Author Topic: When hiking, have you been taken aback by what people say to you?  (Read 2694 times)

SteamyTea

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Or that time when I was hiking the 'Stevenson Way' in France when I walked into a classy countryside restaurant, the 'madam' in charge was behind a podium, wearing a long sequined dress (she looked very smart) and welcomed me 'very sincerely' and gushingly handed me a menu as if I was a long lost relative! I informed her that I was a 'vegetarian' and her mood changed abruptly and she said 'NON!' and pointed me to the door! I had been thrown out!

I had to wander into the village and buy a couple of slices of takeaway pizza!
in the past they would have sat you down on the one no smoking table, the one wedged between the bog and the kitchen.
Then served you up peas with sliced ham in it.
God bless the French.
[They all speak excellent English, just not to us].
I don't use emojis, irony is better, you decide

ninthace

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...
God bless the French.
[They all speak excellent English, just not to us].
  Trust me, they don't!
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SteamyTea

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  Trust me, they don't!
We lived in France for a couple of years back in the 70s.
The old girl who lived next door was always friendly, but only spoke French. Until the week left. Then started speaking English to us, but with a Scottish accent.
She had lived in Scotland for over 20 years.
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ninthace

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We lived in France for a couple of years back in the 70s.
The old girl who lived next door was always friendly, but only spoke French. Until the week left. Then started speaking English to us, but with a Scottish accent.
She had lived in Scotland for over 20 years.
You will find the odd one.  I remember many years back, trying to find a campsite near Lyon in the dark and in really awful weather, we stopped to ask someone the way.  He answered in broad Glaswegian, apparently he had learned his English there during the war.  In the part of France I lived in, some of those who had higher level education spoke some English, albeit reluctantly, but most of them spoke none at all, even the kids who were allegedly learning it in school.
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Islandplodder

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We found that they are a bit nicer to vegetarians these days. We spent a few days in the south of France last October and my daughter quite often had a choice of at least 2 things on the menu. She said it was a big improvement, even on 3 years ago.

ninthace

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We found that they are a bit nicer to vegetarians these days. We spent a few days in the south of France last October and my daughter quite often had a choice of at least 2 things on the menu. She said it was a big improvement, even on 3 years ago.
For many years the French have never really understood cooking vegetables, they were seen as minor accompaniment to the meat.  Either that or they were regarded as peasant food.  I had a large vegetable garden in France that created a certain amount of interest.  When I was harvesting the usual question was to ask if I was making soup.  When I mentioned in the cafe I was growing parsnips, most of the folk in there didn't have a clue what they were to the point were I started to doubt my French. Then one of the old guys remembered eating them during the war - apparently they are regarded as animal food.  When I tried to grow runner beans I found the seed packet in the flowers section - nobody actually ate them.
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gunwharfman

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Having now walked about 7 or 8 GR routes (2 to 4 weeks at a time) over the last few years I have never really had problems in finding a French person who speaks English or at least tries to. In my personal experience, the young are the most likely to speak it the most. And of course, some Europeans are really good at it as well, people from the Netherlands, Germans, and Scandinavians for example. My particular favourites are from the Netherlands, never met an unfriendly one yet.

SteamyTea

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Having now walked about 7 or 8 GR routes (2 to 4 weeks at a time) over the last few years I have never really had problems in finding a French person who speaks English or at least tries to. In my personal experience, the young are the most likely to speak it the most. And of course, some Europeans are really good at it as well, people from the Netherlands, Germans, and Scandinavians for example. My particular favourites are from the Netherlands, never met an unfriendly one yet.
I have, spent 4 hours giving a statement to the Ducth Police about him.
Was a horrible , unprovoked attack on an innocent bystander.
The Policewoman I gave the statement to spoke excellent English, and knew, and used correctly some slang.  I asked where she learnt it from "spent a year with the Met" was her reply.
I don't use emojis, irony is better, you decide

ninthace

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I have, spent 4 hours giving a statement to the Ducth Police about him.
Was a horrible , unprovoked attack on an innocent bystander.
The Policewoman I gave the statement to spoke excellent English, and knew, and used correctly some slang.  I asked where she learnt it from "spent a year with the Met" was her reply.
When a I was stationed in Germany, every year we used to visit the Dutch school just over the border to do a presentation during their English class on why they had a noisy neighbour and what we did.  It was humbling to have a 12 year old kid explain his maths homework in perfect English when all I could manage was a few words of Dutch.  It got better in time as we watched a lot of Dutch TV but I was never very good.
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Zizag

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Some years ago whilst walking the Anglesey Coastal Path near Newborough
I got talking to a old guy .
Who started to talk to me in French  :-\ :o
With a quirky accent ..........
I started to acknowledge him speaking back in my best  French and making conversation .
He kept walking away back and forth and mumbling what seemed like some Gobbledegook  bad  French  .


A lady nearby beconed me over ,and said take no notice . :o  And said !!!!
He's a local villager who pretends to be a foreign national to Impress visitors . ;D :D 
She said he sometimes talks also with a German accent ? :o :o  His other trick Is to take photos of people visiting the area .  But his old camera has
No film ...... ::)
Well my Nephew who was with me was surprised I could talk French ( which I learned whilst living in France )
We Just fell about laughing and giggling It was so so funny  :D ;D ;) :-[ :-\ :-* .
You could not make It up.




Doddy

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On a day walk from the opposite direction a lady came towards me and immediately said "Can I kill things", I said why and she said there is wounded pheasant back there. I was raised on smallholding and had killed and plucked many fowl. Fortunately the pheasant was dead when I go to it.
 I had similar experience with road knocked down hare. If you do it there are dire consequences of blood everywhere and appearing to the any bystander appearing around the corner of being some sort of country maniac.

 

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