As our trip nears a close...

A few observations that haven't made it into the blog yet. First about music...

It's been interesting to me that throughout our time in Europe we've heard certain recurring musical themes. The most striking thing has been the frequency with which we hear Big Band music of the 40's as well as American musical standards from the 30's, 40's and 50's. In virtually ever tea shop, pub and restaurant you hear Glenn Miller, Ella Fitzgerald, early Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and more. I don't know if it's a nostalgia thing from World War II or??? The first time we heard it we chalked it up to the quaintness of a small pub whose eccentric owner favored American 40's music. But no- everywhere we went this has been the music that's played; from the most exclusive to the most unassuming places. Curious!

Even here in Paris we've heard a lot of the same- though not as frequently as in England. Here, we're hearing more American jazz from the 50's and onward. Every song is in English and the cabbies in particular seem addicted to American jazz. We've had one who tried to 'sing along' with American jazz classics- even though he couldn't speak English. He just sort of performed what American jazz singers call 'scat singing' with an occasional French phrase thrown in. Another cabby played air guitar while he drove- well actually more air bass with slap/funk right hand and his left hand out the car window on the long neck of his 'bass' guitar . LOL!

And while we're on the subject of cabbies. We thought English cabbies were crazy. It turns out they're absolutely sane in comparison with their French counterparts! Both charge pedestrians at every opportunity- horn blaring and daring pedestrians not to dive for cover. Both season their driving with honking horn the way you might season your fried chicken with salt. Both nations' cabbies are utterly FLUENT in 'horn' and can use it up to 5 or 6 times PER CITY BLOCK!!! It can variously mean 'hey' to a fellow cabby, or 'you're an idiot' to most any motorist, or 'get out of my way or prepare to die' to any pedestrian who DARES to step off the curb. In both cities, the cabbies dart into the smallest opening with no concerns that another vehicle is going to move over; in fact they rather DARE another vehicle to move over! And woe be to any vehicle who is in the middle of changing lanes as the cabby will swerve around and blast past them. It's not uncommon to have two cabbies cut another vehicle off on both sides simultaneously, leaving the hapless motorist trapped between lanes in no man's land and with only 1"-2" between his vehicle and the cabbies on both sides with 3 vehicles now somehow 'sharing' two lanes.

But in France the cabbies have developed a substantially higher art form. U-turns across 10 lanes of oncoming traffic are considered normal and hand gestures and honking horns defy anyone to question their right to do so. Sudden darting moves are quite normal, moving for instance from the 3rd lane and slashing between two vehicles in the second lane with only 1" to spare and then diving into the first lane before cutting back in front of the lead vehicle in the second lane again- all in the space of 30' and two seconds. It's hair-raising and you have to just kind of close your eyes and cinch down your seat belt. There is a continuous monologue in French going on the whole time- undoubtedly a litany of complaints about other motorists that's liberally seasoned with swearing, hand gestures and horn honks. C.R.A.Z.Y. LOL!

"Personal space" in particular, and "space" in general is something quite foreign to Europeans it seems. Walk past any small cafe and you'll see the principle in action. A small storefront no more than 20' wide which would (in America) accommodate 3 tables and chairs may easily have two rows of 15 chairs each with each row having 6 or 7 small 18' tables. The chairs are literally touching one another and all face the street so that it's like theater seating with tiny tables in front of every pair of chairs upon which you can set your wine and bread. People sit with shoulder's physically touching as they dine.

The same is true of both driving and parking. If your vehicle is 6' wide, then any opening in traffic of 6' 2" is PLENTY wide enough to force yourself into. And somehow parking works the same way. Whether you're driving a Bentley or a Fiat 500 you squeeze into any parking space that offers 2" on either end beyond the length of your vehicle. We've seen 100's of cars parallel parked with bumpers literally TOUCHING the vehicle in front or behind and any space that has 8" of space on either end is a rare sight indeed. I have absolutely NO IDEA how they get in and out of these spaces. It's as if the cars were lifted in by helicopter and lowered into their space. A city block that might accommodate 8 cars parked parallel in America may well have 16-20 here- in part because tiny vehicles are more common, but in part because there are never more than 6" between any two vehicles somehow.

What began with observing the narrow 'jousting lanes' for driving in the Cotswolds and the diminutive 'stores' throughout England has turned into something more permeating- space is at a premium!

Parisians made plenty of allowance for beautiful green space and parks and many of their roads are quite wide- but other than that space here is dear and people use every square inch of it. Enjoying a bottle of wine, a loaf of bread and a piece of cheese along the Seine with your lover always involves 'sharing' it with 1000 other couples all sitting or lying within inches of one another for as far as the eye can see. Being 'alone' refers to whose lips touch the wine bottle rather than having physical 'space' around you.

And prices. Prices in Europe are staggering in comparison with prices in most of America. And while this tendency is exaggerated in places like Paris and London, it seemed to be true in the smallest rural areas of England as well. I've mentioned before that in England gas is $10+ per gallon. (I have no idea what it costs in Paris as I have not seen a single gas station. Hmm... I wonder where they are here? Certainly the real estate where we're staying is too dear to waste on a gas station!) A venti cup of coffee at Starbucks here is about $5 euro- or nearly $7 at the current exchange being offered. In rural London and Paris we've seen very few restaurant entrees offered for less than about $25-$40US and many are double that. And portions are SMALL!

I would say it's normal (from what we've seen) to figure on US$100 minimum for almost any meal for two if you have each have a small entree and a glass of wine and coffee. (I'm sure a McDonalds would be less by far- but still probably 2-3 times what you'd pay for the same thing in America.) And you could easily spend 2 or 3 times that in most places if order a more expensive entree, an appetizer and dessert. An appetizer that might be $7 in an upscale American restaurant is $18 here, a $16 entree would be $42 here and a $6 dessert might be $15 here. And of course in the UK most merchandise purchased has a 20% VAT tax on top of that.

So there you are: Frank Sinatra in the background, $10 gas, $7 cups of coffee, 'imaginary' parking space and sitting with shoulders touching the person next to you over your $150 dinner! LOL! Overall it's given us a love for the beauty and history that is Europe- and a new-found appreciation for the wide open spaces and affordable prices of America!