Marcia DeSanctis Suggests “100 Places In France Every Woman Should Go”

Should your journey to France this season be to indulge a passion, sense of fashion or to watch the Summer Olympics in-person, Marcia DeSanctis’ book is a must read. “100 Places In France Every Woman Should Go”  is a revelation of elations. This writer’s organic obsession with the country is palpable in ways that are playful, sensual and sophisticated.

photo credit : Ann Kelley in Paris

Marcia is the personification of “looks-good-on-paper.’ This Princeton grad also earned a Master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. However, her writing transcends a formulaic stiff list of ‘to-do’s’ with a broad appreciation for atmospherics. In many ways, travel journalist Marcia DeSanctis is to France as Sunita Williams is to lunar vectors. Although these explorers wear different boots to work they know how to talk-the-talk and walk-the-walk of trail-blazers.

DeSanctis’ relatable tales of travel begin with the artful unfurling of a ubiquitous tube of Pillsbury crescent rolls in Boston. This travel tour-du-force concludes in the flaming light of dusk in Corsica.  In-between landmarks, the chapters are lyrical. ‘100 Places’ is a poetic collection of color, music, nuance and culture.

photo credit : Ann Kelley in Paris

Without feeling encyclopedic, this elegant New York Times Best Seller satisfies curiosities.  “100 Places” delivers a stylistically urban picture of Paris in black and white yet exudes a sun-kissed touch with virtual images of sandy-bottomed babes bouncing between yachts in Saint Tropez.

History, like architecture frames many chapters in the book and evokes memories of the duality of human consciousness. The syntax can seem bleak and then rose petal soft.

Until you board a transatlantic flight for France, DeSanctis’ description of a buttery croissant avec chocolat chaud, an intimate stroll through the Jardins des Tuileries and a glimpse of one of Picasso’s lovers at the Louvre are an; In your wildest dreams, day-trip worth taking. The way “100 Places” is written you’ll be applying Bain De Soleil to manage your topless tan lines from the Mediterranean via your lounge chair.

Pablo Picasso, STANDING FIGURE, 1908 A nude woman stands with her arms behind her head. Picasso translates the figure into simplified geometric forms, reflecting qualities he associated with sculptural artwork that engaged with in Paris. (Juliana Cheney Edwards Collection 1958) at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Rated 4.6 Stars, “100 Places In France Every Woman Should Go” by Marcia DeSanctis is available on Amazon. Hardcover $20.50, Paperback $12.55, Kindle $14.99