The French!

I feel that I must take a moment to ruminate on French culture. This was my third trip to France and I always feel that there is a gap between my imagination of being in France and the reality of actually being in France. I have only ever been to France in the spring and it is always a lot colder than my fantasy of spring in France. I always picture myself like Jean Seberg in Breathless, she was playing an American after all. A down jacket, umbrella and a poncho would have been more suitable for this trip than little black pants and flats. I packed sensibly for Alessandro but spent a lot time shivering! I always seem to forget that in France it really helps if you can speak French which I can not. I also feel like a poser peppering my language with a few French expressions (they always feel sarcastic or cliched to me) and on this trip I kept mixing in Spanish by accident. With the exception of one or two people most people were very gracious and kind and helpful when they could be. They probably walked away thinking I was just another simple minded American but oh well!