I spent 3 nights in Paris, 1 night in Roussillon and 1 night in Avignon located in the region called Provence in the South of France.
Why did I travel to France alone?
If you are traveling alone, you will be more aware of what's happening around you and your senses will wake up to the maximum level to survive, and your consciousness will get sharper and clearer. And you will have more chances to interact with local people. That's the essence and beauty of traveling alone.
Why France? Somehow, I have been attracted by many things from France, such as art, music, design, food, etc. since I was a little kid. I wanted to unlock the secret of why France is so appealing to not only myself but also to so many people around the world.
It took many months of careful preparation and planning to make this trip come true.
I'm not young anymore (I am going to be 50 next year) and I really wanted to explore the places of my particular choices before I get too old to travel abroad by myself.
In this trip, there were two main purposes.
1) To get inspired by walking around the beautiful "Red Village" named Roussillon. I was somehow strongly attracted by the vivid colors of this particular village. No logical reasons to explain. I felt like I was somehow invited by this small village and I had to go when I saw the picture in a guide book.
Here are some photos I took in Roussillon.
2) To have "La Geode" experience. La Geode is the world's largest Geodesic Dome-shaped Movie Theater in Paris. I have been obsessed by the design and concept of Geodesic Dome for more than 10 years. Geodesic Dome was originally created by an American design scientist named Buckminster Fuller with the idea of "Do more with less". There are many applications for this dome but for me, it was new and amazing to apply it to a movie theater.
What I was concerned most was how this particular structure affects human consciousness. Also, I wanted to know how it sounds like in a dome and how real it can be when playing a movie in this type of big Geodesic Dome.
Well, my honest impression about La Geode is yes, it was the best movie experience I've ever had. It was worth visiting.
However, nothing really affected my consciousness. It was still "artificial" as I was able to see vague triangle shaped "grid" behind the screen. It looked so real but whenever I noticed the grid, I had to make sure that "this is not real. This is a well made illusion."
Maybe that was a symbolic experience for me to say good bye to my old values which was programmed by the environment I grew up. (family, religions, schools, workplaces, etc) I have vaguely noticed the "grid" or well made illusions of this reality, and it's time for me to go beyond the grid.
I've noticed some of the people I've met in France have deep insights about life and what I liked and respect most about France is its people.
People here are different in a wonderful way.
They value freedom of choices and they show it through their actions.
They are not afraid.
I must say, how I live and think will change dramatically due to the experiences I've had in France. I will share some of the insights I've observed and learned through this trip in this blog in time.
