I was chatting with a French friend over a drink the other day, and she asked me what I have noticed that is different here to living in England, so here are a few of my personal observations.
Sitting in the doctor’s waiting room waiting for my appointment, whenever someone new walked in, they said bonjour to the room and everyone in the room said bonjour back.
Most shops and business close between noon and 14:00 for lunch. Most cafés and restaurants only serve food during the day between noon and 14:00.
Leaving the fabric shop in Bergerac at just before noon, the sales assistant said Bon Appetite as I left as well as Au Revoir.
Leaning against the back of my car in a supermarket car park eating a sandwich because I had not managed to stop for lunch. A lady pushing her trolley by said ‘Bon Appetite Monsieur’ to me.
On the May Day Bank Holiday, La Fête du Muguet, the only things I could buy when I went out hunting for open shops were oysters, bread, and bouquets of Lily of the Valley.
Sitting outside Tortoni’s one Sunday afternoon, some of the local rugby club arrived singing and dancing celebrating their promotion following victory that day. To celebrate they ordered 2 bottles of Ricard to share around.
The fresh produce for sale on many of the market stalls on Thursday morning gradually changes week by week as different food comes in and goes out of season. In some cases, if it’s not in season, it’s not for sale.
Painting my garden gates on the street, as the kids from the middle school walked past on their way home from, a lot of them said ‘bonjour monsieur’ to me completely unprompted.
It is hard finding tradespeople who are available to take on work for you and building supplies are very expensive.
Don’t expect to get much done in August…