Taiwan vs Five European Microstates ( Microcountries)

There are five microstates in Western Europe. These tiny countries have extremely small populations. All but one would fit within Taipei City (or even one of its districts):

Sweden-1 (Soft Drinks and Things That Go Boom!)

What's this? 1-Coffee_cream_TetraPak--CC Wikimedia

Sweden is covered with thick forests. Find out what Sweden does with them on my language learning blog.

High Street, Boston, Massachusetts 1988, CC-By NC-SA Paul-W, 1988-pwl-sheet02-142390666673_51e19e851a_z

This building collapsed in 1988. What does this have to do with Sweden? Click below to find out!

France-5 (French Food)

Two years ago, I talked about French food on my language learning blog

Eating French – A Linguistic Introduction for EFL Students

When you travel in France, you can save a lot of money AND enjoy yourself by visiting five different food shops (or food sections in a supermarket). Have a picnic! Buy some fresh food in these shops:

1-charcuterie (A store that sells prepared, ready-to-eat meat products, such as cooked ham)

Charcuterie in Paris, CC BY-NC-SA,  cbertel, www DOT flickr DOT com SLASH photos SLASH 29323477 AT N04 SLASH 5418483692 SLASH 

2-fromagerie (A cheese shop or a cheese factory)

Interrogation surprise, CC BY-NC-SA  dadavidov, www DOT flickr DOT com SLASH photos SLASH 56362165 AT N00 SLASH 5273444555 SLASH 

Cheese Factory, CC BY-SA  Vinicius Pinheiro, www DOT flickr DOT com SLASH photos SLASH 14322520 AT N00 SLASH 4320256917 SLASH 

3-boulangerie (a bread store; some also make pastry, but this is not their specialty). Notice the different types of bread. This is also a good place to buy croissants for breakfast.

Du pain, CC BY-NC-SA Julia Jansen, www DOT flickr DOT com SLASH photos SLASH 40646435 AT N00 SLASH 35924874 SLASH 

France-4 (What to See, Do and Eat in France)

Here are from suggestions from Owl & Mouse

Go to their website and click on each spot (each fleur de Lys, a symbol of French kings) for more information.

Notice the three main rivers (fleuves in French): the Seine (which crosses Paris and goes to the English Channel), the Loire (which crosses the middle of the country and goes to the Atlantic Ocean), and the Rhone (which goes to the Mediterranean Sea). There are also many smaller rivers (rivières in French) and canals.

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/online-atlas/france-food-tourist.htm

France-3 (Rivers and Canals)

If you visit France, don't spend all of your time in Paris. Go for a tour on one of the many canals. Rent a barge and do it yourself, or spend more money and enjoy your hotel on the water.

France has 8,000 kilometers of navigable rivers (and canals between rivers). This map shows most of the rivers, but not the canals:

French Rivers (Copyright--Daniel Dalet, free to use)

France-2 (Cathedral of Notre Dame)

The Cathedral of Notre Dame is a large, beautiful church in Paris.

Notre Dame--CC BY-NC-SA, Jamie Henderson, www DOT flickr DOT com SLASH photos SLASH 44179278 AT N05 SLASH 4064036250

Notre Dame Cathedral, CC BY bvi4092--www DOT flickr DOT com SLASH photos SLASH 13445173 AT N06 SLASH 9048675746

This building took over 200 years to finish. Remember to appreciate the sculptures on the outside of the cathedral. Nobody does such magnificent work anymore.

Cathedral—CC Storm Crypt FROM www DOT flickr DOT com SLASH photos SLASH 21366409 AT N00 SLASH 3746735726

CC BY NC SA-- Martyn Davis, Close up of the Notre Dame Cathedral, www DOT flickr DOT com SLASH photos SLASH 47422337 AT N04 SLASH 15143198897

Notre Dame is #1 on this island (Île de la Cité) in the middle of the Seine (the Seine is a river which cuts Paris in two).

Public Domain image of the

Île de la Cité

If you visit, please remember to be quiet and respectful: many Parisians worship in this church every day.

France-1 (Palace of Versailles)

The Palace of Versailles was the home of one the most powerful kings of France,

Public Domain image of Louis XIV

Louis XIV (/'lui/ the fourteenth: remember not to pronounce the -s in "Louis").

ToucanWings - CC BY-SA 3.0

An eight-minute two-part 3D video showing the history of this château (= castle) and the gardens around it appears below. Be sure to watch it in full screen.