GOING to France may be quite nervous for one who has gone for the first time this year. The rationale behind that is this – France is populated with the most romantic people in the planet. And foreign tourists who go there can attest that the French are the most intellectual people in the world. If you are foreign, all you need to do is scan the channels in your cable television and watch French movies. Because there are English tickers beneath the picture, you can see that even French scripts are laden with romanticized words.

That is not surprising though. The French language is Roman in origin and as the number one medieval language in Europe during that time, Roman was honed to perfection. Thus, classic Roman literatures with French overtones are really good examples of heroes being gallant. If you are on a one-year holiday here in France, the first thing that you must do here is learn the French language. And it is even better to enroll in a French school where they let you immerse with a French household for three whole weeks. During this period, members of your host family will not only help you out in your French; they will also tour you around the best attractions in the neighborhood. If your host family is good, they will even charge all the expenses to themselves.

One impression you will find in France is the busyness of the place. Everybody seems to go in a blur especially if you will touch down at Charles de Gaulle International Airport. That’s no surprising though as Charles de Gaulle is the busiest airport in mainland Europe, second only to Heathrow in London as the busiest in the whole continent. Charles de Gaulle is a remarkable place because this is where the only man with no citizenship has lived in limbo for almost two decades. The man is now taken care of by the French Red Cross but his story has been immortalized by Steven Spielberg in his movie The Terminal and his role is portrayed no less by Tom Hanks.

Of course, the busyness of France extends from Charles de Gaulle to the rest of Paris where everybody minds his or her own pace or in case of groups in people traveling together, their own pace. Paris is called the City of Lights and it is in this Christmas season that the monicker is fully pronounced. Every place is bathed in lights from the Arc de Triomphe to the Notre Dame Cathedral to the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower. For those who are more religious but who dislike the more secular atmosphere of the Notre Dame Cathedral, then there’s the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal at a nearby Paris suburb. If the French in Paris are busy, the French in the Mediterranean areas such as Provence are laid back. And this is where your 356-day holiday in France can be more exciting.