What’s to Like and Not to Like in French Culture
May 2019
Cleanliness: We always thought of Switzerland and Germany as the epitomes of outdoor cleanliness. Those countries have nothing on France. The landscaping is immaculate. Tall hedges are popular. Our house looks out onto 8’ – 10’ square-cut hedges. Throughout the country we find well-clipped hedges up to 15 ft. extending around public areas. They must keep municipal workers busy. Gardens abound; not exactly Versailles-like, but not like rambling English rock gardens either.
Roses are everywhere. Some are the size of our peonies. Even in the tiniest of villages almost every house has either a rosebush or a flower box of roses. Our terrace is graced with sweet-smelling jasmine bushes (with Chuck drinking a martini).
Language: French is very persnickety. Nouns are either feminine or masculine. Why is the French word for vagina masculine? The daytime greeting is “Bonjour”; whereas the evening greeting is “Bonsoir”. I still am not sure what time evening begins. French is very formal. There’s the “vousvoyez” vs. the “tutoyez”. When addressing a stranger, an elder, or a person of higher social rank, one must use the “vous”. One addresses family members, friends and servants using “tu”. When one becomes friendly with someone, one must ask if it’s alright to “tutoyez”. Very complicated!
Men’s clothes: They’re all of the “slim-fit” design. That’s OK for the younger set, but not for me. I like a loose fit to my shirts. I see quite a few Frenchmen of a “certain age” who seem to be following their stomachs. Where do they buy their shirts? And those “stovepipe” pantlegs; I frankly don’t know how men get into them, unless the pants are made with stretch material or the men have sticklegs.
Dining: Most people in the world eat to live. The French live to eat. Cuisine is a religion with them, and rightfully so. After over two months here, I think we’ve had only one so-so restaurant meal. Returning to the states it will take us some time to become unspoiled. That being said, I do have just a couple of complaints:
- Coffee servings are always expresso size. Too small. When I ask for a larger cup, an “alongée”, they just put more water in the coffee.
- Here in the South of France, everyone takes two hours for lunch. Therefore, all shops are closed from noon to 2 PM; very annoying when we want to shop. I believe this tradition is changing farther north.
Value Added Tax: 20% on all sales. You can recoup this on large ticket items at the airport when leaving the country. There’s usually one person at the desk with a line a kilometer long. However, at the Saturday public markets, the vendors don’t seem to add the VAT. These markets are a great place to buy clothes. I bought a stylish collared sweatshirt for $11.50, cotton slacks for the same amount, a golf cap for $5.75. We bought a Provencal design stain-resistant tablecloth sized for a table of eight for $11.50.
Of course we buy our fresh produce at these markets; even take-home meals like paella, Thai and Moroccan dishes.
Still haven’t found a bar that serves a straight-up gin or vodka martini. There’s one over in Montpellier that’s named after Ernest Hemingway – “Papa Doble”. But it’s a long ride from Pezenas.
Gas: Prices are high. To fill up our Renault Clio with regular gas it costs $60-70.
Winds: Our region of France, Languedoc-Rousillon, is known as the windiest region of France. The winds even have names depending upon which direction they’re blowing from:
Mistral: From the NW. Cold and dry @ up to 90 mph.
Levant: From the Eastern Medit. Humid.
Tramontane: From the North. Dry.
Marin: From the South. Cloudy and wet.
Beer: Here in the land of wine, artisanal brews are growing in popularity. We visited a brewery this week, “Kisswing” in nearby Montblanc. Open for two years, they produce a variety of fine brews. The woman owner hails from Quebec. She got the idea from watching the popularity of micro brews grow throughout North America. Heretofore, the beer offerings were pilseners that tasted like Heineken at best, Budweiser at worst. I say, “Good Luck!” to them.
And last but not least – on the wall outside a pharmacy in case of a sudden emergency and for just 2 Euros each!
There’s more, but I’m afraid I rambled enough already.
A la prochaine,
Chuck & Anzie
