Travel guide
about France

They only speak French

Don’ t worry. It’s possible to survive in France without the knowledge of even one word of English. You get your money from cash dispensers (atm’s). In the outskirts of every self-respecting village, you will find huge supermarkets or even larger department stores where you find everything you might want to eat, drink or whatever. Sign language to an old woman in an even older small grocery shop called Alimentation is definitely past time.
By the way, if you’re Scottish or Dutch, you will visit these supermarkets anyway. They sell gas for your car, too. You will pay approximately 15 eurocents less then you will at the local gas station near your campground.

Let’s get back to language items. This isn’ t the place to offer a language course, but we will point to some curiosity’s in French language. Please feel free to suggest us some more:
- Although the word chaud officially means hot, in fact it’s better translated by warmish. Be prepared, especially at campground showers. Eau chaude mostly is nearly warm water, but the expression might even indicate the water is not so very cold anymore.
- Be very careful with the proverb baiser. There still seem to exist schools and language courses that teach you this word means to kiss. That may be prudish, it may also be euphemistic language, but the real meaning of the word is (excusez le mot) to fuck.
- French are really fond of their language. However, the card game bridge is called bridge in French, too.
- Names of the cards that are not indicated by numbers: ace = as, king = roi, queen = dame and jack = valet. The kinds of cards: clubs = trèfle, spades = pique, diamonds = carreau en hearts = cœur.

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