Here are some things that we see on a fairly regular basis that are unique to France:
Multiple groups of very well-dressed people (each group has a bride and groom in the center) standing outside of a local city hall (each arrondisement, or neighborhood has one) as they wait for their turn to celebrate a marriage. (In France one must be married by the arrondisement mayor in the arrondisement city hall for the marriage to be legal. After that one may repeat the process in church or just go straight to the reception.)
Adults, especially men in business suits, zooming along on their razor scooters.
Women in business attire riding their bicycles.
Shelves and shelves of good wine at incredibly low prices at our local super markets.
Groups of people, all of whom are talking loudly and quickly, that will just stop, say their good-byes, and go their way. (What on earth was going on there? Did anyone really hear what anyone else was saying? Was there really any exchange of thoughts and ideas? How can they possibly reach any sort of agreement? Or, do any of these questions really matter?)
The smiles and greetings we get in our two favorite boulangeries - not to mention the occasional freebies.
As you can see, life is really difficult here for us - we may need more than one year of 'study' to decide!
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I have always found it fascinating that in most of the world marriage is only legal if they have a governmental ceremony first and that the religious ceremony is optional. we, in the states, where freedom of religion as one of the cornerstone of our freedom, do it in an opposite way.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your quick reply Anna. I have now read all of your blog entries and I am jealous up to my eyebrows. It helped me picture you walking around and soaking in all of the country we decided quickly in our friendship, was a favorite of ours.
I do hope you try to get used to 'doing nothing' and I do think you just may have to stay and study more!
Hi Anna & David, Just finished reading your writings for the first time, all I know is I wish I was with you having a glass of wine and some macaroons!!! Keep up with your blog, I will be an anxious follower of you and your adventures! The pictures are very interesting and takes us away from these Seattle rainy days!
ReplyDeleteGG-Glad you can follow the blog now and can enjoy France vicariously through it. Living here is every bit as wonderful as we thought it would be. Still working on the doing nothing, though. Anna
ReplyDeleteHi Marguerite-I'll have to bring some macarons back - you'll love them! Anna