Greetings From France:
From the random thoughts file:
The French, at least in the south, are very rude drivers. They often drive dangerously. Motorcyclists are beyond belief. They have no rules.
Saw a report that roundabouts/circles cut down on traffic accidents by 76%.
Crosswalks don’t mean much here. A driver may stop, but may not.
The law is that your vehicle at any time, can’t come within 18 inches, that is correct, within 18 inches of a pedestrian. Rarely will a driver slowdown much at all when approaching a pedestrian. That’s in a parking lot, a crosswalk, along the side of a street, etc. Drivers really use the 18 inch rule. I’m not all that comfortable when a vehicle comes within 18 inches of my leg.
Sophia continues to battle a sore right hip/groin. The last stop was an orthopedic specialist who guaranteed there was nothing physically wrong with her. We’re now going to cortisone pills to see if that helps.
French President Francois Hollande (oh-lahnd) is something. Campaigned against Nicolas Sarkozy, who was married to a former model and always in the tabloids, by saying “I will make sure that my behavior is exemplary at every moment”. Well, in France there’s lots of room under the definition of exemplary. He doesn’t exactly have the play boy look and lives with his 50-year-old female companion, who has performed many first lady duties. The good president has been, according to the International New York Times, “Caught in a clandestine affair with enough elements to generate new headlines every day – a beautiful actress, a scorned woman at home, surreptious comings and goings on a most unpresidential scooter.....”. As the paper says, “he is testing the limits of France’s famous tolerance for private indiscretion and in some quarters is risking ridicule”. At his recent twice per year press conference, Hollande was asked about his affair and his reply was that it wasn’t the appropriate place to talk about it because it was a personal matter. Somewhat different then might be expected in the United States. Somehow, France missed the Puritanical influence that infiltrated U.S. culture. The French do think the Monica Lewinsky-Bill Clinton saga was humorous and a total waste of time (how about the $40 million investigation cost?). But, then, most of them seem to think George W. Bush was humorous, also. The consensus seems to be that Barack Obama is not only very bright, but a breath of fresh air. The French seem to understand the U.S. conservatives (as they refer to Republicans) want to stop much of what Obama wants to accomplish. That type of situation exists here, also, though, as our French friends say, “this is a socialist country”. The liberals have gotten a bit more accomplished here than in the U.S. The 2014 tax rates in France include over 40% federal tax on income when you’re income is above about $90,000 (that’s an estimate, counting on my memory from some statistics I saw on the internet). I believe over $170,000 in income was taxed at 44%. As they say here in France, we like everyone to have something.
We went to St. Remy (San Ray-me) and Les Baux yesterday (Friday) while the kids were in school. Both are well-known tourist attractions near Avignon (Av-ee-ohn) and Arles (Arl). You can look them up and get much more interesting information than I’ll be providing. But, I can tell you we spent six hours total and really enjoyed the exploring. Few enough tourists to say there weren’t any. It was about 50 degrees and windy and it was January, which may not be the height of the tourist season here.
St. Remy is where a fellow by the name of Vincent Van Gogh moved to at age 35, hoping to give his career as an artist a lift. He fell in love with the scenery, sunny weather, etc. Van Gogh produced one master piece per day (200 in all) while in St. Remy, and had time to cut off his ear and end up in the St. Paul Monastery and Hospital.
The photo of the big, old house was taken about two miles outside of St. Remy. We thought it was quite a structure, though it needs a little work. St. Martins Church dominates the center/old town of St. Remy, looking like it was recently cleaned on the outside. The church, constructed in the early 1820s, is relatively new by comparison and the inside has fallen into some noticeable disrepair. There’s a photo of a street scene, the city hall (Hotel de Ville), a downtown hotel and a photo showing a juxtaposition from a poster advertising the circus coming to town against an old building, still showing the wording on the façade “Café Courrier”.
More on St. Remy and Les Baux coming up.
The Wilsons
