Tuesday 20 August 2013

The Things the French Got Right

I am now just over 1 month into my time in Bordeaux, and I’m starting to shed my patriotism and accept that there are some things that the French do rather well. Although I will always argue that they don’t understand tea, there are some things that perhaps they do better than us...


Bank Holidays. This week there was a bank holiday that fell on a Thursday. The French have come up with a genius thing called, ’le pont’ (‘the bridge’) which essentially means that Friday becomes a day off as well so that the whole country gets a 4 day weekend to spend by the beach.

McDonalds. You know how when you walk into a McDonalds in England, you sometimes feel a bit gross just for being there? The French fast food establishments are actually quite swanky; rather than going to the counter to be served, they have machines near the entrance where you enter what you would like and then wait for your number to be called. Genius.

Cheese. My local supermarket has two entire aisles dedicated to cheese, need I say more?

Drinks’ Prices. We all know that wine is cheaper in France than in England, and that is particularly true when in Bordeaux. However, it did come as a rather hilarious surprise to discover that it is actually cheaper to buy a glass of wine in a restaurant than a Coke. Supermarkets trick you into boozing too; a decent bottle of wine in the South West will set you back just 2 Euros.  

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