tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154946722532200590.post1067658990189863025..comments2023-03-23T10:05:04.875-04:00Comments on Lovely Awkward: A Year of Wine, Romance and Life Among the French: Mom's first trip to Europe ... tips?Kerry MacGregorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07090313252706338323noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154946722532200590.post-46687992260537056212011-02-08T09:41:15.279-05:002011-02-08T09:41:15.279-05:00Tanya: Smoke? Oh dear...
Metro riding... if someo...Tanya: Smoke? Oh dear...<br /><br />Metro riding... if someone bumps you, someone else might be trying to get your wallet.<br /><br />In Nice... sunblock is necessary (even if you don't think it is).<br /><br />When you order a "coffee" you'll get a little one unless you ask for a special kind.<br /><br />I'm running low on info here for some reason --although I know there are so many other aspects that surprised me. I guess my mom will just have to discover some on her own when she gets here!Kerry MacGregorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07090313252706338323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154946722532200590.post-44708228805918852492011-01-24T10:41:21.456-05:002011-01-24T10:41:21.456-05:00LOL! We went through two printers that way. Our ...LOL! We went through two printers that way. Our power bar/converter thing didn't work and paf! Lots of smoke in the apartment. We had to buy a new printer as a result.<br /><br />Yeah, I've learned not to smile at people on the metro (specifically in Paris).<br /><br />As for the blue/your wedding day, it looks like it was a beauty of a day. I thought of you that day...Tanyahttp://tanyaintransition.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154946722532200590.post-10141134934870932172011-01-23T04:17:46.990-05:002011-01-23T04:17:46.990-05:00Okay, I didn't really look like a bitch. I jus...Okay, I didn't really look like a bitch. I just looked as though I was WAY too interested in examining the spots of dirt on the window of the train. I was just trying to make everyone else more comfortable. I sometimes freak people out when I smile at them here -- as though I've known them for years. Canadian way or crazy? Dunno.<br /><br />I just thought of another one. Power bar. When I first came here, I brought a Canadian hairdryer and a surge-protected power bar. The power bar blew all the fuses in our section of the hotel:(<br /><br />On a similar topic, cell-phone car chargers seem to charge the same everywhere.Kerry MacGregorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07090313252706338323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154946722532200590.post-6803964121536575882011-01-22T02:37:03.840-05:002011-01-22T02:37:03.840-05:00Thanks, Tanya. That picture was from our wedding d...Thanks, Tanya. That picture was from our wedding day. A beautiful day, wasn't it?<br /><br />I took the train yesterday ... what about eye contact? I know that when I moved to Toronto from Ottawa, I had to adapt from my small town attitude, but people seem a little more committed to that here.<br /><br />I'm trying to perfect my stone-faced mysterious French woman look (when it comes to being around strangers, they're wonderfully animated around friends), but I think that while I was sitting on the train, staring out the window, I might have just looked like a bitch. Oops!Kerry MacGregorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07090313252706338323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154946722532200590.post-16115977257409972102011-01-21T11:41:15.418-05:002011-01-21T11:41:15.418-05:00LOL! Too funny.
How about flagging down the bus or...LOL! Too funny.<br />How about flagging down the bus or it won't stop? Is that just a Nice thing?<br />Water: with or without gas? Plus the selection in the stores.<br />That's all I have for now.<br />Loving the blue site by the way!Tanyahttp://tanyaintransition.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154946722532200590.post-74157058237504879162011-01-20T10:48:56.777-05:002011-01-20T10:48:56.777-05:00Those are such odd situations... and can apparentl...Those are such odd situations... and can apparently also be all about the pick pockets. Pick pockets are jerks.<br /><br />What else...?<br /><br />Tips are way smaller than they are back in Canada. Sometimes people just leave a few small coins.<br /><br />Ah! And watch out for dog poop on the sidewalks (in Ottawa, they have little machines that comes and wash the streets down).<br /><br />And... shoot. I can't think of anymore. I'll have to leave the apartment, interact with someone, and then come back and write down what I did wrong (or what clever French technique saved me).Kerry MacGregorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07090313252706338323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154946722532200590.post-26525709254554952422011-01-20T10:07:40.291-05:002011-01-20T10:07:40.291-05:00Oooh, how about the pregnant lady with three kids ...Oooh, how about the pregnant lady with three kids in Paris asking you if you have change/food/speak English? I've perfected the "eff-off, I'm busy" look.Tanyahttp://tanyaintransition.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154946722532200590.post-25791011502486125052011-01-20T07:42:12.538-05:002011-01-20T07:42:12.538-05:00Oh, yes! And some of the washrooms are self-cleani...Oh, yes! And some of the washrooms are self-cleaning, which means they just get sprayed down after you exit. (Before the 20-minute time limit is up, I hope!)<br /><br />Another one is that the guys in Paris who ask if they've found your ring on the ground aren't really trying to help you out. And, they're not very good at the magic ring-appearing trick anyway.Kerry MacGregorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07090313252706338323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154946722532200590.post-24341640599615619592011-01-17T16:38:14.762-05:002011-01-17T16:38:14.762-05:00On the washroom theme, if on the road, expect the ...On the washroom theme, if on the road, expect the hole-in-the-ground toilets. At least they're free...?Tanyahttp://tanyaintransition.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154946722532200590.post-72953082815354378362011-01-17T03:31:59.104-05:002011-01-17T03:31:59.104-05:00Oh. I forgot about trying to take the buses and tr...Oh. I forgot about trying to take the buses and trams! Those tickets took me forever to figure out!Kerry MacGregorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07090313252706338323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154946722532200590.post-38012890515941259882011-01-15T20:03:51.089-05:002011-01-15T20:03:51.089-05:00Hope that helps?
- be prepared to have coins with...Hope that helps?<br /><br />- be prepared to have coins with you when you go hunt for the toilette! Seriously, we have to pay to get to the washroom in Europe?!<br /><br />- most French restaurants (as you probably know) are notoriously slow in serving patrons with the bill unless you really have to rush them!<br /><br />- the metro – the first time I just let others to open the door because I didn’t know how!<br /><br />- even getting on the bus – you pay and then you have to put the billet in the machine?! At first I didn’t know how to operate that machine (in France)!<br /><br />I'm sure there are more....<br /><br />CarmenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154946722532200590.post-65887707026599318372011-01-14T10:17:47.212-05:002011-01-14T10:17:47.212-05:00Ha! I'm glad I'm not the only one. If you ...Ha! I'm glad I'm not the only one. If you think of any other French oddities that struck you when you first got here... let me know. I'm beginning to forget them (or have at least gotten used to some of them)!Kerry MacGregorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07090313252706338323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154946722532200590.post-84285555749939009182011-01-14T10:12:22.827-05:002011-01-14T10:12:22.827-05:00I spent longer than I'd like to admit searchin...I spent longer than I'd like to admit searching for the way to turn on a sink in a bathroom in Monaco. Yes, it was a button on the floor.Sara Louisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06058056977783867772noreply@blogger.com