Observations from Europe

Jeff and I are in Europe.  We arrived last Wed. and will be here for 5 more days.  My sister and her husband are at home with our little ones holding down the fort for us.  We are currently in Venice and leave for Florence tomorrow.  J has come down with some sort of flu, so we are spending the evening in our hotel room tonight (it's 9:39 p.m. here right now).  Anyway, I thought I would post some of the stuff I've observed while I've been in Europe this last week...Enjoy the list and I promise to post pictures after we get home and get settled back into our routine.

1. SLOWER PACE - things here move at a lot slower pace.  It's almost impossible to get a coffee to go - everywhere expects you to sit down and enjoy yourself.


2. Waiters WORK hard for their money.  They are not only the waiter here - they are the host, they bus the tables, they handle your check and they don't expect a tip (no one in Europe tips)


3. Restaurants will turn you away when they are full - there is no wait for a table - when the restaurant is full for that seating, they simply tell you sorry! 


4. Almost everyone speaks at least a little English or Spanish - it has been amazing to see how much English the French and Italian people know.  It really puts our culture to shame for not teaching our kids more than one language!


5. I have little to no tattoos!  Lots of Europeans have piercings, but tattoos are not common


6. There are churches in every town, square, village - it's amazing how many Grand, Beautiful Churches there are


7. A majority of the people here smoke  - don't expect to eat outside without being smoked out!


8. Dogs are allowed in restaurants in France - can you believe that?


9. People do not clean their dog poop!


10. Crepes in France are like hot dogs in New York - there is a crepe stand on almost any corner!  And, they serve them with Nutella - Yummo!


11. They don't brew coffee like the Americans do....If you want coffee, it's going to be espresso (either Cafe or cappuccino if you want milk or latte)!  And, the coffee is yummy, but you better like strong coffee!


12. The Louvre is an amazing museum, but very overwhelming and extremely crowded


13. It is best to travel to Europe with small luggage.  J made me pack light and it's has been the best thing - we have walked everywhere or taken the public transportation and if we had lots of suitcases, it would have been a nightmare.


14. Men carry purses - it's the oddest thing to see, but they do it!


15. Don't come to Europe with the idea that you are going to stick to your South Beach/Atkins diet!  There are some serious carbs here!  For Breakfast, it's almost always bread (baguette), croissant, or toast (with Cafe, of course)


16. Strasbourg, France is on the border of France and Germany, so the cuisine there is both French and German.


17. There are tourist from all over Europe - I can't even tell you how many different languages we heard while in France - it was a lot!


18. In France, they serve you tap water in a small pitcher or bottle at your table.  It was such a nice way to keep your water glass full while the waiters attended to the other tables.


19. Every one takes the train here....the train stations are packed and people travel by train more so than airplanes.

Well, that's it's for now.  I'm sure I'll observe more in the next few days, but wanted to share these with you!