Archive for October, 2006
Monday, October 9th, 2006
Glorious Graffiti
I’ve noticed that you get a better class of vandal in France. While, I grant you that, most of the graffiti you’ll see around Strasbourg is just mindless tagging, occassionally you see something that goes beyond simple defacement.
“This is the death of art” - was one I saw recently, written by a narked art [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Life in Strasbourg by Bart
Friday, October 6th, 2006
Oo for une
I’ve finally cracked how to ask for ‘une baguette’ without getting any comeback from the girl behind the counter. Okay it’s taken me about six months to work it out - but building up confidence in your first foreign language takes time!
The first lesson was that it’s ‘une’ not ‘un’, and on the back [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Life in Strasbourg by Bart
Thursday, October 5th, 2006
Quel sens!
I have theory which my local francophile compatriots may not appreciate. It concerns the naming of ‘Petite France’, the popular touristy area of Strasbourg.
The guidebooks tell you that this beautiful quartier of sixteenth-century, wooden-framed, former tanning mills was named ‘Little France’ because it was remeniscient of France-in-a-nutshell. But to be frank there isn’t [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Life in Strasbourg by Bart
Wednesday, October 4th, 2006
Ready, steady …
More than once I’ve boarded a train at Strasbourg Gare thinking that I’ve been lucky enough to, more or less, get a carriage to myself. Only to find, at the actual moment of departure, the bloody thing is packed!
This phenomenon is down entirely to the country’s addiction to smoking. Before departure you are [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Life in Strasbourg by Bart
Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006
Eurostar misselling
When I first travelled on the Eurostar - I was impressed. It was modern, clean and, when it got to France at least, fast.
Having now used it for a number of years however, I am now of a slightly different opinion. Compared with the train that runs Strasbourg-Paris:
It’s small, dark and pokey
The [...]
