Crumbs, Adrian, I'd have expected you to be able to get to the end of a sentence.
Because I've lived and worked in France before. It's full of French people.
(In their defence, I've lived and worked in Paris. I'm given to understand that even the other French don't like Parisians.)
And the bureaucracy is overwhelming. And do they still drink and drive like they used to in the late 70's? (I've seen colleagues drive away after having trouble getting the key in the ignition due to inebriation.) Actually, the general standard of driving terrified me. Drunk or not.
Same here with my mother. But she managed to enjoy life until her late '80s before Alzheimer's took over. Then, of course, only she knew if life was still worth living in that little world of her own.
Still young these days. Plenty enjoy life at twice that age - if they keep reasonably healthy. Which you can be reasonably sure an alcoholic won't be since abuse of that damages near every organ in the body.
Driving is still a largely macho activity in France. Yes drink driving is common, especially among truck drivers who sink a bottle of wine with lunch. In most towns drivers seem to think that Gallic pride would take a tumble unless the proved themselves superior to any foreigner by getting ahead of the foreign vehicle - even if it means breaking every traffic rule in the book. Standards of observation are poor. Tailgating is common.
Not half as bad as Italy though for either bureaucracy or driving.
It's the attitude of many French people that makes the place less pleasant than the UK or Italy.
I used to have a house in the south of France and when I went to introduce myself to the Mayor, one of his staff assumed I would recognise the accent of his secretary and told me that, for a Parisian, she was very nice.
In general, I found the people friendly and helpful. However, I think they are easily offended by people they consider to be rude and not starting off a conversation in French seems to qualify as rude.
Colin Bignell
'Millionaires lifestyle' implies a certain amount of conspicuous consumption and a relaxed attitude to it. If you a very modest and not so young then you can probably retire and live comfortably on a million. But that is not a 'millionaires lifestyle'. It is also possible to live a millionaires lifestyle on less than a million: but not for long!
Hmmm. Comparing Milan (where I also worked) with Paris, I would have said the Parisians were way worse. I used to drive from Port-de-Bagnolet to Aulnay-sous-Bois every day and that was hideous. Mind you, I used to get the tram to work in Milan, so perhaps I was never exposed to the true horror of Italian driving?
Again, comparing Milan with Paris, I'd take the Milanese every time.
On 2011-03-04, Nightjar
Huge gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:
And I'd have expected you to read the whole sentence rather than forget the first half before answering the second...
Paris != France.
djc gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:
I was standing around for about 10-20min this morning, near Monument Tube.
Bentley Mulsanne & Conti DHC. Rolls Phantom. Maser Quattroporte & GT. Several Astons, inc a Virage. Don't even ask how many S-classes - although the Brabus stood out a bit.
That one I think. I used to work on Via Rosellini in Milan, and would get a flight to Linate and a taxi to the office (short trip). One day the aircraft landed in thick fog, you could just about see your hand at arm's length. Just.
Got the taxi, took off at about 110km/h and hit 130 on the road into Milan. I could see the glow of shop windows to left and right. I asked if he didn't think he was driving too fast in the fog. "It's OK, I know my way." was the reply.
The Tangenziale around Milan can give the Peripherique a run for it's money, but for real looney driving you have to head south to Rome or Naples.
Mind you a friend told me Paris was worse than Rome and Marseilles worse than Naples. I've had some scary moments around Paris, but mostly I tend to use the Metro and stop hotels close to where I work. The last time I worked there was in the offices of a French Telecom company near the Arc de Triomphe. An odd case of "how the other half live", about a 25h working week, two hour lunch breaks (in the Michelin starred canteen) and most meetings filled with tosh such as the "the philosophy of computer investigation" and "holistic network evaluation". Tossers.
Steve Firth (%steve%@malloc.co.uk) wibbled on Friday 04 March 2011 21:46:
An odd case of "how the other half live", about a 25h
Strewth - I'll have some of that.
in 2009, the UK devoted 0.52% of its GDP to aid - 11.5 billion US dollars (£7.75 billion) - with the total projected to rise to 0.7% this year. That's £500 from every household
By comparison, France spent 0.46% of national income on aid, Germany 0.35%, the US 0.2% and Italy just 0.16%.
Yet we cant seem to afford to rebuild our own schools that are falling to bits,
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Aaaeeeiiiii!!!! That name still makes little cold feet run up and down my spine. The worst airport I've ever used. At least until I went to India.
Ah, things haven't changed that much, then.
Yeah, but it is/was a damned sight quicker to get to/from than Malpensa.
And Malpensa is actually worse than Linate, which takes some doing.
A French chateau in 40 acres is not enough?
You do have to start to worry about super tax on your pension though.
I suppose that depends upon whether you define it according to popular conception or according to the lifestyle of any millionaires you know. IME the ones who have made it through a lifetime of work tend to be quite careful about how they spend their money. It is the second generation and those who make money quickly who let it go to their heads.
Colin Bignell
No, but I enjoyed it all the same :-))
Dave
Never flew to Malpensa.
Linate is also the only airport I've ever used where the taxi driver couldn't find it.
Although a French taxi driver once refused to take me to the correct terminal at Roissy.
Sound decision. Sadly it's the place that BMI and Sleasyjet fly to and when I flew out of Brum it was the only option. Unloved ex-military airport with decaying terminal buildings and the vilest catering ever. Also miles away from Milan.
That's quite impressive failure on the part of the driver.
Par for the course there. Drivers seem to have bizarre rules that make "I don't go sarf of the river" look reasonable.
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