Great French Moments!!

OK- I thought the first one was an isolated experience, but now that I have two of what I call "Great French Moments"- I'm going to share them with you!

As we all know, the French are a little different than Americans. However you want to describe them, I think it is kind of like Eddie Izzard says- "They are French, they are spikey, because...well, they're fucking French!"

Things that I doubt you would see in the USA, or at least not with the same emotion:

1) I was walking down the street downtown a few weekends ago, right off of the main shopping district at the Place de la Comedie, when a girl comes out of what must be an apartment door. She is dressed in normal clothes, and walking calmly down the street. 30 seconds later, a guy (who happened to be really cute and have a nice bod) comes running after her, dressed only in boxer shorts. He is yelling at her, begging her to turn around, which she finally does and coldly says something to him (which I wish I knew enough French to understand), then keeps walking. Then he starts crying. A grown-ass man, half-naked in the street crying...like, for real crying, tears and the whole mess. Then he starts walking after her, begging her to come back, and crying while she completely ignores him. I try not to stop and stare, but well, I stop and stare, because I have NEVER seen such a dramatic movie-like scene in my life. It was like that scene in Bridget Jones when Bridget goes after Colin Firth in her underwear, only reversed and in French. This continues for several blocks until they are out of eyesight, at which point I have to move on.

LOVE it. Almost as European as dropping kitchen appliances out of windows like they do in the movies when they are pissed.

2) My second great moment came yesterday when I was eating lunch with a friend in a restaurant downtown. We were enjoying ourselves when all of a sudden we heard the crash of pots and pans and screaming coming from the kitchen. The restaurant, which was packed at the time and had been filled with the sound of loud conversation, fell silent as everyone listened to the cook screaming at someone in the kitchen. He literally slammed something down on the floor and SCREAMED, as loud as possible. "You do NOT talk to me like that, you DO NOT talk to me like that- I said, DON'T EVER TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, I am NOT your dog!" Seriously? A French chef throwing things in the kitchen and pitching a royal fit so loud that everyone in the restaurant stops their conversation in awe. Fabulous. I have never experienced anything like that in my entire life!


I heart France, these moments just lighten my life!!