mind my language

apologies for anyone waiting for updates to this blog - i've been very slack this year...

anyhow, a recent week in paris has re-inspired me, thanks to some great meals. but first, a cautionary tale or two!

it was late afternoon in the 17eme. i was on my way back for the hotel and stopped off at a neighbourhood cafe for a leisurely glass or two of pastis, ideal for plotting my movements later. under the shade of a couple of trees and insulated from traffic by a large triangle of pavement, it was a great spot for reflection plus a few pages of the paper.

then there was talking, in english. two middle-aged american women sat at a nearby table and chattered away. after a discrete pause, the waiter approached. "bonjour, mesdames," he said to them. with no warning, one of the women leapt to her feet, her chair crashing to the ground, screaming to her friend. "oh my god! what did he just say to us?"

i don't know who was more upset - the waiter, completely non-plussed by this outburst, or her friend, who tried to calm her down, explaining the waiter had just said 'hello'...

and at sat open-mouthed at both the insularity and the rudeness of the tourist. i mean, who goes to a foreign country and doesn't even learn the very basics of hello, please, thank you and so on. jeez, we're in paris not ougadougou! we can't all be great at languages but when you see behaviour and ignorance like this, it's a wonder that parisians remain as polite as they are to tourists...