And I'm back home!!!

After a whirlwind visit to France. I really enjoyed Nice! I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been there for work but, on the other hand, if I hadn't been there for work I wouldn't have been there at all! Our customer has facilities in the US, in France and the Philippines and, as you know, I've been to the Philippines a couple of times. The facility there is production; they run 365 days a year and we're expected to front up for work every day. In France they're more civilised - they don't work weekends and so we don't either!

If that was Nice during the off-season I'm not sure I want to see it during the on-season! We dined in the old quarter and it certainly seemed crowded enough for my tastes. That said, half the restaurants seemed to be closed. Those that were open certainly served up wonderful food (bear in mind we're on the company dollar so we weren't as restrained as we might have been). I quite got the taste for a Pastis aperitif! I also pigged out on Pate. I haven't yet found a place here in Phoenix that has a decent Pate and after 2 years without I really missed it.

Language? What could I say? Apart from watching a few classic French movies (Rififi, A Nous la Liberte, Le Belle et la Bete) etc I have no knowledge of French. Well that's not quite true, I could muddle my way through a menu and not be surprised at what appeared on my plate but as for actually speaking it? Non! I have enough trouble, with my Australian accent, being understood here in Phoenix; I certainly wouldn't expect not to cause excruciating pain in the ears of any French speaker who heard me massacre his language. Pointing is a wonderful tool! That said, I did master the following phrases. Bonsoir! Bonjour! Merci! Mousse au Chocalat and my favourite, Vin Rouge! If anyone is offended by the way I expressed that please forgive me - no offence is intended. The reality is that I came away from the whole experience humbled by my inability to speak another language and impressed at the way that almost everyone I met went out of their way to understand me.

What would a visit to France be without trying Escargot? Very tasty if somewhat chewy.

Nice is farther from the equator than I've ever been before (at least during winter). Even though I know intellectually that days shorten it still came as a surprise to me for it to still be dark at 7:45 AM and for the sun to set at 4:45 PM. If you haven't experienced that before it can be slightly disorienting. I was once in Sydney in winter and had to catch a 6 PM flight. I don't wear a wristwatch (and haven't for 15 years) so I was telling time by asking various people. They kept assuring me I had plenty of time to get to the airport. Eventually it was time to leave and we emerged into darkness. But they were telling me it was only 5 PM! My internal clock (calibrated on Melbourne time) insisted it was nearer 5:30 PM. But they were right. Sydney (though in the same timezone) is about 20 minutes to the east of Melbourne - enough to make a significant difference in winter.