bleedin french laws

[hansblix]

I thought the french didn't like me , am surprised to learn that there are many more that are disliked.
Time to get some french words in my memory.

[-Ralph-]

You need to brush up on your french law I think.

No need to wear Hi Viz unless you stop at the side of the road and get off the bike.

Helmet stickers only applies to helmets sold in France.

[-Ralph-]

If ever there was a country that believed everything they see in the papers or on tele, then France is it.

Haha! Yes, this is true. But then they don't believe anything that comes from a reliable source.

[-Ralph-]

My usual approach to arriving at the reception of a French hotel is "Bojour ..... Parlez vous Anglais"
If they respond in English or "a little" I'll continue the conversation in English, if the response is a profound galic "No" then I'll respond with "une réservation pour monsieur ........."
or if I don't have a reservation "chambre de libre pour une personne"?
Then I'll take it from there.
Though once in Spain a member of staff did ask if I wanted the Salon as they where serving lunch, but the penny did drop when they rubbed their belly and pointed to their mouth

If you start speaking in French, and you have an English accent, most people will reply in English. If after a sentence or two they see you are struggling they'll switch to English. At which point you can look grateful and continue in English and they'll be very happy that they helped you out. The French do appreciate it if you try. If the first words out of your mouth are "Parlez vous Anglais" you've immediately pissed them off, even if they don't show it.

[sprintster]

My usual approach to arriving at the reception of a French hotel is "Bojour ..... Parlez vous Anglais"
If they respond in English or "a little" I'll continue the conversation in English, if the response is a profound galic "No" then I'll respond with "une réservation pour monsieur ........."
or if I don't have a reservation "chambre de libre pour une personne"?
Then I'll take it from there.
Though once in Spain a member of staff did ask if I wanted the Salon as they where serving lunch, but the penny did drop when they rubbed their belly and pointed to their mouth

If you start speaking in French, and you have an English accent, most people will reply in English. If after a sentence or two they see you are struggling they'll switch to English. At which point you can look grateful and continue in English and they'll be very happy that they helped you out. The French do appreciate it if you try. If the first words out of your mouth are "Parlez vous Anglais" you've immediately pissed them off, even if they don't show it.

That's what I thought,if you know the French for "I have a reservation for..." why not use it? My languages are next to nothing but I at least memorised this sentence in French and German before I went away.

[Peirre]

If the first words out of your mouth are "Parlez vous Anglais" you've immediately pissed them off, even if they don't show it.

Strangely enough probably the 1st words of Portuguese I learned where "tu falas inglês" but was sternly told off by my Portuguese friends for doing so. So if I must use the phrase I at least start by saying Bom Dias but try to say "você fala inglês" instead

[Simon_100]

I like France and I like Spain. In my view, Spain is easier if you're on a bike because there are more petrol stations. Spain is also easier if you don't speak the lingo. Fortunately, I can speak a bit of French but my riding buddies always find it difficult when we are there.

One thing we noticed this year in Spain was the sheer amount of small towns and villages that seemed to have no-one around in the day...quite spooky.

The French are generally grumpy. The Spanish are generally happy. The French don't like to 'chat' to foreigners but the Spanish seem to be more welcoming. We noticed that the French 'mood' improved as we got further south, for some reason, so I guess it's a bit of a generalisation but we all noticed it :unsure: .

Sums it up pretty well - in fact the 'grumpy' rule happens here to (thumbs)

Regards the empty villages, siesta is still the rule in country areas especially off the tourist areas - it's also the best time to stay on the roads and you have them all to yourself.

Living close to the frontier is great as we can 'escape' having to know the lingo and just be dim tourists for a change - but that does wear thin after a day or two ...



... but it's nice and cold and damp, even in July (thumbs) (thumbs) (thumbs)

Regs

Simon

[john-g]

Just subscribed to "The Spanish Biker" - great site, reminded me of two recent tours of Spain and why I will be touring there again next year.
Thanks for the info and effort that you have put into it.

[Old Git Ray]

..............
Though once in Spain a member of staff did ask if I wanted the Salon as they where serving lunch, but the penny did drop when they rubbed their belly and pointed to their mouth

(thumbs)

I had one (only one!) bad experience with the French. I was skiing with 9 others in France and we stopped at a piste restaurant. I was in front and asked the guy at the reception dias if we need to find a place or be seated. He replied in a very sarcastic manner, "don't you speak French". I replied "No. I speak reasonable German and and am currently at night school learning Spanish." He then said, that's OK then. I said "No it's not, stick your restaurant where the sun don't shine". I told my jaw dropped friends we were going somewhere else and we left.

I have to emphasise that this is the ONLY time in many months of touring and visiting France that I have come across anything like this. All my other experiences have been warm and friendly and on the whole I like the French. I do agree that they are a tad more friendly the further South you go.

The belly rub thing works for me too. As does a few or the usual polite words for hello, goodbye etc. No one gives a sh1t if you screw up as long as you try.
As far as I am concerned, the biggest asset that anyone could use in any situation is a big smile. You can get away with just about anything if you look approachable and happy.

Like others have said above, it is difficult for us Brits to speak another European language, not that most of them are difficult (besides French perhaps) but that there are just so many of them and, are we better to learn a bit of all of them or one reasonably well.
I for one, now speak (despite my age !) fair German and Spanish but often when I formulate sentences in my head, I insert German words in Spanish senteneces and vice versa.

It's sad but true (and convenient for us) that English is now the common language, especially in commerce, but that does not mean we are all lazy, it's just more difficult for us as we already speak the common tongue. :unsure:

[Billy Bananahead]

I was on my way to a campsite in Normandy towing a caravan and had a blowout on my towing vehicle.
Next day me and my missus went into the nearest large town, Lisieux, to get a new tyre and a new spare.
In the tyre depot I came out with my best schoolboy French, "bonjour monsieur, deux pneumatiques merci, erm erm erm ", I was well out of my depth, and repeated myself with a few other words which I can't remember now and was starting to give up as I hadn't really got a clue, unknown to me the depot manager had winked at my missus and then came out with " it is ok monsieur, I speak English, what do you need".
Well that was a relief and we were soon sorted, but as has been said it helps if you can at least have a go at conversing without resorting to the " bonjour, parlez vous Anglais" routine.