"Pardon Me..."

Trying to get assistance in France 

Me: "Excuse me, do you speak English?"
Frenchman:  "BONJOUR!"
Me:  "Sorry.......Bonjour!" "Do you speak English?" 
Frenchman: "No!" and looks away.
Me: (I smile)  "hmmmmm...." and I walk away

Next situation:

Me:  "Pardon me, do you speak English?"
French lady: "BONJOUR!" and looks at me with scary, piercing eyes.
Me: damn it!  I can't seem to remember that!  "Sorry...Bonjour!"  "Do you speak English"
French lady: (In English) "None at all" and continues to look at me with those scary eyes.
Me:  I walk away.....slowly, making no sudden movements. 

Next situation:

Me: "Par.....wait!.....Bonjour!  Pardon me, Do you speak English? (Whew! I almost forgot) 
French Sales Lady:  "Bonsoir!" and looks at me like I'm an idiot who can't tell if it's Day or Evening.


Damn, Damn!  Ok, next time I'll get it right.

It took me a while to get it...here are a few of the unwritten rules

1. Always greet with a Bonjour or Bonsoir BEFORE any other words come out of your mouth
2. Mainly in Paris, they don't like to hear your broken, crummy French so it's not worth bothering with it and just apologize in advance.  They will pretend to not understand you, even though it is good enough to get the point across.
3. The French do not really see a need to learn English but they surely want you to learn French.  I did my best. 
4. They can tell that you are not French just by the way you dress (how you tie your scarf!), walk, body language, etc.  They already have a plan on how they are going to treat you before you even open your mouth.  Just smile and make the U.S.A proud!

St. Gilgen, Austria

Mirabelle Gardens - Salzburg, Austria

New Memories from Salzburg

I had forgotten how wonderful this city is.  Even if you took away the Mozart component, it's still has more than enough to offer. The beauty of the skyline with the river and castles makes your heart skip a beat.  We have spent the past few days just soaking up the city as much as we can before we have to return home.  This is the city that you could stay in for weeks and never get bored or tired of what it offers.  Yes, there are tourist but it's manageable.  There are two main areas to the city - old and not as old.  Each side has something special to offer.  

We have spent a day in Mirabelle Gardens just strolling through the flowers and pebbled paths.  It  gives me pleasure to daydream about the ladies who strolled in the gardens many years ago in their beautiful gowns arm in arm with their suitors. 

One day we took a tour of the lakes and mountains.  We went up into a couple different villages where the backdrop for the small, tidy Austrian homes was a wall of mountains.   The fields were bright green and some bursting with colorful flowers.  I love the way the Austrians are so tidy.  Not a bit of trash to been  seen.  It was like they knew company was coming and they cleaned the country!

Our last evening in Salzburg we had dinner in the castle overlooking the city and then attended a wonderful concert inside the state room of the castle.  It was magical.  I'll never forget it.  Lindsey enjoyed hearing the musicians play music that she aspires to play one day.  She watched the players intensly and inquired about the music afterwards.  I asked her if she missed playing the viola this past month.  She replied, "of course".  Silly me!

The German people are nice and helpful (unlike the French).  Each person that I have talked to either knows English or is learning English.  They welcomed the chance to practice their English.  This wasn't the case in France. Me in France:  "Pardon, parlez vous English?"  French policeman: "No, not at all" (in perfect English).  Then me:  "Not even a little bit? to help me find my way?"  Frenchman: "No, sorry, I only speak French (once again in perfect English)....hmmm....So I decided to end that conversation and walked away.  I have been to both France and Austria a few times and for me it has never changed. They are what they are.  Either you accept or you move on to the next country.  That's what I usually do!

When I return to Europe for my next adventure I will focus more on Germany, Austria and Switzerland.  They are more in line with my personality.  I'll always visit France but I'll be happy knowing that my next stop is Austria.

Guten Nacht.

Kelly

A few more silly things.....

This is a group of Asian tourists in Salzburg.  Not real sure why they needed matching outfits. Wait...there are 20,000 other Asian tourist in the area...they need to be able to spot their group members.  

One needs a place to wash their Tiger....right?    

 

Not sure what they are trying to say here.  Be careful with my Pies??

Not sure if this advertising is suppose to appeal to the human or the deer?  If you were a deer would you wear this dress?  hmmm......Austrians really like their animals!

hmmm....would you buy this dress for your giraffe?

A shop that makes girdles!

A few silly things

A different, but legal, way of parking a Smart car.

This is the French trying to make an English Sign...didn't quite get it right. 

Seriously?  10 scoops?  I never saw one purchased.

Means something different in U.S.A. This is a fine clothing store in France.

Chambery, France

We spent the day and night in Chambery so Lindsey could visit the school that her school corresponds with.  The English teacher met us and showed Lindsey around the school.  She introduced her to the head of the department and the director of the school.  The English teacher was so excited to have Lindsey visit.  They were all excited that the "American" was in their school.  We had lunch with the English teacher and then Lindsey went back to the school to attend a couple of classes and speak English to the class to help them hear the accent more. 

That evening the school was having a party for the end of the school session.  Lindsey went and was treated as the guest of honor.  She talked to the students and encouraged them to keep learning English. They had a lot of questions about the life in America.  She had a wonderful day and evening.

Leaving Lyon

It was tough leaving a great city like Lyon.  It is has so many things to offer every type of person.  Lindsey liked it even more than Paris. But then Paris is PARIS!  She said that she could see herself living here.  It wouldn't take much talking to get me to come and visit.  :-)

We enjoyed the river tour.  It shows you a different perspective of the city.  We learned quite a bit about the city during the tour.   Before getting on the tour we enjoyed walking through the market and selecting fruits and nuts for our afternoon snack.  The vendors were all out peddling their goods.  When you walked by they would shout what they offered and the price.  It was almost in a singing tone.  The locals showed up with their baskets to get the meats, vegetables and bread for the day.  Of course, most  people had their dogs with them.  

After the boat tour it was time for a coffee. We headed to the old town and found a quaint place that served afternoon coffees and sweet crepes.  Lindsey is hooked on Nutella and banana crepes.  She has it on our list to purchase when we return home.  They have Nutella here for breakfast.  I know we wont' be doing that.

I can tell Lindsey is getting a little homesick.  Many conversations go back to how she loves our home, her family and Clyde.  I also can tell she is ready for her best friend, McKenna, to stop traveling the world and come home.  She keeps talking about their plans when she returns.  A year away has been hard...for Lindsey!  They keep in touch daily and exchange their travel experiences and that has been helpful. 

Lindsey's school has been corresponding with a French school in a little town in France called Chambery.  We will go there tomorrow and spend the day.  Lindsey will visit the school and get a few pictures to take back to her French teacher.  She hopes to also visit with the English teacher and answer any questions she may have.  So, we are up early to catch the train for Chambery, France.  

Later!