Really Nice Vacations

I believe this is the first time I was charmed by a travel blog enough to mention it. I was poring over my laptop, helping my neighbor to check out hotel rates in Paris, France. I used the keywords “Hotel Paris, France” and fully expected the usual travel sites and directories to bow me over with their fantastic offerings. What I didn’t expect was to find PT Ford’s “Why Travel to France” blog. I guess as an American expatriate living, working and traveling in France enabled him to see France with a pair of fresh, curious and exploring eyes.

He wrote about Collobrières, a picturesque little place of 1,600 people deep in Provence, that still accept francs. That’s pretty interesting. I thought the franc was history.

He warned us never ever ignore any establishment spotted with the coveted “M.O.F” because

“Meilleur Ouvrier de France” means “Best Craftsman (or Worker) in France” and this is a coveted award only given to the very best artisans of France every 3 years (since 1924). There’s a long list of categories so the M.O.F.. can be a pastry chef, a furniture maker, painter, saddle designer, all kinds of “craftsmen.” There’s a stringent process to earn this ranking and those who succeed keep their title for life. Their work is absolute pure quality, the best France has to offer.

OK. point noted and filed in my head to get the boss to let me travel to France. Food remains my weakness even though my waistline is expanding horizontally.

One thing I like about Ford’s blog is he translated the interesting information originally in French into English. Sometimes it irritated me to the core when I couldn’t understand a single written word after landing on beautiful travel sites and blogs. Well, you know, using the online translator isn’t quite the same. The essence is somehow lost in translation. By the way, the guy is quite a good photographer. The photo, especially the food images, are simply alluring and tempting.

So if you intend to go France, check out Ford’s blog on top of the usual travel sites.

Stumble it!