France 2008 - Arles, May 20

Some more observations:

Most cars and especially larger vans have scrapes and dents down the sides. Not so much on the fenders front and rear but the sides are often bashed in. It is not surprising, given the narrow streets, many bollards and the tendency of every driver to think he or she has the right of way at all times. There are many one-way streets but people park in them (only temporarily!) and two cars often don't fit abreast. They love their mobility but maybe they don't care so much about the car. Since they don't have the road salt issue we have in Canada, they must not get rust like we do, so they don't fix up the dents so readily. Interesting.

We were sitting as is our wont, in the Place du Forum and suddenly we were invaded by Les Anglais. About a dozen loud people arrive and promptly rearrange the patio furniture. The fat and old ones sit down, the others mill about. We ask our waiter, "hey, les Anglais sont faire du bruit. Q'est que c'est ce passe?" and he replied that they had been to a wedding recently and seemed to have enjoyed the local wine.

Another Place to hang out is the Place Voltaire, cheaper than the Place du Forum and with mature trees shading it. This is where we discover that the classic Clouseau line really does work in France!

We're sitting at a table having a substantial salad (7 Euros) and white wine for lunch. We notice a black Labrador (an un-neutered male) slowly walking around the tables. No collar, a bit of white at his muzzle, lovely brown eyes. He's not casing the joint, he's just looking for likely customers. I make eye contact but he seems to know that Peter has asked me not to feed him (right then, anyway) and so he walks off. (I was going to write "wander" but he has more purpose than that.)

Eventually I decide to give him a little crumb of baguette (after we have finished our meal - that was Peter's stipulation), after I see he has not got anything from other patrons. I make eye contact again with him when he is a few tables away and he slowly but deliberately walks over. I hold out a very small piece of bread and say, "asseyez-vous". He does not seem to know "tricks" and drool slowly drips from the back of his mouth. I give him the bread anyway. He politely takes it and eats it. I give him several more tiny pieces and ask him to sit each time, but he does not. Then I hold up my now empty hands and say "c'est tout" and he sits.

I take his photograph and he poses nicely for me. Then he gets distracted by some other people and I lean in for a close-up and I can almost hear him say "Yikes!" at the look of me, too close and with a camera in front of my face, so he gets up and moves on.

So polite! Si gentil!

So, now for the Clouseau line:
Clouseau, seeing a man with a nice looking dog, asks, "does your dog bite?"
Man, "No."
Clouseau pats dog who snarls and bites him.
Clouseau, "I thought you said your dog did not bite!"
Man, "That's not my dog."

France 2008 - Paris, May 13

Afternoon:
After our much-needed nap that wasn't nearly long enough, we change and walk out onto the streets of Paris. I have lived in Europe (but a long time ago) but this was Peter's first trip and our first trip together so it was all new and good. We had a map of the city and just decided to walk in one direction and then another, covering some of the Marais in the 3rd and 4th Arrondissements.

I start developing a theory of Parisiens, working against the stereotype that they are rude. Of course, you get rude people wherever you go but my generalisations lead me to a theory that Parisiens just "Do". They don't ask permission, they don't say "do you mind if...", they only obey the rules if they must (and the rules make sense). However, they do say "excusez moi" If they bump into you and they say "Bonjour" when you enter their shops. What I don't feel is an overweening sense of entitlement that I sometimes get in North America.

Peter opines that because they live in a large, congested city (he has been reading up on Paris and it has the greatest population density of any European city, according to "France for Dummies" which we left there, rather than carry it home so I can't look it up), they have limited resources and just want to make things work. If officious people came along all the time and told them not to park on the sidewalk for just five minutes, the level of frustration would explode. When they do park on the sidewalk to unload something, they don't expect anyone to accommodate them. They just do what they have to and move on. And yet, we don't see people taking advantage of lack of rule enforcement, maybe because they know the few could spoil it for the many.

Unfortunately, my laissez-faire opinion of them to the good does not extend to their resolute refusal to even acknowledge that their dogs poop. I have watched them (and the Brits too, I must say) stand and stare at anything but their dog while their dog poops and then nonchalantly stroll away leaving the evidence behind. Of course some people do this in North America but more people pick up I think than not, judging by the evidence. It is likely one reason that they have street sweepers out every day. The street sweepers really do keep the place clean and that's appreciated. But I wonder if that's why dog owners don't pick up - because they can get away with it.

As for this bit of evidence, not only do I not know how it got up there, but I would guess the motorized street sweepers didn't get it the next morning.

Anniversary

Our 25th anniversary is tomorrow but we went out yesterday to start the celebrations because the weather was supposed to be the best day of the weekend. We've also decided to draw out our celebrations over the entire year and not just stick to the one weekend.

The day started with flowers being delivered. The photo doesn't do them justice. Peter had gone on line and finally chose just the right combination and was as pleased with them as I was when they arrived.

I read in the paper that they were having sheep dog herding exhibits at the Experimental Farm, so in the afternoon, we headed over there to see what we could see. This shepherd is in the process of starting to train his young dog seen here. The dog isn't even 2 years old so he only knew a few commands but it was fun to watch.

We took in a demonstration of sheep shearing. They always look so silly, sitting on their bums but they don't seem to mind and they don't struggle in that position.

We went around and saw the lambs. These fellows were quite grown up but there were quadruplets born only 30 hours previously that looked too fragile for words. In a different barn we saw some of the draft horses and I stood and watched one named King while he was having his lunch of some very dry hay. It seemed like he was eyeballing me a little but there were signs all around indicating we shouldn't touch the animals so I forbore. Suddenly, he tossed his head and I was showered with tiny bits of hay that went down my blouse and into every clothing crevice I had. I had to find a washroom and take my blouse off to shake it out, I was so inundated with hay.

After we had seen all we wanted, we trekked across some fields to get to Dow's Lake where the tulip festival shuttle bus terminus was. We decided to have a beer first and watch the crowds and took yet another practically identical pub shot of the two of us. We'll have to put all the pub shots like this together in a repetitive album one day. It was also at this stop that we started listening to the Senator's game they had playing on the radio. When we left Dow's Lake, they were halfway through the third period with the Sens leading, 2 to 1.

By the time we got to the Market, I was surprised to hear on various televisions in pubs that we passed that the game was still on and they were in overtime. Finally, the Sens got the overtime goal and won the game and from then on, all the fans came out onto the street and drove around, honking horns and shouting and waving flags. What will they do when we win the actual Cup!? Everyone seemed to be on their best behaviour which was nice. There was a considerable and highly visible police presence in the market the whole time we were there and I think that contributed to the relaxed atmosphere.

Finally, on the way home, we noticed that Venus was very close to a beautiful crescent moon and in admiring the view, we decided to take a photo. Of course, it was hand-held and therefore not accurate at all but I thought it resulted in an interesting shot. So, happy anniversary to us and this is just the start of 365 days of celebrating!