The extraordinary thing about France, i’m finding, is how often, as in almost always, everything in the countryisde is shut. No wonder the economy is in such a state, and why Sarkozy is trying to change things.

Shops shut at lunchtime for two hours, regardless. It’s almost As if they don’t want to be bothered by customers. They’re shut at the weekends. Restaurants are largely shut at this time of year – went through Claude Monet’s home village of Giverny West of Paris, prime tourist trap one would have thought, and at 1830 on the Tuesday after Easter, everything was shut. Bars that do open shut by 2030.

So, it’s safer to create one’s own lunch. See photo. And when the shops ARE open, needless to say the food is fabulous. This is what is keeping me going. As well as Steack and frites when I can find them…

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