Gas Price Linsanity !

As my husband and I were on our way to Nantes for a business meeting yesterday, we passed by dozens of gas stations throughout the small towns and on the side of the highways. We notice how absolutely L-I-N-S-A-N-E the gas prices in France are.

We decided to do a little calculation during our 1 hour and 20 minutes drive and here's what we got :


Premium gasoline comparison :


It costs 1.65€ /L in France
1 Gallon  = 3,79 Liters
1G = 6.25€
1€ = US$1.3297 
US$8.31/gallon in France comparing to US$4.45 in Los Angeles*


(*based on a random Chevron gas station in Los Angeles)


That's two times more expensive than LA!


In total, we pay at least 400€ (about US$530) per month just for gas between the two of us. That is, if we don't count the extra gas we pump when driving out of town for a weekend getaway or business trips. Unlike my husband, I only use my car a few times a week. Most couples here both work full-time and go to work in separate cars.

O-U-C-H!!!

No wonder lots of French people around us don't have any extra money for leisure such as going to the movies, eating at restaurants, buying new clothes, or turning on the heater at over 15°C at home. The cost of living in France is ridiculously expensive. After paying for mortgages, gas, utilities, and dozens of extra tax that Americans don't have to pay, most French people don't have much left at the end of the month. 


There is the minorities in France that can afford all this and a lot more. However, it is almost unacceptable to spend money or show that you have money while the average French people are tying to make their ends meet. And when you do, lots of people will make you suffer. For example, people that have a house that is a little bit nicer than their neighbor's house, they are bound to run into a lot of bad surprises non-stop. My neighbors, a very discreet and nice young couple, once got a letter from the city hall asking them to chop off their beautiful half-century-old mimosa tree because their next-door neighbor was suffering from not being able to have a full sea view as they enter their drive way into their garage in their car. Or your neighbor/friends/relatives secretly calling the French tax administration and have you audited every time someone buys a new car. We hear this all the time and it happened to many of our friends. This happens much less in big cities like Paris, probably because people are too busy to notice what everyone else is doing. As for the the small towns that make up the majority of France, they better learn to deal with it or move to the big cities. 


We are not Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates, but we have a little bit of extra to have a fun night out in town from time to time. But with all the pressure from our family, neighbors, & society, I simply cannot live like I used to when I was in California. The only time we feel free to be ourselves and have fun is when we are on vacation, where we can splurge on monstrosities like movies, restaurants, or maybe even some new clothes, without being judged or criticized as if we've committed a crime.

Camille Lacourt

Camille Lacourt is a 3-time gold medalist swimmer in Europe. He is getting lots of buzz in France right now. Go figure.

oh là là

Yes, Camille looks like a GQ model....but so is the blue-eyed blond that delivers my packages, the dark curly-hair guy that handed me over a slap of meat at the boucherie, the sexy young fisherman who sold me a kilo of langoustines the other day, and the handsome farm boy that handed me some organic potatoes and avocados at the farmer's market.

No, no, no, NOT everyone in France has devilish good looks. I am just trying to tell you that you will find devilishly good looking people doing the most expected jobs here. Unlike in LA, guys that look like Mr. Lacourt are not always struggling artists working as waiters to pay their bills as they pursue their acting career. Here, waiters are simply waiters. Cashiers are just cashiers. They work regular jobs like everyone else. The other day at LeClerc, where I do most of my groceries shopping, I ran into the most beautiful young blond woman cleaning the WC. As gorgeous as she was, she didn't seen to mind at all about cleaning the toilets for a living and took her job seriously. R-E-S-P-E-C-T! I love that kind  of humble spirit.

Most french people are not really attached to their looks or youth. Good looking young French people don't expect to get any special treatments as they do in California. In fact, the only people that get special treatments are the elderly, especially true for the old ladies that have big perfectly groomed hair, bling bling jewelry from head to toes, and a very fancy purse. As for the rest of the French population, they get the normal French treatment, which is a whooooooole other topic.

This is a perfect example of what you'd need to look like if you'd like "special treatments* 


Just go Bernadette

Although looks don't really matter, your age and how you dress will make a big difference in France. They don't always dress great themselves, but they just judge you if you don't.

*Special treatment in France :

• A waiter/waitress asks if you'd like a table without having you to hunt them down and beg them for a table
• The salesperson or owner who actually stops reading the newspaper and notices you are there. If you are lucky, they might even say hi.
• Not getting dirty looks when you are in good mood and accidentally smiled at a someone (it's a crime to look happy)
• An old lady decides to get in line behind you and not right in front of you

Most of them are not mean or rude at all. Some of them might even be the nicest people you'd meet once you take the time (years) to know them. This is just how they interact with strangers whether you are French or not. 

For the love of châteaux

There are hundreds of amazing chateau all over France. More and more are privately owned these days, because the maintenance costs are phenomenal and they have become expensive for the states to run. Very few chauteau still reside the original descendents. Not all modern day aristocrats are filthy rich and have millions in their bank accounts. Some struggle to make ends meet every month, have a blue collar job, pay mortgages, pay monthly car payments, and live a very humble life like everyone else. Due to the astronomical amount of inheritance tax suddenly bestowed upon them, many are left with no choice but to sell their family possession immediately after having inherited it. We personally met a few of them and it truly broke our hearts to see they had to part with their family possessions which have been in their family for hundreds of years. 

Dozens of small privately owned chateau are only within 15 to 30 minutes from my house. The more famous ones are only an hour away. When we have time to take a short trip to the Loire Valley just 2,5 hours away, we can find some of the most famous French chateau such as the château de Chambord, château de Amboise, château de Chenonceau, château de Villandry, along with hundreds of beautiful smaller ones all over the Loire Valley. Most of them are from the middle ages dating back to hundreds of years ago. 

When I was living in Los Angeles, I used to drive 5 hours+ to Vegas and San Francisco for my spontaneous last-minutes trips. Now that I am living in France, I really enjoy the convenience of just hopping in the car and stopping by to see a chateau near our house. My goal is to visit as many château as possible all over France. Here are some of the chateaux I've visited recently :

Château de Trédion

Château de Josselin

Château d'Artigny 

Sorry about the quality of these pictures taken with my iPhone. 

More will be added in the future. Stay tuned!

La Môme vs. La vie en rose

When I was living in California, I used to go to the movies a few times a week. As a movie fanatic, seeing many American movies translated into funny titles just crack me up. So, I decided to do a little research and here's what I came up with. 

French vs. American

French movies titles that crack me up : 

Sexy Dance.................................Step Up

Sex Academy.................................Not Another Teen Movie

College Attitude.............................Never Been Kissed

Sex Crimes...................................Wild Things

Sex Intentions..............................Cruel Intentions

American party - Van Wilder, relations publiques..........National Lampoon's Van Wilder

French movies titles that are totally different than the original : 

La Môme......................................La vie en rose

Steppin'........................................Stomp the Yard

Les Evadés...................................The Shawshank Redemption

Elle est trop bien.............................She’s All That

N'oublie jamais..............................The Notebook

Coup de foudre à Rhode Island............Dan In Real Life

French movies titles that even Americans can translate : 

La Liste de Schindler.....................The Schindler's List

Le Dahlia noir...............................The Black Dahlia

La Guerre selon Charlie Wilson..........Charlie Wilson's War

La Momie.....................................The Mummy

Direct translations are boring but they help me practice my French : 

Le Parrain....................................The God Father

Message dans une bouteille..............Message in a Bottle

La Ligne verte..............................The Green Mile

Le Seigneur des anneaux : le retour du roi............The Lord of the Rings

Il était une fois en Amérique...............................Once Upon a Time in America

That's all the time I have today folks!  

Organic Junkies

BIO* = organic

Great news for all you organic junkies out there! Fresh organic veggies directly from local farms in a vending machine. 28 refrigerated slots of organic goodness available 24/7 everyday of the week.

Hallelujah...or alléluia as the French say!

I sometimes miss the convenience of living in California and Hong Kong, the land of endless all-night supermarkets and convenience stores. After all, we never know when we might just feel like cooking up a pot-au-feu at three in the morning. For those of you who have never lived in a small town and don't get what's with all the excitement, here's why:

Most stores in French small towns are closed for 2+ during lunch time, running only until 6 or 7pm, and everything is usually closed on Sundays. Some stores even take a day off on Mondays. There's no "oh honey i don't have anymore sugar...can you run out to the market?" Here, you have it or you don't. I am becoming more and more creative from all my last-minute improvisations. The other option is borrowing it from your neighbors, except some French people may consider it rude and don't like to be interrupted during family times except if my house is on fire. It is opposite of the Chinese and So Cal cultures which I am familiar with, where anything goes and people are usually happy to be of service anytime of the day. 

Think about all the elderly who can't drive! Think about all the moms with 3 hyper kids! Think about the people who come home everyday from work and everything is already closed! Think about the antisocial!

Who doesn't enjoy the comfort of being able to get a bunch of organic carrots in the wee hours?

Looks like the veggies vending wave hits the machines in the US, too. 

Check this out...

Fresh Healthy’s machines are stocked with soy milk, yogurt, fruits and vegetables, smoothies, energy bars, Kashi snack bars, tea and other organic snacks. Mostly processed food. Still, it is great options for people who don't eat junk food. 

I landed upon this article on the wall street journal. I mean, who reads stuff like this.....I DO!

The Great Banana Challenge. How to Dispense Healthy Snacks From A Vending Machine:

Long live organic veggies!

*BIO is short for biologique in French