Swine Flu Fears at the Workplace

Swine Flu Fears at the Workplace
Originally uploaded by malias.

Sometimes well meaning advice can backfire. Recently posters have been appearing in offices all over France admonishing workers not to do la bise, the ritual kissing greeting performed each time you meet a friend or an acquaintance, or even to shake hands. It's feared that virtually any kind of pyshical contact with a fellow human being will aid the spread of swine flu.

Instead, workers are urged to offer hand gestures from a safe distance. The peace sign, the two finger victory sign or the thumbs up. In an admittedly unscientific survey I've found that not a single person is taking these warnings seriously. In fact they consider them ridiculous. It clearly isn't working. Time to rethink strategy.

Merde Sable

Merde Sable
Originally uploaded by malias.

Spotted in the Paris Metro this is the worst marketing blunder I've seen in a long time. An ad for "La Mer de Sable" (the sea of sand), or is it "La Merde Sable" - shit sand? Not something you'd take your kids too. Make up your own mind http://www.merdesable.fr

France to cut restaurant prices from July 1st (maybe)

kitchen
Originally uploaded by malias.

From July 1st 2009 TVA (VAT) in restaurants in France will drop from 19.6% to as low as 5.5%. The cut was agreed with EU finance ministers back in April in order to kick start trade in the sluggish restaurant industry.

In theory this cut should be passed on directly to the consumers whether cafes and restaurants do this in practice remains to be seen.

Certainly there is a feeling that restaurant prices in Paris are too high maybe this cut will start bringing customers back to the tables.

Alcohol Ban on the Pont des Arts

No Alcohol on the Pont des Arts
Originally uploaded by malias.

One of the great pleasures of living in Paris is the tradition of picnicing in lovely surrondings whether it be the Parc de Vincennes or the Canal St Martin or, my personal favourite spot The Pont des Arts.

I organised a picnic recently on a fine spring evening on this delightful old bridge. No sooner had we placed our baguettes on the passerelle, unwrapped the Camembert and uncorked a couple of bottles of Bordeaux than we were approached by two uniformed policeman (see photo of them harrassing some other tourists). "Parlez vous français?" they enquired solemnly. When they discovered that we could indeed muster up a few coherent sentences in their gallic tongue they proceeded to inform us that alcohol is now banned on the Pont des Arts.

That's outrageous! We protested. A French picnic without wine is like having a Ferrari that only goes up to third gear. It's just not the same! After our protests we became rather violent, we threw one of the policeman in the river and tied up the other one against the fence.

Ok, the last bit's not true but nevertherless I cannot see any harm in enjoying a little wine with a picnic. If someone is acting drunk and disorderly that's another story and there are laws that deal with that but a sip of vin rouge? S'il vous plait! So Please Mr Policeman give us back our wine.

Tefl Courses in France

Jon Davies
Originally uploaded by malias.

If you've recently lost your job as a result of the financial crisis or you are fed up with your current position and are looking for a new direction, then you might like to consider English language teaching (TEFL) as an option. It's a challenging career and one in which you can work almost anywhere in the world.

For those wishing to embark on such a career it's advisable to get yourself a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) first. These are intensive four week courses providing you with theory and great deal of classroom practice to prepare you for life as a TEFL teacher.

If you're interesested in getting your TEFL certificate in France then I would highly recommend studying at a new school just opening up in Toulouse Tefltoulouse. The Director of TEFL Toulouse is Jonathan Davies a friendly Brit with many years of teacher training experience in Spain and France before opening up his own training school in Toulouse.

Cafe Conversation - Au Pere Tranquille

Here we have a video of Au Pere Tranquille 75011 Paris. We held our first Cafe Conversation French group here on the first floor. It's a great location especially on the first floor however I must admit it was a little bit nosier than anticipated so perhaps not a perfect location to study.

Cafe Lou Pascalou 75020 Menilmontant Paris

Here is a short video I took at my local cafe the Lou Pascalou (14 rue des Panoyaux 75020 Paris, Metro Menilmontant 9am - 1am daily). It's trendy and yet doesn't compromise it's old fashioned French style. Prices are reasonable and there is a large terrace outside.

The young man sharing a beer with me is another exiled Brit called James

Cheers!

Paris to introduce Chevalib city horse rental programme!

The Tower and the Horse by moonsoleil

While the G20 discusses climate change at their London summit. The mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë has stolen their thunder by announcing a new horse rental programme that is hoped will eventually replace cars in the French capital.

From 1st April 2010 Paris will introduce Chevalib which is similar to the Velib bicycle rental programme except that it will run with horses! You will be able to rent a horse for as little as one Euro for half an hour at one of the many planned horse stations situated throughout Paris. Once you’ve finished with the animal you can hand it back it at another terminal.

This scheme will work on several levels. Firstly, it will reduce reliance on the motor car thus cutting pollution and climate emissions, secondly the manure produced by the animal will be sent to farms and applied to crops in place of artificial fertilizer and thirdly once the animal has gone beyond its use for carrying people it can be killed and eaten!

Because of the harshness of the urban terrain a more sturdy type of horse is being imported from the Isles of San Seriffe.

This is an amazing new scheme let’s hope that other cities around the world join soon. It may not be suitable to every place in the world but as they say, it’s horses for courses.

Au Pere tranquille Paris (new French language course)

La Pere tranquille
Originally uploaded by LetThemTalk

This is Au Pere Tranquille, 16, Rue Pierre Lescot
75001 Paris. The location chosen for the new French course. "cafe conversation", which will start next Sunday 29th March. More details here.

Paris cafe conversation French language group

I thought this was a good location for the French course. It was from the end of the 19th century a nightclub and cabaret venue it became a bistrot and cafe after the war. It's a large elegant place with a terrace and a first floor which, hopefully, will be a suitbale venue to study French.

Video here

Au pere tranquille Paris, video

Promenade Plantée Paris

This is the Promenade plantée an elevated park built on a disused railway track in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. At ground level the spaces between the arches that held the railway line have been converted into shops and workshops and is known as the Viaduct des Arts.

A railway line carried passengers along this route from 1859 until the 1970s until it was replaced by new suburban routes. For some time afterwards there was a debate as to whether to tear down the viaduct or to put it to some use. Fortunately, the walkway proposal won the debate and the promenade plantée was opened in 1994.
It’s and enjoyable walk along a 4.5 kilometre route stretching from Bastille, just behind the opera to the Bois de Vincences.

Its makes for an interesting stroll both in the park on top of the arches or on the street below. At street level you can explore the arches which hold a number of workshops, and shops related to arts, crafts and textiles as well as some cafes and restaurants. To join the promenade plantée clim the stairways next to the archways at various points along the route along Avenue Daumesnil which runs parallel. From up above you can either enjoy the tree lined route or peer down at life on the streets below.

French Conversation Course Paris

A new French conversation class is starting this month in Paris from Sunday 29th March onwards. It's entitled "Cafe Conversation" and, as the name suggests will take place in a Paris cafe. It will be a weekly affair every sunday between 3pm and 5pm. It will be informal and will be lead by a native French group leader rather than a teacher. So it's not a formal French course.

The plan is to change the cafe from week to week so that not only can the participants improve their French but they also get to know some interesting Paris cafes.
All levels of French are welcome and you're welcome to come if you live in Paris or you just here for the weekend. However, places are limited so if you're interested it's advisable to book early.

For more information please click here Cafe Conversation French Paris

The Worst of Paris

This is a photo of Charlles de Gualle airport AKA Roissy AKA Dante's 10th circle of hell.

Your experience of it can vary depending on which terminal you're in but if you're unlucky you'll be faced with navigating through a huge ugly concrete mess of a structure with endless passegways and a maze of escalators seemingly leading nowhere.

If you're arriving in Paris for the first time it can be a shock. Not only do you have to put up with the worst major airport in the world but no doubt you'll end up on the train that leads you to Gare du Nord through some of the worst neighbourhoods of Paris. It's not quite the city of light that you imagine.

This weekend I had to fly out of Paris from Charles de Gualle airport. I got past the passport and security checks and had half an hour before I had to board my flight. Unfortunately, in my haste, I had forgotten to pack some essential toileteries. I wandered into the shops in the airport shopping mall and found, much to my annoyance, that you are able to buy indispensable items such as Beluga Caviar and metre long bars of Toblerone but you cannot buy a toothbrush!