Feb 232015
 
Français : Un Starbucks à Paris (France)

Français : Un Starbucks à Paris (France) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Quelle Horreur

What I like about traveling is seeing new places, learning how people live in other countries and finding out a few things about myself along the way. At least that’s the way I tell the story. In truth what I like most is when I can visit an exotic place without adjusting at all. I prefer the comfortable over the new.

It’s that way most of the time. I remark about the abundance of McDonald’s, carefully avoiding any patronage. I have smeared at Starbucks. I laughed at how we never heard anything but American music in Belgium. But even the most opinionated of culture snobs is forced to confess that things can get too strange. And so, as we start our second week in France, I find myself asking, “Where are the Starbucks?” Continue reading »

Ralph

Ralph is the inspiration for Cantankerous Old Coots and is our Grand Duke of Cantankerousness

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Feb 102015
 

Se la vie

Life has a way of slapping you in the face just when you think everything is under control. During our stay in France, for the first time in our foreign travels there wasn’t a Starbucks. Whenever we saw a Starbucks, we asked ourselves why anyone would want to visit Starbucks when there so many good places to get coffee in Buenos Aires or Rome. In France, while there were many places to get coffee, if you wanted a croissant to go with it, it wasn’t so simple.

You needed to visit a boulangerie (bakery) and then take your croissant to the coffee shop. Since everyone (meaning the French) understands that there is no explanation provided to anyone else. You have to figure it out yourself. Somehow it never worked out so smoothly when we tried it. Once in while you would find a lunch type cafe where you could get coffee along with your sandwich or pastry but these were not the norm. Now that I reflect on our French experience it is clear why it wasn’t until we visit France that we missed the Amercan ambience of Starbucks. Continue reading »

Ralph

Ralph is the inspiration for Cantankerous Old Coots and is our Grand Duke of Cantankerousness

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