Nature
Landscape
In France there are big forests which have different kinds of trees (chêne, boulot etc.) and flowers (margerrite, rose etc.). There are a lot of rivers across the country (Dordogne, Loire). France is very popular for the wine, so in the places we visited, Saint Emilion, Bordeaux, Sarlat we saw huge hectares of land covered with vineyards. We also saw and visited a lot of shops in the area of Perigord selling different kinds of wine.
Animals
In France there are many animals such us deers, foxes, boars,badgers,rabbit,woodpeckers etc. In Sarlat people who live in the forests sometimes can see such kinds of animals searching for food by their windows.
Weather
In France the temperature is -5 /15 C° in the winter and it is 20/30C° in the summer. In the winter the weather is cloudy and cold and sometimes it is snowing in the mountains. But in the summer the weather is hot and sunny. We were very lucky in the week we visited Sarlat, because the weather was excellent.
rivers
In France there is a big river called Dordogne which is 483 km (300 mi) of length. And the size of the base is 23,870 km2 (9,220 sq mi)
FOIE GRAS
In France, in Tursac we visited a goose farm and we learned about foie gras. We have learned a technic for breeding the geese and then producing foie gras.
They are buying the baby geese from the breeding farms around the area and they are keeping them outdoors on the grasslands for about two months. They are forced to eat a lot in order to be fat. They gradually increase the food they give them per day, they start giving them 250 gr and they reach the point giving them 1 kilo of corn per day. They do that for about two months. Actually they feed them to death. It is then that they extract their liver.
Foie gras is goose or duck liver. It is French people favourite food. French foie gras is of the best quality, it is famous all over the world and it’s been exported to lots of different countries. Foie gras is also produced in Hungary and Bulgaria but in France it is the biggest production. People in France eat foie gras on toast, only in a special occasion (Christmas, New year Eve, parties and etc.) because it is very expensive.
We tried it and we believe that it is not something special and is not worthy for so many animals to lose their lives. At the breeding farm we were provided with foie gras as a treat and there was a shopping point in a farm we visited where we could buy cans of foie gras to take back home. The farm called “Ferme d’élevage d’oie des granges à Tursac” has received gold medals and various other awards for the best quality foie gras they are producing.
WINES
France is famous for the wine all over the world. In the region of Perigord there is variety of wines:
1)white dry wine (les blancs secs) flavoured of fruits for example les Bergerac, Montravel, Côtes de Duras sec etc. This kind of wine is usually served with French cheese made of goat or sheep milk.
2) red wine ( les rouges) flavoured of fruits for example Pecharmant, Montravel, côte de Duras, Bergerac, etc. This kind of wine is usually served with French cheese such us Tarin, Camembert, Tomme de Savoie.
3)liqueur (les liquoreux) flavoured of fruits like plumps, apricot and nuts. This kind of wine is usually served with Roquefort.
4) wine (les rosés): This kind of wine is usually served with cheese made of herbs and garlic.
5) mellow (les moelleux) : This kind of wine is usually served with fat blue cheese for example Bleu des Causses etc.
Written by : Ioli,Dimitra,Vagia,Arwen