France, part one
We are in and around Provence for two weeks. May, it turns out, is a great time to visit. The weather is in the 70s and 80s with clear blue skies but the tourists have not all yet arrived. There is a lot to be said about France and the French, therefore here is a partial list of our notes:
Ooooh, he’s carrying a baguette! So said S early on as we were eating from an outdoor terrace in Lyon and a man walked by heading home with a baguette under his arm. Yes, we are in the land of croissants, good bread and too many baked goods to name. On average, there is one boulangerie every street block. The better ones have the artisan label, which indicates that the store makes the goods itself. In such a store, it is common for customers to qualify the baguette they want. For example, S likes hers bien cuite, a wish for a firmer crust.
Bonjour! Au revoir! S has started reading Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong in which the authors explain the importance of these two expressions. Politeness here demands that, as you enter a store, you say bonjour and, as you leave, you say au revoir. It is also true for other public facing individuals such as tollbooth employees or the staff of museums. To skip bonjour will get you a very cold stare and poor service from the individual. In short, it is the complete opposite of small U.S. stores, where you can enter and browse silently.
Wow, they drive fast. France has a network of highways. These gigantic roads link the major cities. While the terrain varies a lot more here than in the U.S., these roads are built the same way: wide with easy curves. On sunny days, the speed limit is 130 kph (~80 mph). Traffic flows at 140 kph (87.5 mph). Compared to North America however, drivers religiously pass only on the left and always merge back afterwards. As a result, I’ve yet to get stuck behind a slow car for more than a few seconds. On the drive back from Nice to Marseille yesterday, I topped 160 kph (100 mph). I was passed. Then again, we passed many scooters barely doing 40 mph in the rightmost lane.
Wild and crazy poodles are overrunning us. The French love small dogs. They constantly walk them, most often without a leash. They speak to them as if they were kids; maybe even on a friendlier tone. They use them to start conversations with other dog owners. They travel with them. Plenty of hotels welcome these four-legged friends. They let them poop almost anywhere and often do not pick-up afterwards…
Anyways, more later.