Nous sommes fermè...

Hello,

apologies for being a bit slack on updating this. Greg and I have now been in Nantes for a week and while this is a beautiful city we would both much rather be on the road. Greg's feet really were in a bad way on arrival and required minor surgery, anti-biotics and daily attention from a nurse for two weeks. Thus it is likely we still have another week to pass here. I guess this gives us both the opportunity to practice patience! (We have added a few new photos so do have a look. For anyone interested (and I know this is likely to just be boys!) I'm not using my usual Nikon D70 as it was too heavy to bring. Thus, I'm snapping with the tiny Canon IXUS 70. This partly explains my lower than usual standard of photos!)

And so to my random thoughts:

- while I respect the French insistence that there is more to life than just earning money, at times it seems like this is a useful philosophy for being lazy. Let's get controversial. There have been so many occasions when we have wanted to spend money in this country only to be told to go away due to it being the wrong day, time or freek'n lunar cycle! Come on France. Wake up. You have a situation whereby approximately 25% of 16 - 25 year olds are unable to find employment yet a mentality that the needs of the proprietor are more important than that of the customer. I once heard a french economist speaking on BBC world service say "France deserves it's unemployment". And I think he was right. Sure the British/US model has its problems but quite frankly these economies are kicking France's derriere. (Apologies in advance for my poor spelling of French words - I generally am guessing how they might be spelt).

An example. We arrived in a relatively large town at 5pm on a Sunday. We had walked over 25 ms in the rain, were soaked and desperately in need of some shelter. We were told by a hotel and a pension that they were full. Despondent but accepting of our fate, we took shelter in a local tabac. A friendly local took interest in our plight and insisted that he phone the local hotel that had refused us just minutes before. And sure enough, miraculously there now was room. Now partly, we guessed we had been refused because we were English (and despite all the nice things I have to say about the French, they sometimes don't seem to like us very much!) But I suspect the main reason was that they couldn't be bothered to fill in their bureaucratic forms to allow us shelter. Does France not realise the importance of Tourism for economic growth? If it does, where do the French think Tourists go on Sundays, or between 12 - 3pm EVERYDAY!? Fair enough, I'm not asking every French person to welcome foreigners with open arms or to change their cultural habits to suit tourists, but if you are running a hotel it would seem that dealing with tourists, a likely occupational hazard. Incidentally, we wanted to return to the bar where we first met our friendly local but couldn't as it was shut! The reason? It was a Monday. Of course.

The French seem to talk with naive passion about values of socialism and tradition yet not see the connection with its economic woes. Ideas are important, but they won't feed your children. America (and to a lesser extent England) are almost demonised here as representing greed and disregard for the value of life. Yet the French seem to forget they, like England, have a colonial past - it was just that England was better at being exploitative than them. Racism is extreme here and "immigrant" a dirty word. France romanticizes its "localism" yet conveniently fails to see that it has massive global connections, not least in the global energy sector and arms manufacturing. A country in denial. A teenager railing against systems they fail to understand. France is rapidly becoming England's poor cousin. And no doubt they will find a way to blame their situation on Imperialist/US foreign policy or some such philosophical nonsense.

- I like croissants. But I wish it was easier to get hold of more cheese and ham filled ones.

- Everyone here smokes. I mean EVERYONE. I do NOT like this.

- Coffee is generally served here with cold UHT. I find this truly perplexing in a country with such high-culinary standards. (Bring-on Starbucks!)

- In smaller towns/villages it is common for a person entering a tabac to greet everyone individually and systematically and shake their hands. A beautiful thing.

- Most lights automatically switch-off when not in use. A simple yet clever way to save energy that the UK would do well to adopt. Some lights are "motion sensitive". I like this but not so much when I'm using the toilet and it fails to notice "motion".

- Drink-driving appears sociably acceptable. This, I would suggest, is a bad thing.

- I learnt a new word. Defenestrate. Apparently, this means "to throw out a window". For some reason, that such a word exists amuses me.

- I think I have body lice. But I can't be certain. I got badly bitten by something a week ago and remain constantly itchy. I just haven't got the courage to admit to a french Doctor that I have body lice. I don't want to reinforce their stereotypical views of the English.

- I think exercise is good for my mood. Maybe if I was walking I wouldn't feel the need to criticize other people so much. But I like ranting. It feels familiar. Like an old jacket that you really should throw out (it is worn out and ceases to make one look attractive) but insist on wearing. Maybe this is why I don't have a girlfriend...

Until next time...