FROM A FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE YOUTH TO A GLOBETROTTER: If I got a direct interest for gemstones on the late, my passion for nature came early: As soon as I was able to walk I was following my father and my mother in their walking spring and summer holidays in visiting French countryside and mountain areas. Both my parents were from farmer families even if they were not working directly in farming, they were respectively engineer and teacher; they transmitted me a deep love for countryside things. Then weekend after weekend, each autumn and winter, I also followed my uncle while hunting in woods and vineyards in the French countryside near Dordogne river. I so soon developed a strong attraction for both walking and the wild. My uncle was not only hunting in France but frequently he was traveling to fancy places in Africa, Europe or America, bringing back home some wonderful exotic stories... To satisfy my infinite curiosity about the world surrounding me, my parents provided me as soon as I could read correctly a 20 volumes illustrated encyclopedia. This encyclopedia was the best gift a curious kid like me ever gets as it became along with books from Jules Verne, Joseph Kessel, Jack London and JRR Tolkien, my best friend.