Whenever we’re watching our favorite French TV travel show, Les 100 lieux qu’il faut voir (The 100 Places You Must See), Bill keeps his phone handy for two reasons. When a destination looks interesting, he first locates it on an online map to determine if there is a train station in town and if so, he then adds it to our ever-growing list entitled, “Want to Go”. While that initial map check lets us know if we can get there on public transportation, it doesn’t always guarantee that it will be on a train. Despite a train station building still existing, the tracks might no longer be in use and often now serves instead as the central bus stop. Such was the case for two towns around Poitiers, where we were staying for a week to discover that area of the country.

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When I was preparing for my French citizenship interview, one of the sources that I studied was the Livret du Citoyen, the government’s official publication for those who wish to become naturalized citizens. It highlights the country’s principles, values, language, culture, and history. In that last category, under “Antiquity”, the booklet mentions the arrival of the Romans around 50 BC and shows a photo of the theater in Orange that’s still standing—and in use—after 2,000 years, today’s featured photo across the top above. We’d visited other cities like Nîmes and Lyon that have substantial Roman ruins but since Orange was included in this authoritative text as an essential piece of history, we quickly added that to our “must see” list.

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