FRANCE …. RUDE OR MISUNDERSTOOD

BORDEAUX AND HONFLEUR

So we left Bilbao, Spain and spent the next two days at sea traveling to France … Neither of us have spent much time in France since our former IBM days … 20 plus years ago. ( 20 years seems like yesterday … but I guess for anyone under 50 … it sounds like a lifetime … 😜 ) Neither of us have spent time on the Atlantic side of the country … so looking forward to checking it out. Our first stop is Bordeaux … “ the wine capital of the world ” …

But it turned out we were not actually going to be able to dock in Bordeaux. We ended up at a town in the middle of nowhere. Bordeaux was doing what they probably do best … having a “ wine festival ” in the center of the city. So the port was full of tall sailing ships … so “ no room at the inn.”

Instead … we ended up parking on a quiet river in Grattequina about 40 minutes away. Not quite the same experience as pulling up to a city in France like “ Bordeaux ” … sounds so “ romantic ” with cool bragging rights …. “ oh yes we parked out boat … better yet … “ our yacht ” … in Bordeaux ”……. As if this is an everyday occurrence😜. It all seemed very exciting … but to find out you are in the middle of nowhere without a soul in sight … not quite the same thing.

I am actually not sure how the boat docked here without any assistance … maybe the crew jumped off and tied the boat up themselves … would have been interesting to see with our ship weighing 30,277, 000 tons … the equivalent of 7555 elephants and one guy trying to pull the boat in and tie it up.

So we ended up taking a shuttle bus through the countryside to the city of Bordeaux. Bordeaux is located 365 miles from Paris … charming as you might expect … the old architecture … side walk cafes … boutiques and street amusements … you can sit and watch people all day. ( Exactly what Tom did and I wondered the streets of the city )

Bordeaux … the region of wine … has a long history of winemaking dating back to the 17’th century. The area is known for having idealic soil conditions for growing grapes … with 2 rivers providing ample irrigation to the numerous vineyards throughout the region. Today it is known around the world for making some of the best and most complex wines.

Bordeaux produces more fine wine than anyone else … 500 million bottles a year valued at 4.3 Billion. Hard to believe but supposedly 23 bottles of Bordeaux are sold every second … ( Mind Boggling ) Over 40% are exported … and China is the biggest consumer.

So for me … not being a wine enthusiast ( to many headaches ) it is hard to have a true appreciation for what the area has to offer. But … for all those consumers … including my friends that love their wine😜 … helping make “ 23 bottles a second ” a reality … they would totally appreciate the areas’ many wineries, wine museum and anything else you can think of that is wine related. You can find it all here.

So continuing north in the Atlantic … up the coast 600 plus miles to Honfluer in the region of Normandy …. “The quaintest of quaint port cities” …. It is so beautiful that when we pulled up with our boat … this time in town … I thought I died and went to heaven.

Located less than 3 hours outside Paris … Honfleur is well worth a visit. It is one of the-most charming “ quintessential ” European villages we have ever seen ….. loaded with history …

… beautiful old architecture, 50 million sail boats, numerous galleries …local art work everywhere and a cafe every 10’ …

Honfleur truly looked like something out of a fairy tale with the old carousel and even a Ferris wheel.

The city dates back to the turn of the second century. By the 1100’s it was a port that was used for the transit of goods from areas within the region to England and lays claim to the oldest wood framed church in France.

Today it is a small city with 7000 people known for its breathtaking beauty … painted by many famous artists including Monet.

Honfleur is a place that has attracts many artists today … with more galleries then shops and cafes combined.

… a small church located at one of the highest points in Honfleur … a place of many pilgrimages …. a steep hike … but well worth the visit … if nothing else for the views along the way.

France is a beautiful country … The shops and boutiques seem more attractive, the food seems tastier … the people seem “ cooler ” …. … with no CVS and 7-11 on every corner.

Like so many European cities … the history, ambience and beauty … coupled with some sunshine … makes everything just seem “ bigger and better in Europe.”

And when it comes to European countries we seem to particularly adore “ anything French ” … infatuated with everything related to the country … in particular “ Paris ”… we just can’t get enough of Coco Chanel, the Eiffel Tower, French Fries, French Poodles … you name it … put the word France in front of it and we want it. And for the longest time if you wanted to be up on home decor you had to have a French porcelain Rooster in your kitchen.

But all the adoration aside … the feelings do not appear to be mutual. It seems as though the French do not particularly like English speaking tourists. I have no doubt they think we are loud, aggressive … in your face, shopaholics, workaholics … consumed by conspicuous consumption. How gauche !!

The French culture is more reserved than we tend to be. They prefer a more relaxed approach to life … with a keen appreciation for some of the finer things … wine, food, fashion, art etc. They tend to be less expressive … but their aloofness can come across as rude and condescending. All things being equal they would probably prefer to be sitting in a cafe with a fine glass of wine, enjoying some French cuisine, than having to deal with a bunch of loud “unsophisticated” English speaking tourists.

I have always found it difficult to communicate in France … most people do not speak English or “ pretend ” to not speak English … a good excuse not to give us the time of day. And you are lucky if they will serve you in a restaurant or ring up your purchase at the register.

We decided in Honfleur to eat in one of the charming cafes … the matridee at first pretended he did not see us … when forced to acknowledge us … “ we’re closing. ” ( I even had my “Christen Dior” Sneakers on … didn’t help. ) Fortunately another English speaking server came by and let us sit down. “Bon Appetit to you to Buddy!”

Following our French cuisine we wondered around and went into a small shop where we perused some of the clothes on the racks. Everything we touched … the shop owner came behind us and cleaned. Talk about feeling unwelcome and like you have cooties.😂

And of course no English. It is amazing to me with only 3.6% of the world speaking French that there seems to be no attempt to speak any English … though most have been exposed to it in school.

So you can imagine by now … the French are generally perceived as arrogant and some would say “ rude ” …. ( You can find it anywhere on the Internet ) Some of it may be chalked up to cultural differences and misunderstandings but the jury is out … some of it might have some truth.

Maybe the Summer Olympics in Paris coming up in the next couple of weeks can change that perception … though from what I have read they are lobbying to make the official language for the event French. So once again …the jury is out. And as they say in French … Au Revoir!

NEXT STOP …. SOUTH HAMPTON … DAY 186