oui ou non?

:DA good one this

Having spent most of my years skiing in french resorts and for the last 5 years as an owner in Bourg-Saint-Maurice i have nothing but the greatest of affection for the french locals i have met.

Over the summer my sister ,her husband and two children came out for a holiday and the were treated better than by the british people back home, i do not know of anywhere in my home area where you could take young children out with you for a meal and then sit in a bar until late evening without the owners wanting you to leave or the usual "No Children allowed" policy.

In and around the bars and restaurants of BsM my nephews where given free sweets and treats by th owners who seemed to show a genuine interest in their happiness and enjoyment while in their premises.

But the french seem to be more family orientated (two hour luches so the family can eat together etc) than back home,it is true that you are accepted more if you try the language even if you make a complete idiot of yourself ,as surely this is just good manners. :D

From being in france so much i have gotten into the usual way of greeting everyone i meet with a a hello ,good morning etc,when done in the UK most people do not know how to respond and some even look at you as if you are going to mug them.

Maybe because english is the common language for business etc worldwide we have forgotten to try someone elses when abroad ,also under this appalling government languages have been pushed aside in favour of easy to pass ,non subjects such as media studies ,the arts ,etc which is a shame. :D

jon.

I've encountered some very polite, friendly and helpful souls in French resorts, along with some of the rudest too. I guess that could be said of anyone, anywhere though and is nothing at all to do with "being French."

There's good and bad wherever you look and although France is not my favoured destination (I hate the thought of lift-closure in bad weather for one thing,) I have several friends who ski French resorts regularly and really enjoy it.

Dave Mac wrote:


Coming to skiing, there are two minuses, lack of village architecture, and the mountain costs, ie food and drink. The pluss points are, ski in/ski out, good lift systems, big mountains.

Fortunately the ski factories are not the sum total of French skiing. Look again and you'll find plenty of real communities with year round residents, who don't live in high rise blocks halfway up the lift system. Try the village of Samoens for starters...

http://www.samoens.com/anglais/DT1196158385/page/Samoens-Village.html

powder wrote:

Tony_H wrote:You were lucky. [snip]

a sweeping generalisation that is completely untrue. I have been to france more than any other country and I love it. Are all English jingositic lager louts, all americans stupid and all irish alcoholics?

Oh man, I can't resist.

OUI )

Bandit, I realise that I am generalising about the architecture, for sure there are little diamonds of villages.

One big strength of the French is their ability to get things done, motorways, power stations, big infrastructure. I have worked with French engineers on projects, and they were to a man, highly competent and committed people. All were well trained, and paid great attention to detail.

But when it came to ski resort design, they did seem to miss out a couple of middle men. I guess there was a lot of time pressure to meet deadlines, like winter olympics.

With newer resorts and buildings, a different approach seems to have been taken.

went to les carroz last march, very friendly people.

we went to the "l'agora" restaurant every night where I became absolutely addicted to this foxy french waitress, schhhwiiiiing! :lol: all the staff there were dead friendly (gf wasn't too pleased though)

Everybody really was super-mega friendly there, from the transfer to the bars and even when I wiped out half of the elderly skiers on the slope!! :oops: (another story!).

I had a great time speakin "frenglish" to everyone who just laughed at my inability but blatently appreciated the fact that i'd tried. If I was to take a family (not that I have one) skiing anywhere, it would most defo be les carroz!

Caron-a

I think you have answered your own question. You generally tend to get treated the way you treat others :!: By the way, I rather doubt that you "go out of my way to be friendly, courteous and speak to them in their language as much as possible". My guess is that you treat most people with respect and get treated with respect in return. The French tend to be quite formal and reserved and I think this can often be mistaken for rudeness. In my experience, most are at least as courteous as any other nation.

I ski in France most years and find it fantastic. Yes, the architecture leaves a lot to be desired in many resorts but I'm not there to admire the buildings. The advantages of ski-in, ski-out, large well-connected ski areas with efficient lift systems mean they deliver a great skiing experience.

As for cost - yes, the beer and food is a little more expensive. However, I usually go half-board or catered chalet, so eating out is normally confined to lunches - these are maybe €5 more than in Austria or €30 for a week - not much in the context of the overall cost of the holiday. Likewise the beer - yes, it can be difficult to fork over €6 or more for a pint of gassy beer. But even then, how much more does that add up to over a typical family holiday. Clearly, it is different if you are on a boozy trip with the lads/girls, where you are drinking most of the night. In this case, you would be mad to pick France anyway because the nightlife is way better in Austria :twisted:

I also enjoy Austria enormously; I would ski Italy more often if the snow was more reliable; I would love to ski Switzerland and North America, I would be happy to give Scotland a go, etc, etc, etc. In short, I am happy skiing wherever there are decent slopes and decent snow. The experience varies between each of them and that what makes live interesting.

Vive la difference :lol: :lol: :lol:

Tony_H wrote:You were lucky...

[un-necessary and racist cobblers removed - own your opinions and re-phrase them politely or take them elsewhere. Ta - Admin]

ou la la :!: