cigalechanta

http://sthornley90.wordpress.com/201.../french-logic/

StCirq

Love it!

kerouac

Oh well, another expat who is clueless and who would be better off leaving the country... It is pefectly possibly to buy food on Sunday anywhere in France, but not if you sleep past 1 p.m. Food for thought! Not to mention the fact that "planning ahead" is considered to be a valued quality in most cultures.

kerouac

Oh, I guess I should ask why "mouvement social" is any worse than the English language term "industrial action."

Christina

I'm with kerouac, I hate that kind of nonsense from British expats who think they are so cool writing about how weird French people are. There is a whole industry of them. That woman writes a lot of stupid stuff IMO. Besides, there are even regular weekley street markets selling food in enough neighborhoods that if you lived there, you would certainly know about them (unless you were her, I guess). I just think she's a real twit who is so dumb she can't even plan ahead to have milk in the house for a couple days in a row.

cigalechanta

she's right about the Navigo card. She said she like to sleep late so most markets would be closed.
A little harsh Christina, as usual.

Michael

There was a time in Germany when stores closed on <b>Saturday noon</b> for the weekend, although I think that this has changed.

I remember when I first came to an up/down escalator. It was in Berlin. The first person to get on the escalator established its direction. No big deal.

A monthly commuter card in SF can only be obtained at the beginning of the month, why not any day for the next 30 days?

I think that Brits like to complain about the French.

cigalechanta

Yet they buy into so many areas of France.
My Brit friends don't put them dowm.
We have many Americans who do.

BKP

Oh I think she's sweet and a bit funny. It's natural for an expat to notice the differences in their host country. It's a wordpress blog, no advertisers. She's obviously writing for herself, friends and family and few extra followers. She isn't petitioning the newspapers and politicians for change.

But, I do find it a tiny bit ironic that a Brit would complain about Sunday hours! All major grocery stores have limited trading hours on Sundays in England, most closing by 4pm.

For the record, I'm an expat, I did find England's trading laws to be silly, I had to adjust to them, and I did blog about them as well!

nytraveler

Well - as an American - with no ax to grind it appears to me that all of these complaints are the height of provincialism - and do distinctly complain that everything isn't done exactly as at home.

Frankly = I don't understand any of the complaints.

But to me the silliest is not being able to buy milk after a certain time on Sunday. Does one not now in advance that one needs milk? Is there some reason that it must be bought on the day it is used? Is there any reason not to buy enough on Thursday or Fri to last for the weekend (it is good for at least a week isn't it?)

And what's wrong with MORE types of yogurt. I can understand complaining that there are too FEW types of yogurt. But too many???

IMHO - if you look for minutia to complain about - it's possible anywhere?

d_claude_bear

If they stopped selling "yaourt aux figues" (I don't think it is really called that) I would have to start eating baked goods for breakfast in Paris. BTW, we found a somewhat acceptable version in the Chelsea section of NYC.

ParisAmsterdam

I have some questions for Thornley:

- Why do the English have water cisterns in their attics that can freeze and make a mess below?

- Why are the plumbing pipes on the outside of their houses? Ugly, and again, prone to freezing.

- Why don't the English have electric plugs outside their houses? You have to open a window if you want to run an electric lawnmower.

- Why don't the English have pulleys for their clothes lines?
You have to walk the length of the line to hang things up and then prop things up with a stick.

- Why are there 2 layers of brick in a typical home exterior wall but no insulation between them to keep out the cold and damp?

- Why do they call it an "airing cupboard" when it's a closet with little air?

- I've stayed in hotels where the lamps were not only turned off at the wall switch but unplugged as well. So were the TVs. Do the English think electricity leaks out if the plugs are left in the wall?

I won't ask about ludicrous pub hours that until recent times make the lack of food stores in France on a Sunday look sane.
I couldn't believe being told it was last call in a Scottish pub the first day I was in the UK... it was 10:30 PM!

I have no doubt someone will have a list about how silly we Canadians are. It just goes to show you every country is different... if they weren't there would not be much point in travel would there? ;^)

Mathieu

I'm in Paris right now so have to laugh at the article and think it was just being extreme in an attempt at humour. Ther are figs and girolles and cepes and clementines in abundance right now.

I agree with Cigale's post of 3.42pm, especially the last phrase, lol. Thinking of you while sipping a Pineau on a streetside bar/cafe at one of those tiny tables in a long row, with a pair of equally tiny chairs squished tightly together that is so... 'Paris', Cigale.

cigalechanta

Simple yogurt is healthier than those with additives, agast! sugar

cigalechanta

AH, Mathieu, wish I were there with you.
The figs ( I love) are at the end of the season I've been buying them where ever I can find them.


I

love the wine bar Baron Rouge. they shuck the oysters outside
(I'm an oyster freak)It reminded me of the London locals where the over flow drank on the streets

Sassafrass

I would be more than happy to buy milk ahead of time, renew my card on Monday and eat any yogurt available if only I were sitting at a cafe in Paris or Provence right this minute.

Michael, I lived in Germany in the mid-seventies and the stores did close at noon on Saturday and not open until Monday. I loved it, seeing all the families out together in their gardens, etc. because nobody had to be working. All the weekend work plays havoc with family life.

kerouac

That is the reason behind the closing in France on Sunday as well -- to ensure that family time is not spent shopping instead. Of course, this doesn't quite work anymore and France is slowly but surely moving in the direction of more and more Sunday openings...

Surfergirl

OK, I haven't read the article. But the comments remind me of Tennyson's Tears Idle Tears or something like that, because there's a lot of stuff people are talking about that used to be, but are no more.

I say this from the perspective of someone who lived in France in the early '70's and England in the early '80's.

So Mark Twain's commentary in Innocents Abroad, as well as Erica Jong's commentary in Fear of Flying -- well it's all true to the writer, but may not be true to others. Although I think anyone who travelled in the 60's or early '70's would have to agree with Erica's discussion about toilet paper.

Adapt. That's what it's all about. Totally interesting to see different countries with cultural differences, especially the blue laws and learning to adapt to those seemingly archaic differences.

HOWEVER. Even since the early '70's, I learned there's always been milk in both England and France in containers that did not need refrigeration if you looked for it, and I remember even back then wondering why Americans never took advantage of this.

The oily scratchy TP from England from the early '70's, however, I thought was kind of gross, and didn't think it something we should copy.

Underhill

The plumbing pipes are on the outside so they're easy to get at when they freeze.

Michael

Sassafrass,

I'm not complaining, just observing.