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| [It’s everywhere!] |
Shaking… everyone’s hands. When you pass someone in our new place of work, you have to shake their hand. I’m used to a nod, a greeting, maybe even a little wave if you’re feeling particularly pleased to see someone. But everyone you pass, even if all you say is ‘bonjour’, has a handshake. Apparently that’s very important here, and shows you respect the other person. If you don’t, you get a bad reputation as a snob! It’s a nice gesture, but a bit time consuming.
Shopping… for allll the good French skincare.
Thanking…. the Gods of Beef that the French aren’t scared of a little rare meat. Steak haché is a dream for pink hamburger lovers and steak is usually served like this:
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| [I mean that’s quite rare] |
Staying… in a hotel that used to be a bonnet making factory. Neat. This is one of the machines from the factory.
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| [It knits in a circle!] |
Drinking… champagne! At last. Thanks to some insider connections I had a tour of the Taittinger cellars in Reims (highly recommended, by the way) and tasted a good £100 worth of champagne afterwards. Yummm.
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| [This made for a very merry evening] |
Walking… everywhere I can. The cities I’ve been staying in are not only beautiful, but very walker friendly. I love not having to get in a car or on a metro to get somewhere, and being able to look at pretty things along the way certainly helps.
Thinking… of those Carrying On in Paris.
What are you up to at the moment?
-Rachel
Linking up with Kristin and Joey for Stuff and Things.
Holy cow (literally) that steak is raaaare but it would be fun to sit down to a nice lunch every day. Champagne is my favorite – what a fun experience!
It’s been a great experience all around really! Apart from the steak, which was a little bit on the rare side even for me.
all the champagne please! yes yes. cheers to pretty walks, rare beef and savoring each moment!
xoxo cheshire kat
Cheers! I’ve been slacking on the champagne front this week, must put that to rights…!
That’s so funny that you’re having to get used to driving on the right hand side of the road. It would totally freak me out to drive on the left hand side! And I can only imagine how wonderful the Champagne is from Champagne (although technically I guess that’s the only real champagne in the world). I could drink that all day long!
It’s surprising how quickly I got used to it, and then I got home and had to keep telling myself “Drive on the LEFT now Rachel!” Funny how we adapt so readily. I think you’d be fine! And technically yes! I am in the Motherland. It’s awesome.
Wow I can’t imagine how tricky it would be to drive on the right side of the road! I find driving on the left side hard some days, ha! (I’ve crashed the car a few times….)
That lunch does look very tasty too, much nicer than the normal lunches you’d get to pick from here near the office!
Away From The Blue Blog
You and me both! I do find driving quite tiring as I have to keep up a stream of mental commentary (mostly about what side I’m supposed to be driving on and if I’m too close to the kerb and oh help roundabouts). I will say I’ve certainly eaten very well here!
I can only imagine how tricky it has to be for you to drive on the right side of the road. I know I would have a hard time driving on the left.
You know, I have gotten used to it pretty quickly. So much so that I was then confused about driving on the left again when I got back to the UK! Doh.
Oooh thanks for the warning about andoulette. I am adventurous with my eating… but not that adventurous!
Avoid! Avoid! People keep trying to convince us to eat them but they always have a twinkle in their eye at the time which makes me think it’s all a horrible trick. I continue to avoid.
Champs:) nice!
Yes indeed! It really was. Very educational as well, of course 🙂