Memorable blog posts about Life in France

When I first started to become interested in France (around the time that I started this blog) I started to read a lot of blogs about life in France because I wanted to know what it was really like! And not just in Paris!

There are some posts that I remember quite well and ever since moving here I think about these topics a lot...


1. Prêt à voyager and the water blogpost

It's true! French people don't seem to drink very much and they NEVER EVER carry water with them (unless, of course, they are hiking or on a long train journey or something). I tried to find a small 500ml (as opposed to 1 litre) thermos flask thing and it was impossible for me. I was going to buy it online but the pictures were not clear enough. In the end I bought it on eBay from the States!

I seem to be perpetually thirsty (and in Australia too, not just in France). I often notice when I am having dinner with other people I'll drink about 3-4 times as much water as they do. I'm not sure why that is. Many years ago I was even paranoid that I had diabetes or some other health problem but every blood test I've ever had has come back normal so now I don't really think about it.. that is, until I came to France!

I've often heard people say in various places and at various times, "j'ai soif" (I'm thirsty). It's as if they just don't think to ever carry water with/on them! It's as if you can only get water from a shop. I don't think people really drink tap water much either. Remember, this is the country where Evian and Perrier come from!

Also, in France and pretty much everywhere in Western Europe, interiors (houses, restaurants, schools, shopping malls, offices, etc) are heated very well so that makes your skin feel dry and your mouth feel thirsty (well it does to me anyway)... constantly! I don't know how much money I'm going to spend buying lip balm, facial moisturiser, hand moisturiser and body moisturiser. I've already had to replenish my supplies...

I don't go anywhere without carrying water with me. To me it's like carrying a purse or a phone. It's a necessity!

2. Le Franco Phoney and the roundabout blogposts

Ever since I started reading about French roundabouts (ronds-points) in this blog I noticed all the roundabouts I ever passed both in my town and others I travelled to/in. The vast majority of them are decorated with flowers, trees, plants or random statues and large outdoor ornaments. I saw one that had a large beach scene with sand, and a huge pail and shovel. I don't live in an interesting, big, or well-known town but one roundabout has a little bridge on it, another has a 3D light up model of an igloo and a penguin and another has a fountain with lots of flowers (which has now been replaced by a 3D light up model of Santa's sleigh and his reindeer).

It's so cool seeing the 'art' on these roundabouts as I would never see such a thing like that in Australia. It's just a concrete (sometimes tiled) thing, I think. Or maybe I just notice everything more here since it's all new and different (and special) to me...

One of my French friends told me that a few (?) years ago the government decided to replace large intersections (which had traffic lights) with roundabouts which means during non-peak times you can drive through without having to wait for lights to change.


There may be other blogposts too but I can't remember them off the top of my head now... Suffice to say that with all my "pre-knowledge" about life in France I can't help but compare my own findings to that of other expats and chuckle...