the big smoke

so I'm back from my jolly holiday to Greece.
and yes there are white bits.

The Cretians looked genuinely alarmed/bemused at my efforts to speak Greek to them - must be my
Anglika pronunciation - I hope I wasn't being inadvertently offensive!

The truth is that in this global age everyone has basic English so if you're just a passing tourist you don't need any local nouse, just the please and thankyous will do (so NM that's one of your excuses put paid to!)

On this point of English being the international language of choice, how it must annoy the French! haha
At our hotel there was an european community of French, English and Germans. Put simple the French do not understand the concept of queuing! This should be of no surprise to me. My mum lived in Rome for 5 years and the Italians don't do queuing very well either! But there's something very charming about the Italians that makes you let them off with such naughtiness.
So at our hotel it was all-inclusive food so a buffet was available for you to choose your meal. But if you didn't get in before The French turned up, by gosh you had to fight for your dinner! haha

I love French cinema (Amelie is a masterpiece! And so upbeat for the sulky frogs!). I like a lot of the French booze that finds its way to my local supermarket. But after living with a perfectly horrid and rude French girl in a houseshare at University I'm afraid to say I despair at their rudeness!
I know there are polite French people out there. I met one last week on my way to Gatwick Airport on the Virgin Train I took to London. Charming, reserved - very English in manner in fact! But then he'd lived in London for 8 years so clearly he was 'one of us' now.

I'm reading a book by Kate Fox called 'Watching the English' and enjoying it thus far, having just read about our talking about the weather rituals. Brilliant! I love it when complete strangers comment on the weather to me. But I think my affection for talking to strangers is a little un-English... Not very reserved at all. But I just can't help it, I love meeting new people! haha Now i sound like Miss World. I also love animals and would like World Peace. hehe

I guess maybe I don't dislike the French after all - maybe it's just rude people.
How very English of me.

Wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Well... maybe some ex-pat type community in Tuscany would be nice...