Vacances

I was in France a few days ago, in the Seine-et-Marne region, a few miles east of Paris. The local town was very sleepy, but it was interesting how different it was to similar sized towns here in England in terms of possibilities to buy fresh food. We were told that essential shops, in this part of France at least, are protected in that if one becomes vacant, then the lease is offered at a reduced rent to a jeune homme (or, I presume, femme) who is prepared to ensure the continuity of such things as the local bakery, patisserie or butchers. In addition there are the weekly markets which sell the most amazing local produce all laid out in mouth watering fashion.

The French expect to be able to buy beautiful fresh cooked loaves twice a day. In the town where I live, there is often very little left apart from cakes after lunch time and certainly no second baking. We still have a butcher but the greengrocer closed his shutters for the last time several years ago. We have a farmers' market one Saturday in four and good supermarkets, but we don't have the vibrant pavement cafés that you find in France that give their small communities so much atmosphere.

So why are matters so different in France? Is it the fact that parking is so much easier? Once you have bought your parking disc, for example, you can enjoy an hour and a half's free parking there, without worrying about the cost, as often as you like. It can't be the weather. Northern France is probably just as wet as Britain. Perhaps it is indeed just the fact that whenever you go to France you feel you are on holiday, even if, like me, sometimes you are combining work with pleasure. The French make it very easy to do that, as broadband seems to be available just about everywhere. Until the same situation exists in England, vivent les vacances en France!