September 2: And by “the French” I really mean “Europeans” because of course, these are things you see pretty much everywhere.
I was riding in the Pyrenees when I found a tiny col that connected to a road I wanted to follow. A short distance up the road I found this little village – really just a few houses and a church. The house in front of the church was tended by a man and wife – perhaps a retired farming couple – and they had a beautiful garden along the little river’s edge. The French plant gardens everywhere. The church bells were just chiming noon as I arrived. A lovely little vignette.
It seems that the French – and Europeans generally – live more of their life in public spaces. There are markets and shops, and of course the cafes. I stayed for a couple of days in Castellane. There are 4 or 5 cafes along the north edge of the main square and they are busy from noon until well into the evening. If you look closely, you can see Notre Dame du Roc keeping an eye on things from 600 metres up. It makes me wonder why it’s such a struggle for us to create really high-quality public spaces of our own when Europeans do it so consistently.
Similarly, the French are known for their food. Street vendors are part of the scene in every market and every town. You can eat pretty well with a bit of hunting around. In Toronto we just about killed off the street food sector with unworkable and expensive standards. Having just suffered through a bout of traveller’s malaise, I’m totally supportive of good public health standards., but somehow we manage to come down on the side of bland and mediocre. Imagine cooking several kilos of escargots at Bloor and Yonge like this guy in Puy en Velay…..
In Germany I was totally impressed with the network of local trains and busses. It seemed that every town had a train station and a little 2-car shuttle that departed 3 or 4 times a day. Picture Bracebridge connected to Orillia and Huntsville, Barrie and Toronto…Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have the population and the money to make it work for us?
And finally, one thing they do that drives me wild: smoking. It seems that smoking is still fairly popular in France, and it is allowed on patios, in cafes and other public spaces. Having gotten used to being without cigarette smoke in Toronto, it is surprising -shocking, even – to find it so widely accepted here.