Sitting in the sun enjoying my coffee.I could have had it in the hotel but I like a smoke with the exotic brown liquid…whichever country I’m in I’m never sure of the protocol concerning cafes or bars.Do I order inside and wait? Do I order inside then grab a seat or just plonk my arse outside and wait to be served.This time I did the latter and even though it took five minutes to be approached I was strong,I was resolute,I was a pillar of strength in the face of overwhelming odds and I got my coffee with the little sweet biscuit thing on the side…in Britain the choice is easy,you order at the counter.If you just sit down after a while you’ll get “ are you gonna order something pal? Cos’ if not you can fuck off” you know where you stand…
Now paying for what you’ve ordered.Silly I know but many places insist on it…in Germany it’s normally either a tab the bartender keeps or the famed beermat mark up and you settle up at the end of the day( or if it’s a long session when that particular person ends their shift and you start again) In Italy you normally have what you have and settle up inside and usually in France they give you the bill on a round black service tray.This is not,and I can’t stress this enough,an ersatz ashtray.You will not be a popular customer if you use it as such…the trick to avoiding any or all miscommunications in ordering & paying is never to spend any money.Simple…
Big election day in France today.They’re on the verge of voting in Le Pen,a nasty piece of work.Not quite sure how things work over here.They had a first vote a week ago and the 2nd is today.A couple of people I have spoken to about it both here & in Paris are not optimistic of any other outcome than Le Pen…have not seen any polling stations or signs for them,do the French all vote by post or online or is it just that I’ve not been in the right areas?
Turns out the France semi final is on my last day in the country and the next day I have an eight hour trip to Hamburg and England play the Dutch in Dortmund a few hours after I get in.No doubt i will watch the French game in the same bar I was in last night and find a bar in Hamburg the next day( many Germans will be supporting England I guess as they really don’t like the Dutch) either way things could get messy for a few days in my little world…
Talking of curry.I wasn’t but it was on my mind yesterday.There’s one round the corner from the hotel which opens at 6-30pm and as there’s no football to distract me tonight it’s looking good.On my last visit here I had one at a place called Tamil and it was the best curry i had on that trip.The bar was pretty low however as if I remember many of them were pretty terrible affairs…maybe that’s the reason I’ve not had one this time.Maybe Strasbourg is Europe’s Brick Lane…
Hold that result! Now the proud owner of a Strasbourg transport card (definitely not oyster) didn’t know I was buying one but the machine spat it out and it’s rechargeable.Three day pass for #10-40.Reasonable price…
Curry time but at Tamil because…
In a while crocodile…
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