The+Blue

Blue, or //La Bleu//, is the third color on the tri-colored flag. It can represent many things like water, cities, and even scenery. [|La Seine] is the river that runs through the capital city of France, Paris.

The Seine This river starts in Saint-Seine in [|Burgundy], near the important city of //Dijon//. It stretches 486 miles, or 776 km. //La Seine// runs through Paris and emties into the //La Manche //or the English Channel, near //Le Havre//. It is a very important for industry. //Le Havre// is an important port city, and actually means "The Harbor." Modern ocean-going vessals can go up the Seine as far as //Rouen //-another famous city in the history of France.

In the past, when ships were smaller in size, they made it much further than the modern day ships up //La Seine//. The former travellers include the Vikings, who terrorized France from the river. Paris was attacked so often by the Vikings that the French kings made deals, and gave the Vikings the land north of //La Seine//. But only if they protected Paris, and the rest of France. Those vicious invaders were now the "Northman" and they gave their name to the region of France. This region is known as Normandy.

The Seine is most known for as being the river, and only river, to run through Paris. Paris actually started on the island in the middle of the Seine called the //Ile de la Cite//. It then expanded into the royal and formal places, they are located on the (right-side) of the island and are called the right bank, or in french //La Rive Droite//. The left bank, or //La Rive Gauche,// didn't develop until Sorbonne, the college, was made and since then the left bank of Paris has been all the party-loving and relaxed places within Paris. Ironically, the word Gauche means in english; not quite proper. I think that //La rive Droite// came up with that term to insult the //La Rive Gauche//. The significance of the Seine is that it starts south of Paris, comes up through Paris, curves back south, north again, and then curves back towards Paris. That has caused many artist to be call Paris and the Seine lovers because they are so tangled, or intertwined, to each other. In fact, one of the most famous examples is the song //La Seine// by //Jacqueline Francois.// One of the best ways to tour the Seine is on a //Bateaux Mouche.//

As //Jacqueline Francois// sings in her song; //La Seine://

//Elle roule, roule, roule// //Vers la mer où tout finit...// //Elle chante, chante, chante, chante,// //Chant' l'amour de Paris!//

That sums up the river Seine because it says she rolls, she rolls, she rolls, toward the sea where everything ends... She sings, she sings, she sings, she sings her love of Paris. media type="youtube" key="qzKDEFNiTUQ" height="349" width="425" align="center"

// Côte d'Azur // The //Cote d'Azur// is the blue coast located in Southern France in the //Provence //region, //Provence// got its name because it was the first roman provence, outside of Italy. As part of the Roman Empire, Provence has a long and interesting //histoire.// Some of the most interesting places in France can be found in this ancient corner of //La belle France.// for example, theres //Nimes//, where you can still see some of the best preserved Roman buildings, including, //La Maison Caree,// a Roman temple, and the Roman arena where you can still see bullfighting. Near Nimes, you can still find the Roman aquaduct, //[|Le Pont Du Gard]// which until very recently carried water. There is also //Avignon//, which is known for it's famous song about the famous bridge - actually half a bridge. The //Pont St-Benezet //was built in 1185 and half fell into the river around 1668. It has since become the subject of a famous children's song; //Sur le Pont d'Avignon//. Avignon is also the city where the popes' lived between 1309 and 1377. This was a time of real difficulty for the Roman Catholic Church.

Another famous city is //Grasse//. It is famous world wide for it's perfume industry. //Nice //is known for it's upscale tourism and //Cannes //is known for it's film festival. The most important city on the Cote d'Azur is the port city of Marseille. Marseille was founded by the Greeks in about 600 B.C. and is today France's second largest city. Monaco, which is not part of France, is also on the Cote d'Azur. It's famous for it's Casino and car race, the //Grand Prix de Monaco//. These are just some of the reasons the //Cote d'Azur// is a great place to visit.

This is the end of our //Rendez-vous en France//, to see a humourous but cultural video on the //Cote d'Azur// to end of this great exploration of France go to this link; [|Mr. Bean's Holiday and La Mer]

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