/ Restaurants
Michelin Guide: Traveling In France With The Red Michelin Guide
Twenty-three years ago, in a small town in France I saw the light and discovered the red Michelin guide. Since that revelation, the guide has been my bible on European vacations. Before the guide, I was lost. When I discovered the guide, I was found.
For many years I followed the advice of the Michelin guide, allowing no other guidebook to influence my decisions. In more recent years, I questioned whether my initial faith was misplaced. Today, I am no longer a true believer, but neither am I an atheist. Michelin still plays a crucial role in guiding me through my wanderings in Europe, but I no longer believe it is infallible. Hopefully, my tale of redemption, faith, and agnosticism, can be of some assistance to you in your search for the perfect vacation in France.
Lost in the Wilderness
It is hard for me to believe now, but there was once a time, not so long ago, when I did not give much thought to where I would eat and sleep when I traveled in Europe. With little planning, my wife and I managed to stumble onto mostly pleasant hotels and acceptable restaurants.
Indeed, we were even spontaneous in selecting the countries we visited. I recall leaving Lake Como in Italy early one beautiful morning and heading north with no particular destination in mind. Our journey ended at 8:30pm with us checking into a hotel in Brienz, Switzerland.
Come to think of it, that was a terrible day. We both had colds, and at the end of the day we were exhausted from an aimless 150-mile semi-circle drive around Switzerland. As I recall, it was a weekend, and part of the reason we kept driving was that we could not find a hotel with vacancies. The room where we eventually stayed was located over a bar, and the walls were paper-thin. Unwilling to drive another mile, we ate at the nearest restaurant within walking distance. The food was dreadful.
