We're not in Kansas anymore

This is ironic - a French Confession's contributor editor sent this article to me today:

As Dorothy said to Toto in "the Wizard of OZ"  We are not in Kansas
anymore.   I am always amazed how the French take something American
and make it their own.  Today I was in the subway and I walked by an
advertisement....for the McChevre.  that is a wrap with fried goat
cheese.  Now I had to go and see what this was and perhaps try it.
Even though as an American in Paris I would NEVER admit to eating at
McDonald's, and I usually don't, but I may start.  I went into my
local McDonald's and stood in line and while I was looking at the
drink menu, Coke, Coke Zero, what did I see but "1664."   To those of
you who are unfamiliar, it is a French beer.  Now.....if they only
start serving a nice red wine we are in business!

New website coming soon

Hi guys, In case you haven't noticed, I've been writing fewer articles over the past week. The reason is, I'm working a a new websitethat will replace this blog interface and my current website. But since I'm technically challenged, it's taking longer than expected. I'm hoping to get it up and running by November 1st (ish). So please hang in there. I'll still be writing articles on this blog, bit I might not get one in every day. Thanks! Lindsay

French boulangeries

So, I went to the boulangerie this morning, the one right next to my home. The owner there knows me pretty well; she always says hi, asks about the kids, smiles, etc. So, why, when I give her a 10 dollar Euro bill, does she give me my change back on a little tray instead of handing it to me? It's odd when you think about how the French greet each other with a kiss in pretty much any given situation. The truth is, while they always come across as tactile when you meet them, in truth, they are very reserved. This 'tray' scenario is pretty much the case in any boulangerie you go to. Rather than handing you your change, it is placed in a tray. Sometimes I take offense to it, like 'Why won't you just hand me my change? Do I smell bad?' But you can't take it personally. It's a cultural thing.

So think about that when you go to the boulangerie tomorrow.

This is Lindsay, signing out.

The French don't like fast-food...

The French pretend they don't like fast-food...They claim it's one of the many horrible American inventions on earth, that it tainted the great old-style European way of life. They may have a point. However, the truth is, they can't get enough of the Micky D's!...Because let's face it, fast-food is practical, and kinda tasty.

One of the things that's so wonderful about the French is their love and passion for food. So, McDonald's had to take that into account. So if you happen to run into a McDonald's in France, don't be surprised by the menu; it's adapted to the French food culture. For instance, on their menu, they've got croque monsieurs and sandwiches with goat cheese.

You know, come to think of it, their version of McDonald's is probably tastier than ours. Actually, I'm not so sure of that because they don't have strawberry shakes or real honey sauce for chicken Mcnuggets with a capital 'M' (I'm sidetracking here).

Anyway, just some food for thought for Friday evening.

This is Lindsay, signing out.

Driving in Paris

Hi, this is an article from an new contributing editor.
I'll let her write up a profile this week...But here's her first article.


So just a brief note about driving in Paris. I had an appointment
today in Paris to apply for my visa. A person drove me to
the appointment and no offence, but next time I may take the metro
home. Did you know that there are not a lots of street signs in
Paris that are visible to cars...kind of necessary if you are driving
especially when the GPS says, turn right on blvd Murat. Great, it
would be ever so helpful is there was a sign for that. Oh yes, and
then there is the road rage. We were driving, while looking for
street signs that were non existent, and this lady started to
tailgate, and I am talking within inches!!!! She tried to push us
along for about 1/2 mile. Never mind that there was a school that was
just let out and we were trying desperately not to hit any of the
children, no matter, the tailgating continued. No matter that our
left turn was blocked by not only oncoming traffic but by a bicycle in
the road. We were turning on to a major road connecting us to a
highway. What I loved was that when we finally turned onto the road
we were searching for, we got a BIG honk of the horn. Guess she was
saying goodbye! Now my driver went over the edge and wished she could
have turned around and given the other driver a lesson!!! But, I did
get my visa.

I love that French medecine!

I've got an ear infection, yuck. Anyway, the Doctor explained to me that in order to treat it, you have to treat every single cause. In other words, antibiotics are not enough. You have to get everything up and running. I won't get into the details, because it's kind of gross...

Anyway, see the picture? I have to take all of that medicine between two to three times a day for a week. But you know what? I guarantee you that by tomorrow I'll be feeling realllllllly good.

I love and live for that French medicine!!

Customer Service lesson n°2 - Apple

An Apple store opened up in our local mall a couple of weeks ago.
I went to the store yesterday with my family.  Now this is an example of GREAT customer service! The store is staffed with about 50 people.  It's the total opposite of FNAC (for all of you who live in France, you know which store I'm talking about). 

So, back to my story...Three people came up to at the same aisle to ask me if I needed help.  One of them started speaking English to me, and it turns out he was born and grew up in New York.  He asked me to stop by even if I wasn't buying anything (with a smile) because he just wanted to speak in English.  My children sat together on a very cushiony and child-friendly seat.  They played a Star Wars game and one of the Apple guys came over to help them get the game started.
There were three training sessions going on throughout the store.  Everybody was smiling.  People gave room to my little girl who was having a little trouble getting down the very modern stairs.
To make a long story short, this store is everything that most stores in France are not.

I'm starting to wonder if Apple has like a special breed of people that they raise and train in some confidential, private Apple community.....Anyway, since I often criticize customer service in France, I wanted to be fair and tell you about my great experience yesterday.

Apple Store:  http://www.apple.com/fr/retail/parly2/