FR ANCE You may well wonder, as did François Mitterrand, how you can govern a country with two hundred and thirty-eight varieties of cheese. The French know a thing or deux about celebrating joie de vivre, recruiting the expertise of the nation’s vintners and producers of champagne. You too may indulge your tastebuds with oysters and truffles, flaky croissants and chocolate desserts. Dreamy lavender fields, starry skies and terraced vineyards inspired Vincent van Gogh, while the exquisite gardens of Giverny adorned the canvasses of Claude Monet. And, as Audrey Hepburn noted, Paris is always a good idea.
L AVE N D E R FIELD S IN PROVENCE