From time to time I get the opportunity to suddenly learn a whole new vocabulary. Sometimes it the result of an emergency. The latest started when at 11pm one night water started pouring out of the bottom of my boiler.
After a moment of being frozen in sheer horror at was happening, I managed to fly into action and do constructive things like turn of the mains tap and find buckets. I was actually quite calm about the whole thing, as apart from a wet floor in the mezzanine, the water hadn't caused any damage and, as I live in rented accommodation relief, that it would be my landlord's responsibility to sort things out.
The next morning though, I discovered that he was out of the country and he cheerfully gave me full permission to sort it out and send the bill to him. When I got to work the learning curve began. The French staff talked to me abut it and I started learning words like 'plombier', 'fuite' and of course 'chaudière'. I have a couple of friends who are builders and hoped one of them would be able to fix it, unfortunately they both had too much work on. Fortunately another friend lives next to a plumber.
It took a while, a quick home visit to restore cold water supplies, some interesting phone calls (to what felt like his entire family) and the discovery that 'le début de la semaine' actually means Friday and my flat was taken over by 3 guys in matching T-shirts fully equipped with tools and a very large box containing a new boiler.
They were I have to say, brilliant and besides the odd 'putain', polite and charming. They cleaned up after themselves and asked permission to use things.
A situation by situation basis probably a good way to learn a language. For a short while you intensively use the words and formations and it goes into your head and stays there. A German client of mine, with 2 children born in France, cheerfully admitted that she had no idea what some of the words and phrases that she learnt during her pregnancy actually are in German.
Pleased as I am with my new boiler (it's much quieter for a start) and all the new words I have learnt, I'm hoping it will be a while yet before another emergency vocab learning session happens.
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Friday, 15 April 2011
azerty
Lyonlottie would like to apologise for the break in service and any difficulties that this may have caused you.
I had major computer problems, well it wouldn't start and in the end it was kinder to all involved to send it off to the great big recycling centre in the sky. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all my (slightly more computer savvy than me) friends who put up with my phonecalls and comments along the lines of 'But it won't let me do that', 'What dialogue box?' 'Oh, hang on it's... oh, no, that didn't work.' and 'Nope, it's gone back to blue screen again.'
My old computer was an English PC that I brought over with me and to be fair, gave a good 7 years of service. Once I realised that he and I would no longer be working together and had mourned his passing, I treated myself to a swish new laptop that even makes the same sort of clicky noise when you tap the keys as you hear in the films. It starts really quickly in seconds, rather than the time it takes to make a cup of tea and makes my desk look positively spacious.
It is however and quite obviously, a French computer and has a French keyboard, hence the azerty combination on the top row. I think I have now got my head round the new layout and am grateful that I never learnt to touch type. Occasionally I will replace 'a's with 'q's and one time it switched itself to an English keyboard setting and I needed to zork out hoz to chqnge the keyboqrd lqnguqgue bqck to French. But we are getting along fine now and I can do really zappy things like write French words with accents in the right place. This really helps when use words like crèche a lot and that your facebook friends realise you are talking about wine and not flowers when you write that you would 'really like a rosé right now.'
It is kind of interesting to think that if I get another qwerty keyboard in the future will I have to retrain myself again? And will I enjoy throwing accents around that I'd stick with a azerty one? Time will tell.
I had major computer problems, well it wouldn't start and in the end it was kinder to all involved to send it off to the great big recycling centre in the sky. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all my (slightly more computer savvy than me) friends who put up with my phonecalls and comments along the lines of 'But it won't let me do that', 'What dialogue box?' 'Oh, hang on it's... oh, no, that didn't work.' and 'Nope, it's gone back to blue screen again.'
My old computer was an English PC that I brought over with me and to be fair, gave a good 7 years of service. Once I realised that he and I would no longer be working together and had mourned his passing, I treated myself to a swish new laptop that even makes the same sort of clicky noise when you tap the keys as you hear in the films. It starts really quickly in seconds, rather than the time it takes to make a cup of tea and makes my desk look positively spacious.
It is however and quite obviously, a French computer and has a French keyboard, hence the azerty combination on the top row. I think I have now got my head round the new layout and am grateful that I never learnt to touch type. Occasionally I will replace 'a's with 'q's and one time it switched itself to an English keyboard setting and I needed to zork out hoz to chqnge the keyboqrd lqnguqgue bqck to French. But we are getting along fine now and I can do really zappy things like write French words with accents in the right place. This really helps when use words like crèche a lot and that your facebook friends realise you are talking about wine and not flowers when you write that you would 'really like a rosé right now.'
It is kind of interesting to think that if I get another qwerty keyboard in the future will I have to retrain myself again? And will I enjoy throwing accents around that I'd stick with a azerty one? Time will tell.
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Riots
Unfortunately it seems impossible not to write this post.
There is a Lycee in the road that I live and over the last few days they have been 'striking'. They are answering a call from the unions asking them to strike against the pension reforms. I don't want to get political in a blog that is supposed to be about the lighter side of life but the pension reforms and the strikes and manifestations are big news here.
Last week the girls from work went on strike, leaving just 3 of us working and a whole lot of parents resigned to looking for alternative childcare for the day.
When asked by my colleagues why I was not striking, I tried to explain that I have 19 years of pension rights tied up in the UK that I will no be able to access until I'm 67, so even if I stay in France and retire at 60, I will only be able to claim what I have earnt in France, which will not equate to full pension. The whole idea of contributing to your pension plan was also an alien concept. In fact amongst my friends the strikes are only getting the support of the French, as most other nationalities are already having to work beyond 62 before they can retire. It has sparked some interesting debates on facebook and in the bars.
Calling out the students seems to be a desperate effort by the unions who have seen dwindling support for the strikes over the last few months. While most people will only strike on the day called by the unions (in order not to lose too much pay) the students have the luxury of striking as often as they want - though the realization that they are jeopardizing their own education and therefore (in exam obsessed France) the chances of going on to getting a good degree and a job and therefore more pension, seems to be lost on them.
The local students first went on strike last Tuesday, this involved a group of between 70/100 standing outside the school and shouting, trying to intimidate those in the school. Over the days it has gradually got more violent. It started with the bins being kicked down the street, then setting light to them. Then the bottle banks were upturned and rolled down the street. This continues till about 10am each morning, then they all head down to Place Bellecour and set light to more bins there.
Yesterday it turned nasty and the riots began in Lyon. It started with the students outside my apartment turning over cars and setting light to them as well as smashing the windscreens of others. Eventually the riot police arrived, to the obvious relief of the 4 or so Police Municipal and the crowd dispersed to Bellecour, setting light to another car on the way, as well as breaking shop windows and more windscreens. I have found footage of the incidents in my street on Youtube and the students are complaining that the wrong school was named in the news reports??
Today the riot police were waiting for them at 9am so not much happened outside here, but the students at the neighbouring Lycee set light to cars instead. Then the town centre turned into a war zone.
I had hoped that the manifestations of the striking unions - which are normally peaceful, would encourage better behaviour in the students. Unfortunately this was not so and I have looked on with horror at the scenes of devastation from central Lyon, tear gas, riot shields, looting, burning cars. What is happening to this beautiful city in the name of pension reforms?
Students - you have the right to strike but not to vandalise other people's property. Having, literally seen this develop from the very start, I can say that this is not the 'spirit of 68 revisited' as quoted by some of the foreign media. It is sheer bloody minded machoism of teenage youth.
There is a Lycee in the road that I live and over the last few days they have been 'striking'. They are answering a call from the unions asking them to strike against the pension reforms. I don't want to get political in a blog that is supposed to be about the lighter side of life but the pension reforms and the strikes and manifestations are big news here.
Last week the girls from work went on strike, leaving just 3 of us working and a whole lot of parents resigned to looking for alternative childcare for the day.
When asked by my colleagues why I was not striking, I tried to explain that I have 19 years of pension rights tied up in the UK that I will no be able to access until I'm 67, so even if I stay in France and retire at 60, I will only be able to claim what I have earnt in France, which will not equate to full pension. The whole idea of contributing to your pension plan was also an alien concept. In fact amongst my friends the strikes are only getting the support of the French, as most other nationalities are already having to work beyond 62 before they can retire. It has sparked some interesting debates on facebook and in the bars.
Calling out the students seems to be a desperate effort by the unions who have seen dwindling support for the strikes over the last few months. While most people will only strike on the day called by the unions (in order not to lose too much pay) the students have the luxury of striking as often as they want - though the realization that they are jeopardizing their own education and therefore (in exam obsessed France) the chances of going on to getting a good degree and a job and therefore more pension, seems to be lost on them.
The local students first went on strike last Tuesday, this involved a group of between 70/100 standing outside the school and shouting, trying to intimidate those in the school. Over the days it has gradually got more violent. It started with the bins being kicked down the street, then setting light to them. Then the bottle banks were upturned and rolled down the street. This continues till about 10am each morning, then they all head down to Place Bellecour and set light to more bins there.
Yesterday it turned nasty and the riots began in Lyon. It started with the students outside my apartment turning over cars and setting light to them as well as smashing the windscreens of others. Eventually the riot police arrived, to the obvious relief of the 4 or so Police Municipal and the crowd dispersed to Bellecour, setting light to another car on the way, as well as breaking shop windows and more windscreens. I have found footage of the incidents in my street on Youtube and the students are complaining that the wrong school was named in the news reports??
Today the riot police were waiting for them at 9am so not much happened outside here, but the students at the neighbouring Lycee set light to cars instead. Then the town centre turned into a war zone.
I had hoped that the manifestations of the striking unions - which are normally peaceful, would encourage better behaviour in the students. Unfortunately this was not so and I have looked on with horror at the scenes of devastation from central Lyon, tear gas, riot shields, looting, burning cars. What is happening to this beautiful city in the name of pension reforms?
Students - you have the right to strike but not to vandalise other people's property. Having, literally seen this develop from the very start, I can say that this is not the 'spirit of 68 revisited' as quoted by some of the foreign media. It is sheer bloody minded machoism of teenage youth.
Sunday, 10 October 2010
Visitors
When I first moved here all my friends were promising to come out and and see me, however visitors have remained thin on the ground and a rare sighting. Some people have been very honest and expressed a concern about having to speak French all weekend (they won't have to) and others keep promising but never seem to get round to booking tickets. Though a couple of friends have been amazing and regular visitors, bringing with them much needed supplies of teabags, bacon, sausages and marmite.
I think one of the problems maybe that I live in the city - you would think that this would be a perfect excuse for a cheap weekend city break, but I'm not that far south to make it a sunny escape in winter but far enough south to be unbearable in the summer. Also being in the city, I don't have a pool and shady patio for guests to lounge around drinking apero's and pretend they are living the French lifestyle (but I do have a great apartment with fantastic views..)
Having got that little moan out of the way I am pleased to report that after 11 months without so much as a hint of a guest on the horizon, I was positively inundated with visitors. Well, two and a dog that came for a city break while his owner went abroad for work.
The first had been working up in the Alps and came for a couple of days before going home. Unfortunately the Alps are not known for their supply of teabags, bacon or sausages but he was a 'great' visitor and did cooking and washing up duties without prompting or hinting. In fact it was lovely to come home from work and find dinner all ready prepared. Then, no sooner had I put him on a bus to the airport, I was back at the station collecting visitor no 2.
He arrived fresh from Gatwick and had a plentiful supply of pork products and a rather amusing story of being interrogated by the security people at the airport about what was in his luggage. I can see how a packet of sausages could look like a bundle of dynamite sticks in an x-ray machine.
It is fun having visitors, not just catching up on the news and the gossip from home over bacon sandwiches but also a great way to rexplore the city and do things that you don't normally do as a resident. Just as you start getting jaded about where you live and start only seeing the pollution, the traffic and striking transport workers, you can see it through a pair of fresh eyes and see the beauty of the place again. I teased visitor 2 about going to see a wall. He is a builder but even he didn't seem thrilled by the prospect of 'a wall' - till he saw what must be one of the most striking pieces of trompe l'oeil ever. It was also fun just sitting by the river and having a drink in the sun. This was made even better as he was getting texts saying how miserable the weather was in the UK!!
It was sad to see everyone go, though I still had the company of a 6 month old puppy for a few days. I say 6 months old - but he weighs 26 kilos and still thinks he's teeny tiny when tries to sit in your lap! Now even he has gone and I have the place to myself again, awaiting the next visitors (whenever that may be) and getting used to doing my own washing up again.
I think one of the problems maybe that I live in the city - you would think that this would be a perfect excuse for a cheap weekend city break, but I'm not that far south to make it a sunny escape in winter but far enough south to be unbearable in the summer. Also being in the city, I don't have a pool and shady patio for guests to lounge around drinking apero's and pretend they are living the French lifestyle (but I do have a great apartment with fantastic views..)
Having got that little moan out of the way I am pleased to report that after 11 months without so much as a hint of a guest on the horizon, I was positively inundated with visitors. Well, two and a dog that came for a city break while his owner went abroad for work.
The first had been working up in the Alps and came for a couple of days before going home. Unfortunately the Alps are not known for their supply of teabags, bacon or sausages but he was a 'great' visitor and did cooking and washing up duties without prompting or hinting. In fact it was lovely to come home from work and find dinner all ready prepared. Then, no sooner had I put him on a bus to the airport, I was back at the station collecting visitor no 2.
He arrived fresh from Gatwick and had a plentiful supply of pork products and a rather amusing story of being interrogated by the security people at the airport about what was in his luggage. I can see how a packet of sausages could look like a bundle of dynamite sticks in an x-ray machine.
It is fun having visitors, not just catching up on the news and the gossip from home over bacon sandwiches but also a great way to rexplore the city and do things that you don't normally do as a resident. Just as you start getting jaded about where you live and start only seeing the pollution, the traffic and striking transport workers, you can see it through a pair of fresh eyes and see the beauty of the place again. I teased visitor 2 about going to see a wall. He is a builder but even he didn't seem thrilled by the prospect of 'a wall' - till he saw what must be one of the most striking pieces of trompe l'oeil ever. It was also fun just sitting by the river and having a drink in the sun. This was made even better as he was getting texts saying how miserable the weather was in the UK!!
It was sad to see everyone go, though I still had the company of a 6 month old puppy for a few days. I say 6 months old - but he weighs 26 kilos and still thinks he's teeny tiny when tries to sit in your lap! Now even he has gone and I have the place to myself again, awaiting the next visitors (whenever that may be) and getting used to doing my own washing up again.
Sunday, 19 September 2010
Journees du Patrimoine
Really do need to work out how to do French accents on an Qwerty keyboard.
This weekend was the heritage open days in Lyon and I'm guessing France and the rest of Europe as well, and I got the chance to peep inside a couple of buildings that I've always wanted to go in.
The first one was the Hotel de Ville in the centre of town. I often walk past this rather grand building and catch a glimpse through the windows of big state rooms and chandeliers. It did not disappoint, there were chandeliers aplenty, frescos, silk lined rooms and parquet flooring. All very grand. The only other Town Hall I have really seen was Wandsworth Town Hall were I used to go to a lot for meetings and stuff when I worked for the borough. It was a 1930's building and quite classic in it's style and did also have some chandeliers and an awful pink marble staircase. The council chambers were staid and boring, so to see the frescos and chandeliers in the ones at Hotel de Ville was amazing. In many ways it seemed more like a home for the aristocracy than the the Town Hall, except for the fact you passed several huge photocopiers, a couple of coat racks and occasional recycling bins in the corridors.
The strangest room was the office of the Mayor - it had patterned silk lined walls (Lyon silk of course!!)and a huge traditional carved fireplace. Fine. But then the mayor's personal choice came into play with some 1960's modern art pictures on the walls (at best, lost against the pattern, at worst, clashing) and some quite modern funky furniture and it just didn't work, which was a shame.
The other building I visited was the Fort St Jean perched on the side of the Croix Rousse hill, overlooking the Soanne. Lyon used to be a walled city (with 3 large gaps were the rivers flow through) and there are the remains of several forts in a rough circle around the town. This fort was one of the first buildings I ever noticed in Lyon, as we drove past it in the lorry when we moved down here. It has amazing ramparts that seem to be shoring up the side of the hill and stopping it falling into the river. Later I used to walk past this building on my way to work in Vaise and always tried to peep inside the gates.
Now it is a school for the Tresour Public and stagieres are sent on week long training courses on how to balance (or maybe even cook) the books. I learnt today that it was restored at a cost of €13 million. It was worth it. There has been extensive use of concrete and glass to turn the old buildings into a useful working environment and this looks stunning against the traditional stone of the buildings and walls. Add to this the panoramic 180 degree views of the easterly part of town and you are left thinking - this wouldn't be a bad place to be a finance student!
I'm already planning which buildings I want to visit next year.
This weekend was the heritage open days in Lyon and I'm guessing France and the rest of Europe as well, and I got the chance to peep inside a couple of buildings that I've always wanted to go in.
The first one was the Hotel de Ville in the centre of town. I often walk past this rather grand building and catch a glimpse through the windows of big state rooms and chandeliers. It did not disappoint, there were chandeliers aplenty, frescos, silk lined rooms and parquet flooring. All very grand. The only other Town Hall I have really seen was Wandsworth Town Hall were I used to go to a lot for meetings and stuff when I worked for the borough. It was a 1930's building and quite classic in it's style and did also have some chandeliers and an awful pink marble staircase. The council chambers were staid and boring, so to see the frescos and chandeliers in the ones at Hotel de Ville was amazing. In many ways it seemed more like a home for the aristocracy than the the Town Hall, except for the fact you passed several huge photocopiers, a couple of coat racks and occasional recycling bins in the corridors.
The strangest room was the office of the Mayor - it had patterned silk lined walls (Lyon silk of course!!)and a huge traditional carved fireplace. Fine. But then the mayor's personal choice came into play with some 1960's modern art pictures on the walls (at best, lost against the pattern, at worst, clashing) and some quite modern funky furniture and it just didn't work, which was a shame.
The other building I visited was the Fort St Jean perched on the side of the Croix Rousse hill, overlooking the Soanne. Lyon used to be a walled city (with 3 large gaps were the rivers flow through) and there are the remains of several forts in a rough circle around the town. This fort was one of the first buildings I ever noticed in Lyon, as we drove past it in the lorry when we moved down here. It has amazing ramparts that seem to be shoring up the side of the hill and stopping it falling into the river. Later I used to walk past this building on my way to work in Vaise and always tried to peep inside the gates.
Now it is a school for the Tresour Public and stagieres are sent on week long training courses on how to balance (or maybe even cook) the books. I learnt today that it was restored at a cost of €13 million. It was worth it. There has been extensive use of concrete and glass to turn the old buildings into a useful working environment and this looks stunning against the traditional stone of the buildings and walls. Add to this the panoramic 180 degree views of the easterly part of town and you are left thinking - this wouldn't be a bad place to be a finance student!
I'm already planning which buildings I want to visit next year.
Sunday, 12 September 2010
The Braderie
When wandering uphill yesterday to meet a friend, the Place de la Croix Rousse came into view as well as not just one but two churros vans. My heart sank to my feet. 'But the fair's not due for another month!!' I protested to myself.
Fortunately closer examination showed that it was not the fair but the annual Braderie. This is a mixture of fun and frustration. The second weekend in September the main streets of Croix Rousse are closed off (and the carparks) and stalls are set up selling wares and goods of all descriptions. Also certain areas are turn into giant junk sales aka the Vide-Brocante (The garage sale concept wouldn't work in Lyon as all the garages are underground, and as for a carboot sale - there isn't the space.) People come from all over Lyon as well as the locals who - let's be honest, can't really avoid it. It is quite a party atmosphere.
A walk along the Grande Rue and you pass stalls selling clothes, costume jewelry, cheese & saussison, make up, soaps and lotions, Asian tie dye, baby clothes, handbags, posters, wonder mops (as seen on TV) as well as numerous devices designed to make food preparation easier and prettier - each one with a young man chatting into a microphone while slicing and dicing cucumbers, tomatoes etc, all the while knowing that the product they are selling will be used a couple of times before ending up in the back of the cupboard.
The Braderie is great fun if you have the time to drift along slowly and poke your nose into the stalls as you go past and chatter with your mates, collect leaflets from touts etc. Even better if you can install yourself a table at the pavement cafe and watch it all drift by you while you sip at an apero. It is a nightmare if you just want to 'pop' into somewhere to get something, as the crowds are huge and slow moving. It is also a nightmare to park, as the friend I was meeting found out.
However we did manage to find a table, consume a drink or two as well as chat with various friends and neighbours who walked past. The sun was shining, there was a slight breeze - it was perfect weather and a lovely way to spend the late afternoon. That was until I remembered I had to pop into Carrefour for the missing ingredients for the evening meal!
Fortunately closer examination showed that it was not the fair but the annual Braderie. This is a mixture of fun and frustration. The second weekend in September the main streets of Croix Rousse are closed off (and the carparks) and stalls are set up selling wares and goods of all descriptions. Also certain areas are turn into giant junk sales aka the Vide-Brocante (The garage sale concept wouldn't work in Lyon as all the garages are underground, and as for a carboot sale - there isn't the space.) People come from all over Lyon as well as the locals who - let's be honest, can't really avoid it. It is quite a party atmosphere.
A walk along the Grande Rue and you pass stalls selling clothes, costume jewelry, cheese & saussison, make up, soaps and lotions, Asian tie dye, baby clothes, handbags, posters, wonder mops (as seen on TV) as well as numerous devices designed to make food preparation easier and prettier - each one with a young man chatting into a microphone while slicing and dicing cucumbers, tomatoes etc, all the while knowing that the product they are selling will be used a couple of times before ending up in the back of the cupboard.
The Braderie is great fun if you have the time to drift along slowly and poke your nose into the stalls as you go past and chatter with your mates, collect leaflets from touts etc. Even better if you can install yourself a table at the pavement cafe and watch it all drift by you while you sip at an apero. It is a nightmare if you just want to 'pop' into somewhere to get something, as the crowds are huge and slow moving. It is also a nightmare to park, as the friend I was meeting found out.
However we did manage to find a table, consume a drink or two as well as chat with various friends and neighbours who walked past. The sun was shining, there was a slight breeze - it was perfect weather and a lovely way to spend the late afternoon. That was until I remembered I had to pop into Carrefour for the missing ingredients for the evening meal!
Sunday, 5 September 2010
Food, glorious food...
Lyon is known as the gastronomical capital of France and famed far and wide for it's restaurants etc. Though this fact seems to have bypassed the cook at work and the pasta and rice are regularly overcooked.
What I have also noticed is how much my eating habits have changed over the last couple of years. Little changes taken one step at a time, that you don't really notice happening.
I saw some photos of my friend's holiday in the USA and the food portions were enormous!! Even in the UK they are bigger than in France. I now find myself eating smaller amounts of good quality food.
Also the food is far more seasonal here. OK, my regular supermarket is the street market where local farmers sell their produce, so therefore it is easy to do. The soft fruit glut is nearing an end - as demonstrated by the arrival of the Miribel plums and the autumn vegetables are beginning to make an appearance.
You never really see anyone snacking in France and I would now never dream of eating as I walked along the street. You can buy Mars Bars and Kitkats etc in the Tabacs but it is a minute display compared to the rows of sweets that are available in a UK newsagent, so minute in fact, you really have to look for them. Last time I was back in the UK, I was blown away by the choice and variety of different chocolate bars and how much space they took up in the shop. Also, here you can buy crisps etc in the supermarkets but not in the Tabacs, they are definitely eaten as an accompaniment with an apero and not as snack as you are waiting for the bus.
My taste for chocolate has now changed and I prefer darker and more bitter types, whereas before I was a Cadburys girl and I now find that too sweet. I did have great fun introducing the girls at work to chilli chocolate, which I think is a fantastic combination and occasionally available here.
Don't get me wrong, not everything about French food is great. It can be very bland at times and though a lot of herbs are used, not many spices are. As a nation they are quite wary of 'Foreign' food and tend to stick with what they know. This is changing in the larger cities and things like Sushi are making more of an appearance. It is still difficult to get a good curry. Friends of mine like to get on first name terms with the local curry houses so that the chefs will make the food more spicy and hotter.
Unfortunately this new style of eating has not made much of an impact on my waistline because there is a nemesis to the healthy, seasonal, smaller portion society. It's called cheese and the French do cheese incredibly well.
What I have also noticed is how much my eating habits have changed over the last couple of years. Little changes taken one step at a time, that you don't really notice happening.
I saw some photos of my friend's holiday in the USA and the food portions were enormous!! Even in the UK they are bigger than in France. I now find myself eating smaller amounts of good quality food.
Also the food is far more seasonal here. OK, my regular supermarket is the street market where local farmers sell their produce, so therefore it is easy to do. The soft fruit glut is nearing an end - as demonstrated by the arrival of the Miribel plums and the autumn vegetables are beginning to make an appearance.
You never really see anyone snacking in France and I would now never dream of eating as I walked along the street. You can buy Mars Bars and Kitkats etc in the Tabacs but it is a minute display compared to the rows of sweets that are available in a UK newsagent, so minute in fact, you really have to look for them. Last time I was back in the UK, I was blown away by the choice and variety of different chocolate bars and how much space they took up in the shop. Also, here you can buy crisps etc in the supermarkets but not in the Tabacs, they are definitely eaten as an accompaniment with an apero and not as snack as you are waiting for the bus.
My taste for chocolate has now changed and I prefer darker and more bitter types, whereas before I was a Cadburys girl and I now find that too sweet. I did have great fun introducing the girls at work to chilli chocolate, which I think is a fantastic combination and occasionally available here.
Don't get me wrong, not everything about French food is great. It can be very bland at times and though a lot of herbs are used, not many spices are. As a nation they are quite wary of 'Foreign' food and tend to stick with what they know. This is changing in the larger cities and things like Sushi are making more of an appearance. It is still difficult to get a good curry. Friends of mine like to get on first name terms with the local curry houses so that the chefs will make the food more spicy and hotter.
Unfortunately this new style of eating has not made much of an impact on my waistline because there is a nemesis to the healthy, seasonal, smaller portion society. It's called cheese and the French do cheese incredibly well.
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