May 21 2014: Combine the photographic talents of my sister Lucy with the beauty of France—and the results are spectacular.

France, and the whole of Europe have a great culture and an amazing history. Most important thing though is that people there know how to live! In America they've forgotten all about it. I'm afraid that the American culture is a disaster.

Johnny Depp

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I love France—and have been there many times, though have never actually lived there. Accordingly, I have mixed feelings about Johnny Depp’s comments. You only really get to know a country—I would suggest—when you live there for a considerable period of time, and have to experience the same pleasures and frustrations as the citizens of that country.

For instance, France is notoriously bureaucratic, but that is not something you normally encounter much during a three week vacation. Yes, Europeans really do take three week vacations—and are all the better for it. Similarly, a business trip to Paris doesn’t normally involve an encounter with its income tax system.

However, I’m also deeply fond of the U.S.—so don’t regard U.S. culture as a disaster. That said, I do think the American Way of Life would benefit from a drastic overhaul—and I worry greatly about the decline of this extraordinary country.

Be that as it may, France is an astonishingly beautiful country—rich in tradition—and with a culture we could learn much from. If you haven’t been there, you have missed a great deal.

Go visit—and wonder.

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