THIS year or any other year, there is no other place on earth to spend Valentines more romantically than in France. For centuries now, people have this notion that the French are the most romantic people in the planet, France is the most romantic place in the world to visit, French is the most romantic language and French food is the most elegant. There are definitely no scientific bases to this notion although people have attested based on their personal experience that the French really know how to care for a lady. Let’s now deduce this one by one.

The French’s romanticism stems from their being very intellectual. Any foreign student in the Universite de Paris from as far as the Philippines can attest to that. The French know how to take care of a lady. France is also considered the most romantic place in the world for a number of reasons. Its capital alone, Paris, is called the City of Lights for all the landmarks in the city such as Champs de Elysee, Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower are illuminated at night even though it’s not Christmastime yet. Next, the people there are a mixture of the conservative and the liberated. That’s why they go to Roman Catholic churches during Sunday mornings and end up in nudist beaches the whole day. The Roman Catholic cathedrals there are so picturesque such as the Notre Dame Cathedral at the heart of Paris which is imbued with Goth designs. The Goth designs in churches are common in mainland Europe because the bishops in olden times want to convert the Frankish pagans and to do so, they must appreciate the latter’s art in their quest. The largest nudist resort in the world is in fact found in Europe, particularly at the city of Agde. That’s why the resort there is called Cap d’Agde.

And although the annual film festival in Cannes has long been gone, it is also worthwhile to visit it and the rest of the French Riviera like Cassis, Nice, Avignon and Marseilles during Valentines because of its proximity to the Mediterranean. When you will be spending Valentines here in the French Riviera, you will also have the opportunity to taste the Mediterranean diet which is said to be the healthiest diet in the world because it consists of nothing but produce from the Mediterranean depths such as grouper, redfish and fresh lobsters. If you and your fiancée can stroll down to a fishing village in the French Riviera and you can speak a little French, you may be rewarded with a huge grouper so you can grill it back in the vacation villa that you are billeting.

Meanwhile, the French language is considered as the most romantic language in the world even though it isn’t the most widely used (Chinese is) and most advantageous (English is, unarguably). Maybe it is because of its etymology as a Romance language because it stems from the old Roman language which ironically stems from the old Frankish language. Yet why is it called romantic? After all, isn’t it lovely if someone calls you je taime?