Most of our time in France so far has been in Lyon, known as the capital of gastronomy (food). Naturally, I tried to pay attention to some of the differences around meals. In Turin, (Italy) we had noticed people tended to have a “later” supper than in the US, with many restaurants not even opening until 7pm. In Lyon, this was true for many restaurants; however, it was interesting to note that some other restaurants would close around 6:30pm. There then appears to be more variable mealtimes. During meals themselves when we ate at restaurants, a separate glass was often provided with canned beverages, but ice cubes and ketchup, near staples of US restaurants, were absent. It is worth noting coffee was available at most restaurants regardless of daytime, similar to Italy.
In terms of dress, those in France tended to dress in nicer formalwear than that of the US. Suit-coats or at least a button down being very common while walking down the street. Compared to Italy, there appeared to be more variety of colors than the popular black and white we saw in Turin. However, the range of colors seemed limited to classic or neutral colors such as grays, dark blues, or light browns - bright or standard “drawing colors” were not to be found. T-shirts with printing as popular in the US were very uncommon as well, even in the evenings.
Posted by AEbert
I am curious to know why their meal times are so much later than what we find to be normal at home. In America, it is very typical for restaurants to open for dinner at 4-4:30, which here would be considered super early. I am also curious why some places close just before the dinner rush, as I would think that would bring them the most money. If they are only open for lunch, in America the restaurant would close much sooner than 6:30 ish, which causes me to question why places here would close at that time.
ReplyDeleteI think it's so interesting to note how Europeans tend to dress more nicely for seemingly meaningless tasks. They seemed to dress nice as if they were going to a job interview instead of just walking around and shopping. I think it makes everyone look so nice and well put together, and just adds to the beautiful sites that surround their cities.
ReplyDeleteI also found the completely different level of fashion astonishing, somehow everyone has such an on point fashion sense even while just out and about running to the grocery store. I can barely keep to the midwest standard of t shirt and jeans without breaking some basic rule of fashion and these people are dressed for a film shoot around the clock. As you mentioned graphic tees are quite rare, something that sort of has made me stick out like a sore thumb. Well, that and the fact that all of mine have been in English.
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