Interesting things about Marseille...

I just wanted to note some things that we have noticed being here in Marseille...

*When waiting to cross the streets, the walk sign does not flash before it turns from "walk" to "don't walk," so you really don't know how much time you have to cross the street.

*Chris bought a Cherry Coke today, and the ingredients are different from Coke in the US. They do not put high fructose corn syrup in their soft drinks, which is GREAT (since that stuff is so unhealthy).

*Everyone says "Bonjour" (hello) to you as you pass. Very polite here.

*The city (except restaurants) shut down between noon and 2pm and then again after 5pm. The French take time for lunch and dinner. You will find people sitting at the restaurants and cafes for hours, drinking and smoking and relaxing.

*The only fast food that I have seen here is City Burger and McDonald's. Neither of which we have visited, or plan on visiting. (Chris would say differently).

*The younger girls lock arms to walk everywhere.

*They serve alcohol everywhere, even at Haagen Dazs and at the mall. No one cards you when you order a drink.

*Between 2pm and 7pm, there is food available, but only certain kinds of food. For snacks, the French eat crepes (these can either be sweet with fruit or nutella, or savory with cheese and meat), ice cream (this isn't just a scoop of ice cream...they are artistically done in a chalice and typically 2 or 3 scoops), salads (not exactly healthy salads when they have lots of goat cheese or bacon on them), and some tapas (small items taken from Spanish cuisine).

*Bread is served with everything...even drinks.

*I don't know how the French stay thin, considering the amount of dairy these people intake. There are 2 aisles for yogurt alone in the grocery.

*We found horse meat (steaks, ground meat, and liver) in the grocery!

*Milk and eggs are not refridgerated in the grocery.

*The handle-bar mustache is big with taxi drivers and brasserie waiters.

*People are friendly here. They joke a lot, and willing to help you with any question you ask.

*Most people we have come across have been able to communicate with us in English.

*In restaurants, small wine glasses are used for any drink.

*Mineral water is the water of choice, although spring water is cheaper. The French typically order a carafe d'eau...which is a carafe of free tap water.

*Alcohol is cheaper than bottled mineral water.

*Majority of the people smoke...Marlboro's.

*There are a lot of sunny days here, but very few people wear sunglasses.