Why I heart France: Reason # 3

I adore nothing more than a lazy Sunday afternoon drive with My Favorite French Boy.

On the occassions that we are lucky enough to have them, I realize that giving up my free-wheelin' party-girl life in New York City was one of the smartest moves I've made to date. Sure, New Yorkers know how to do a mean Sunday Brunch, but Europeans have perfected the art of making all day Sunday into Sunday brunch, as if they forget completely that Monday morning will arrive in less than 24 hours.

Although Summer has yet to arrive in Northern France, last Sunday we were lucky enough to enjoy one exceptionally beautiful day of sunshine. Fortunately it arrived on a sleepy Sunday- the French national day of rest, relaxation, and leisure.

French boy and I took advantage of the sunlight and jumped in the car and headed to Casino Luxembourg in Luxembourg City to check out an exhibition of work by Lux-Chinese artist Su-Mei Tse, who was awarded the Golden Lion for the best national pavilion at the Venice art biennial in 2003.

Later we met David's friend Manu and some friends for drinks and ice-cream on the perpetually crowded terraces at Place d'Armes. Cafe culture is a very distinct and important part of French culture of course. Twenty-million people, one third of the country's population, enter cafes every day in France.

But I digress, this is not a post about cafes or French culture. It's just a quick musing on why I adore nothing more than a lazy Sunday afternoon drive with my favorite French boy... and why I heart France.