[quote=briansd1]Jazzman, I understand what you’re saying… I was just being factitious.
You could live cheaply in the American “country” as well. But, I know… the French country and the American country just don’t compare.
I have a long lost relative who lives in Cognac, France. He has a great job and travels the world for Remi Martin. He earns Paris level money, but lives in the country in a beautiful stone mansion with a real wine cellar. For the same price, all you can get is a stick and stucco box in San Diego.
Cognac is the country however… the kids have left for college and neither of them want to return.
You can visit the Cognac estates over there. Kinda different from the Temecula wineries.[/quote]
Brian: Growing up in the SF/Bay Area, I was always under the impression that the Napa and Sonoma regions were comparable to France, in terms of both scenery and wine-making. Then I visited France (for the first time, when I was in the Army) and, wow, it was breathtaking.
Not to take anything from Napa or Sonoma, but it doesn’t compare in terms of history, culture or expertise. Reminds me of that Eddie Izzard joke about Europe: “You know, where the history comes from.”
I remember sitting at a small cafe in the Rhone Valley and meeting an old-timer that remembered World War I. Freakin’ World War I! Completely different world and, most important, completely different perspective. Americans do have that propensity to feel as though we’re the center of the universe and that’s why travel and acculturation are so important. Gotta see the world to understand it.
