hall holds 2500 people and has a
television studio, a press room, and restaurants capable of serving 4000 meals
at a time. There's also Strasbourg, capital of Europe, Grenoble-a high tech
center (and close to the ski slopes), or Deauville and La Baule, which have
recently made vigorous efforts to welcome conventions and seminars.

THE 21ST CENTURY

     As you discover France as a business resource, you will also encounter
another aspect that is little known; France on the point of technology, even
to the conquest of spa