Greetings from the Loire Valley in France

Greetings from the Loire Valley. I’m here for a week teaching a course at one of the local business schools in the region. I have an 8-year history previously teaching before in another French city (Bordeaux) and as much as I enjoyed that experience, the hospitality in the Loire Valley is even kinder. Last night I walked into town to view the castle, the church and then ate at one of the restaurants. The food and warmth were palpable. This morning, I walked around the corner to the boulangerie for breakfast. I couldn’t help but feeling I was in the middle of the scene Belle described in her opening song from Beauty and the Beast. [Go 45 seconds into this video and then watch it for 90 seconds, please]. While Belle was ridiculing the village as being too provincial, for me, it’s just a fantastic, realistic commentary on the warmth of what will be my “village” for the week. This local isn’t even a village, as much as it’s a small town / city, but the conclusion is still the same. Literally, people were traversing in-and-out of the store politely saying “bonjour” and going about their morning business. I’m so incredibly lucky to be here…