Is France for you?!

Mes amis I was amused to receive the following list from a fellow blogger. You will find it here on My Mélange. Of course we Australians would never expect France to be like this! It never fails to surprise me when travelling to discover that some people want their trip to be like home! Well if you want that then stay home. Part of the fun of travelling is to be confronted by differences (even restaurant times!). So enjoy this list - I know you would never expect any of the following! 

Hotel Verneuil Paris - Room for two - just - but oh so pretty

1. The French sure do love their cigarettes.  If you don’t like cigarette smoke, France may not be for you.
2. If you expect to be fussed and fawned over at dinner by wait staff who act like your new best friend and offer up their name, France may not be for you.
3. And if you may become upset and impatient when said wait staff let you relax and enjoy your meal rather than shoving you out the door, France may not be for you.
4. If you need to touch and riffle through all the merchandise when you’re shopping and you think the customer is always right, France may not be for you.
5. If you expect the French to smile, hold the door for you (a complete stranger) and speak to you in English, France may not be for you.
6. If you don’t like cheese - the smell of cheese, the taste of cheese. It’s a country of over 365 cheeses and if you can’t handle that much cheese, France may not be for you
7. If you prefer Paris sidewalks to be free of doggie doo, France may not be for you.
8. If you’re not big on etiquette, using your manners, or going out of your way to be polite in a foreign country, France may not be for you.
9. If you like mega-sized portions and leftovers, France may not be for you.
10. If you think aloof, private and reserved translates to rude, France may not be for you.
11. If you have no desire to learn a bit of the language or culture before you go, France may not be for you.
12. If you’ll be highly offended when you try to speak your best French, but you’re answered back in English, France may not be for you.
13. If you’ll throw a hissy fit when the classy restaurant you’ve been looking forward to dining in won’t serve you at 3:30 for lunch or 5:30 for dinner.  France has set hours for shopping, dining, banking and other services, France may not be for you.
14. If you’ll be uncomfortable when Parisians blatantly stare at you while sizing you up on the Metro, France may not be for you.
15. If you can’t sleep in anything less than a king sized bed or stay in a hotel room the size of a house, France may not be for you.
16. If you might ask a waiter for a phone book to call the health department to report the women sitting at the next table in a bistro who’s dining companion is her dog, France may not be for you.
17. If you’re not greeted with the same sense of urgency as you’re used to in other parts of the world (ie, the U.S.), France may not be for you." 

A bientot