Search Results for: sundries

After a full day, we had been driving for 7 hour straight to get as close to Paris as we could for the end of the trip. At 11:00 pm, we finally pulled over at a highway hotel. They were full up, and pointed us across the way. We shambled over to the front door … Continue reading “French Sundries #11: Automated Hotel”

The highway exits for each town had graphics telling you something about the town. We loved this. Many of them were beautiful images. And we got a good laugh out of towns that couldn’t muster anything better than a hill. On one strech of road, for no reason we could ever figure out, there were … Continue reading “French Sundries #10: Road Signs”

The heavy metal piece is serrated on the inside. When you pull on the toilet paper, the motion pushes the metal piece out of the way. When you stop pulling, it falls back, and the serration cuts the toilet paper. You don’t have to rip it off, it naturally cuts itself just how you want … Continue reading “French Sundries #9: Toilet Paper Dispenser”

I think having the cross symbol on the stop light instead of a solid color is confusing. Paris is a biking city. They have velo stations every couple of blocks. You can rent a bike for 30 minutes and it only costs one euro. We loved it. Despite the scarcity of space Paris has bike … Continue reading “French Sundries #8: Downtown Bikelanes”

Floor zero is the lobby. The basement is the “-1” floor. I was very confused the first time I saw this, but it makes a lot of sense.

I loved this sign. You don’t need to be French to understand that the speed limit is 130, 110 if it’s raining. Very simple and effective design.

I liked this innovation. Each product has a digital pricetag. That way all the prices can be updated automatically. I assume it is integrated with the cash register technology so that it always scans the right price. I’ve heard this is done in some places in the USA, but I’ve never seen it. A further … Continue reading “French Sundries #5: Digital Pricing”

This picture is really just to annoy my Dad. Yup, the French still think Noam CHomsk is all that and a side of imperialism.

This receipt from a brasserie (restaurant) points out one of the oddities of French economics. Coke is a luxury item. Their marketing and sales team is on the ball. A regular Coke with dinner costs 3.70 euros, a little over $4. Notice that the beer costs only one dime more.

We found five comic book stores within a few blocks of each other. I particularly liked this one that specialized in Tintin. We got a Tintin notebook for one of the kids.

Here are the two facts that most surprised us: The bloodline of Louis XIV is still alive. We assumed they had all been killed off. Not so, there are many descendants. They are the equivalent of Americans descending from George Washington. It’s an interesting thing to know about someone, and that’s it. Storekeepers can only … Continue reading “French Sundries #1.5: Sale Times”

They sure make them big in France.