How we fell in love with France – Part 4 – Language and lifestyle



Street in Paris


The French definitely know how to enjoy life, and the language is wonderful to listen to.
Not easy to speak, and even harder to understand, but certainly lovely to hear.
The first picture shows a street in Paris with evocative sounding shop types – poissonerie and boucherie etc.
Before we went to France, were had the impression that the French dont like to speak English.
So, in an attempt to be prepared, we bought the Michel Thomas French foundation language course, and ploughed our way through the 8 cds.
We actually enjoyed doing the course, and could even make some sense to each other.
Armed with this confidence, we duly arrived in France, and launched into our French.
Well – we were sort of able to make ourselves understood, but were completely baffled when anyone replied. So mostly they took pity on us, and reverted in English.
The point being, if you make the effort to speak their language first, the French are quite happy to help you in English.
In fact, with a few exceptions, mainly in Paris itself, everyone was extremely helpful. On a number of occassions, while I was juggling a map, a passerby offered to help, and one lady even walked with us to show us to where were going.

Bicycle hire rank in Paris

The French lifestyle is surprisingly conservative in many aspects.
They dress stylishly but not gaudily, and modest sized cars were the rule.
Have a look at the cars in the backgrounds of the photos in this, and my last few posts – nothing flash here!

In fact the French use bicycles frequently, and most cities have hire bikes that you can use by the hour. The ranks are usually located close to railway stations or bus terminii.
Picture 2 shows one of these bicycle ranks in Paris.
I think this idea is catching on and I believe a similar system is being set up in London.
On weekends, it was common to see families with kids all cycling along the towpaths, enjoying the outdoors.



Playing boats in the Jardin du Luxemborg in Paris


Paris has any number of beatiful gardens, and many locals spend their generous lunch breaks sitting out in the sun, reading or just
relaxing.

The last picture shows the pond in the Jardin du Luxemborg in Paris, and number of people sailing model boats.

Wouldnt it be wonderful if more children these days enjoyed such activities, as opposed to playing computer games!