France 2003 Travelogue

Thursday October 2
Prologue and Departure



Prologue
France! Why in the world do you want to go there? Those people hate us!

More than once, this was the response when our friends and family learned about our Autumn vacation plans. They were certain that we would be pelted with rotten fruit the moment we stepped off the plane.

It was our misfortune to be returning to France at a time when Paris and Washington were in the midst of a regularly scheduled diplomatic crisis. French fries, which originated in Belgium, were now "freedom fries," and talk radio hosts across the nation were demanding that patriotic Americans pour their Bordeaux down the drain and pack their poodles and bichons off to the nearest Canadian animal shelter.

Forget Al Qaeda and radical Islam, France was now the enemy. People that had never traveled more than 200 miles from home publicly vowed that they would not visit France this year. Things were getting serious.

Suddenly our upcoming vacation had profound ethical dilemmas and international consequences. I expected a phone call from Colin Powell or Donald Rumsfeld at any moment. Perhaps even the President himself.

Had I received that call, I might have pointed out that the position of the French government on Iraq, the latest subject of US-French contention, does not differ significantly from that of notable American politicians such as Howard Dean or Tom Daschle, and yet there is no punitive crusade to discourage travel to Vermont or South Dakota. (For my impressions of French anti-Americanism, based on this and past visits, see the following discussion.)

A few days prior to our arrival, Paris received a very prominent American visitor— First Lady Laura Bush. No tomatoes were thrown. No riots erupted. The guillotine was not resurrected on the Place de la Concorde. She reportedly had a great time. We were expecting nothing less.
Next Day