Thursday night was a lovely cocktail reception at the Residence of France in Canada. The consul general and Air Canada hosted a reception for media and other “partners” where Air Canada announced their new direct Vancouver to Paris flights starting July 1st of this year.

Champagne flowed, probably a few ships were sunk as a result…and a generally genteel vibe was to be had with everyone in their besblog chic outfit. Just hoping no one noticed that the travel writers, as usual, hoovered most of the snacks.

Friday was the more formal presentation and trade show at the Terminal City Club that started with the eggs benny breakfast and some rather fun moments when two of my table mates asked if there was a vegetarian option.

“Well,” says the lovely and probably a tad harried server, “I’ll just go back in the kitchen and pull the ham and bring you the same thing, so you might as well just do it yourself.” Ten points for appalling honesty, but not too many credits for a certain lack of charm.

So the two vegetarians shoved the sad pieces of back bacon so it could stare at them throughout the meal. God help them, then one of them actually ordered tea instead of the requisite coffee. Not good.

But I digress. Tourism France hosted a great event, I made lots of contacts for next years trip to the famed country, but most importantly, we laughed alot before it was even 9 a.m. Now that’s a good way to start a day.

Check out Joann Blain’s excellent article in the April issue of More Magazine. Great piece on a Vancouver woman who reinvented herself and now lives and works in Paris, running her own companies www.nuitblanchetours.com and www.chicwalks.com 

When you’re ready to plan your trip to that civilized place, check out the official website. It’s stuffed full of good info.   www.franceguide.com