I just find this really ironic, and well .... funny! LOL

And concerning the Dwarven French wimin .... I don't believe it. I've seen Sophie Marceau (sp?) and other models/actresses. Unless you considder them the rejects .... exiled ... for export only! :D :D :D [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Closest I've been to France is Quebec, and my grandfather was FrenchCanadian.

I love France although I am not so fond of your cooking. [img]smile.gif[/img] I have been there several times with my parents since my father is from Quebec and he (and I) has relatives in France. It was he that "forced" me and my sisters to study French in school. Alas, it seems I have forgotten most of it since I don´t speak French that often anymore except at my parents from time to time (mom don´t speak a word of French). I tend to read books by French authors in French though. Not to practise my language skill but as a safety precaution not to lose anything in the translation.

My father´s cousin lives in Saint-Pons and I have been there several times. Otherwise my favourite city is not Paris but Nice (conveniently located in the riviera ;) ). LOL! It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Strolling down L'espace massena a summers day is a marvellous experience. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I must say that I have never encountered a person that could be considered rude or arrogant when visiting France. Everyone I have talked to, ok not so many perhaps but still around a 100, has been very helpful and nice. Well some people in Paris may have been exceptions, but not all people can stand around and help tourists. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Moiraine, you live in a great and very beautiful country. If I hadn´t loved living in Canada as much as I do I might have been jealous. OK I am a bit jealous anyway. ;) LOL!

I have visited France a few times, very beautiful country.

Let's see, I've been around a fairly large chunk of Normandy and, being typical, saw the Bayeux Tapestry.
I've been to Paris once or twice, and in contrast I've been down to the quite far South, in Aubenas- again ,very beautiful, and very nice weather. :D

Well I have been to Paris 5 times, I speak French, I like French food, French art and French music.

Thanks to all who replied. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Wow, great stories of journeys in France ! Maybe trips to foreign countries should take a larger part in children's education, it would do a lot to ban stereotypes. ;) One concrete thing from the EU that I can see is that many more students nowadays have spent some time in other EU contries than 15 years ago when I was a student myself.

Skywalker, you seem to have had a great time in Paris. Tell me, what do you think is different between Paris and a big US city ?

LOL Davros, don't tell me you went to France and lived on sandwiches ! [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] You are welcome to come back anytime, and I hope next time you get better weather and we can visit Grenoble and Lyon.

Hierophant, I hope you will have a great time in Paris. How long will you stay ? Is it a personal or a professional trip ? Will you go to the country too, or stay in the capital ?

Johnny ! You read the Blueberry comics ? I have all of them ! Have they been translated in English or other languages ? [img]smile.gif[/img]

Epona, you know quite a lt about French culture and food. Next time you come, we'll make snails, promise ! [img]smile.gif[/img] And about animosity between English and French, well, I think nowadays there is mostly a good humoured bantering, except for a few assholes as exist everywhere. I have met one of them during a trip to London, but I haven't got at all the overall impression that it was a common attitude. London is not at all organized as Paris is, so it is quite easy for a French to get lost. I walked a lot that week-end !

Sir Tainly Green, LOL coca-cola is NOT the ultimate French experience ! [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

JR Jansen (why 'new' BTW ?), what places have you been visiting ?

Wolfie, bah, even a look at your Swedish words make me sneeze ! Painful nuts, eh ? ;)

Nachtrafe, the word is "sommelier". I hope Clouddy and you can come visit soon, I know you will appreciate our cellar a lot.
Weirdly, I have helped my Mum to make the family ancestors tree, and I am both entirely French (according to current frontiers) and not at all (from what French frontiers have mostly been during history). Peasants mostly tended to stay where they were born. I have several branches entirely set in one small village !

Grojlach, I didn't know you had French people in your family ! Where do they live ?

Thoran LOL I surmise your friend is a salesman ? 'Cause I recognize the typical salesman concept of a good evening in your story. Lyon salesmen are known for their epicurian nature too. There are great restaurants in Lyon - you have to know them to find them. Uh, one thing though - I split coffee through my nose on my keyboard reading you - you don't want to be in Frence and say you "took a pass" with a woman if you mean dancing : in French, "une passe" means a *cough* sexual intercourse with a hooker ... ;)

NightStalker, do you speak Canadian French with that delicious accent and expressions ? Too bad IW is not a vocal Board ... yet ! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Willow, it is so true that even the best translation cannot give all there is in a book. Which books have you read in French ? And I agree with you about Nice - my father was born there, all his family lives there (and they love their city so much that not a single one of them have left) and I spent most of the summer vacation there as a child. Alas many hideous buildings have been built over the years and I feel the city is not as pretty as it was 30 years ago :S but the old city is still beautiful. And a walk at the "Château" park beats everything in the world ! Well, maybe not anything but still ... BTW, my uncle has a bus tours company on Massena square, "Phocéens cars", you must have seen it.

Talthyr Malkaviel, well now you have to go to the North-Eastern parts (Alsace, Lorraine, Vosges) and you'll have had a pretty wide tour. [img]smile.gif[/img] If you can, visit Nancy and Strasbourg.

Reeka, have you been outside of Paris ? If you ever come close to Grenoble, you are welcome to visit us. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Moiraine, i also have the series complete. And they are of course translated into Dutch. I think Blueberry is, like Asterix, translated into a lot of different languages. Asterix is even available in Arabic and Chinese. I'm not sure if Blueberry is as popular as Asterix, but i know there are English and German versions, and if i'm not mistaken, i've seen them in Spain as well.

Moraine. 'the new' came in after i had some trouble with my PC and my connection both at the same time. For some reason i couldn't log in with my old nick but because i didn't want to change to much so that people would still know who i was, i took the nick i'm currently using.

Let's see. What places have i been ? The Normandy coast. Mulhouse, Paris (of course, multiple times), Lyon, Poitiers (multiple times) and those are the ones i can remember at the top of my head. If been over to more cities and places but i can't remember them at this time. Mostly as i said, if you go and play a tournament somewhere, you're there to do your job and you don't have to much time for sightseeing so you don't see the lovely places of that city and therefor it doesn't stick in your mind. And also if you almost play a tournament on a weekly basis, they tend to all become a blur.

I agree, I think mostly it is good humoured bantering between French and English these days - there are always the odd one or two who take it more seriously though, and I'm sorry you had to run into one in London :( There are a few assholes everywhere, you're quite right ;)

It is pretty easy for *anyone* to get lost in London Moiraine! But walking is one of the best ways to see things in the centre at least. I got lost frequently myself when I first moved here. Let me know if you plan to come to London again, I would love to have you visit me [img]smile.gif[/img]

LOL: What a reply Moiraine. I find it hard to talk to 4 persons in one post (I tend to forget who wrote what ;) ) and then I see your post to more than 10 people. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I have read several of Hugo´s books in Frenh, although it was some time ago. His books are a very good example of losing some of the contents in the translation. Les misérable is far better in French than in English. [img]smile.gif[/img] I tend to get, and my sisters too, one book in French every christmas. My father is from Quebec and he wants us to be able to speak French as well as English. This christmas I got Début by Nathalie Quintane. I´m not through it yet though lol. I try to get all books by French authors in French though (those I like of course). I might read them in English at first and if I like the book I buy it in French.

Phocéens cars? I´m sure I have noticed it. Right in the middle to the left right? (if you are facing away from tunnel du paillon (not sure about name and/or spelling but I think that is the correct name). [img]smile.gif[/img] Ehh, straight ahead from l´hotel massena would be a better description since we usually stay there when in Nice.

I went to Paris for a week 2 years ago January. It was WONDERFUL. I hope to be able to return again, the sooner the better. Everyone there was so nice and helpful and friendly. Thankfully they spoke better English then I spoke French. I thought I was ok with French until I went there and realized how bad I was. Thankfully I knew how to ask if people spoke English. I promise, I'll take more French lessons before I return :) One thing I loved was how great the city was with being accomodating to international tourists. There were menu's, museum signs, business hours, and everything else, listed in 5 or more languages. How great it would be if it was more like that here in the US, at least in our big cities.

The only french movie I've seen so far was "Children of the Lost City" with english subtitles.

BTW -- I feel it's necessary for me to say, regardless of what some of our more narrow-minded leaders are saying, I hope American's will not resort to becoming "anti-French". Oh no, they disagree with us, we must hate them. SEESH!!

Anyway, you have a lovely country and I'd love to come back soon and see more of it. My cousin and her sons lived there for a year on a teacher exchange, they lived near Lyons and said how beautiful it was and how wonderful the countryside is as well!