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  Day 3246 (Tuesday) 28 th April 2026 This is Port Vauban in Antibes and this is Nice DO NOT BE RUDE IN FRANCE ❌  What not to do in France: Politeness is a very important value for the French. We do not like rude people. It will not go well with the French if you are rude. However, I grant you, the French themselves are not always polite. But if you want to integrate well in France, you must be polite. ✅  What to do in France: Here are some basics of politeness you must absolutely follow when you are in France. Say “Bonjour” as soon as you enter a store or a public establishment. Say “Bonne journée, au revoir” as soon as you leave a store or a public establishment. If you approach someone on the street or in a store, always start your sentences with “Bonjour, excusez-moi,…” Always say “S’il te plait” when you ask for something and “Merci”. Use “Vous” and not “Tu” with people you do not know or know very little, especially in a formal context. Do not u...
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  Day 3245 (Monday) 27 th April 2026 These photos were taken in Villefranche-sur-Mer. It was lovely and sunny today, why couldn’t it have been like this yesterday for the petanque picnic? We went to Nice to enjoy our weekly kebab in the the park. The port is getting busy with all the tourists coming in on their private yachts and the rent-a -boats. As usual on a Monday here’s What’s happening in France this week. The Local, France. There may be flowers ahead. (Photo by GEORGES GOBET / AFP) The first of May’s numerous public holidays, a big week for sports fans, new fees for driving licences and carte de séjour kick in — and household gas prices are set to rise Monday Back to school —  Children attending schools in France’s Zone B, which includes Aix-Marseille, Nice, and Strasbourg, return to classes after their Spring break, as do children at schools in Corsica. Children at schools in Zone C (Paris and the south-west) are the only ones on holiday now. They return to school ne...
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  Day 3244 (Sunday) 26 th April 2026 This is Nice and this is Villefranche-sur-Mer.   We had planned to have a petanque picnic today but when we got up it was cloudy and a bit cold so we postponed it for a few weeks and stayed at home. Coup: The French word that can mean a punch, true love, a one-night-stand and much more This word can fill up a whole page in the dictionary with its usage. Photo by Pisit Heng on Unsplash If you're listening to everyday French chat there is one four-letter word that pops up repeatedly, in a bewildering array of different meanings. If you look up  coup  in French dictionary Larousse you will learn that its primary definition is "rapid and brutal shock resulting from the movement of a body hitting another, and, in particular, shock given with a part of the body or with an instrument". As such it's usually translated into English as a knock, a punch or a blow. But a good dictionary will then list a dizzying array of phrases which featur...
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