Day 2558 (Sunday) 9th June 2024

This is Menton

Last night we dressed up and went up to Tamsin and Christian’s place for Tamsin’s 50th birthday party. I felt rather silly dressed in a long skirt going on Kisbee 2 but we got there no problem. My strings of pom-poms looked great hanging on the well-groomed hedges.

The whole garden looked great, they hired tables and chairs and this statue of the number 50.

This is Terry and Felicity, Christian’s parents with Huw dressed in his Bollywood shirt.

and this is Tamsin.

Jessie their daughter won the competition hands down.

She and some of her friends played waitresses and brought the nibbles around and then they started doing henna hands, so I had to get mine done. They were all so well behaved.

I was very impressed that most people dressed up, even the men.

This is Tamsin and her mother

and this is Tamsin and Christian.

When it was time to go home we left the scooter there and got an Uber home.

This morning was nice and sunny but by the time I was ready to sunbathe it clouded over – I wish summer would arrive, it’s really late coming.

Huw is delighted with his tomato plant – there are 11 tomatoes on it now.

We’ve got a bit of excitement coming to Villefranche soon.

Tuesday 18 June 2024 at 7.45 am. Alice Modolo, the famous freediver, will have the mission in the morning to bring up the Olympic flame from the depths of the harbour in Villefranche sur Mer. At 8:05 a.m., the flame will emerge from the water, carried by Alice Modolo, at the Port de la Santé and will head towards La Citadelle via the Quai Courbet and Avenue Féodorovna.To attend this event, you will have to arrive early to position yourself between the quays and La Citadelle because access will be prohibited between 7:20 and 9:30 am. For this major event, traffic will be disrupted for the duration of the presence of the flame in the municipality.From 7:20 am to 9:30 am roads closed: The moats of the citadel Bd Feodorovna Quai Amiral Courbet Av Sadi Carnot Av Maréchal Joffre Quai Amiral Ponchardier Promenade des Marinières. Planned diversions:Change of direction on Avenue Maréchal Joffre from Place d'Anjou, traffic flow will be transferred to the upper part of Sadi Carnot in the uphill direction Sadi Carnot cut off in the downward direction from the Octroi crossroads.

We’re going to watch it from our balcony.

Restaurant bill etiquette in France

A server in Paris carries over a bill to a customer (Photo by EMILIEN CANCET / AFP)

If you have plans for dinner out in France, here's a look at the etiquette over the bill - from where and how to pay to the culture around tipping.

If you go out to eat in France, then there are a few things you should know about paying the bill afterwards. 

How to ask for the bill - When you're ready, try to catch the server's eye and ask for the bill (l'addition, s'il vous plaît). You can always ask for the bill while they clear your plates.

This may be common knowledge now, but resist the temptation to yell out garçon! This is rude.

Unless you're in a very busy or touristy place the bill is not usually presented until you ask for it - this is deliberate, French servers normally don't like to hurry their customers and once you've finished dinner it's perfectly OK to linger and chat over the dregs of the wine.

If you're in a place that runs two service periods at night (usually one at around 7.30pm and one at 9pm) then you may be asked to clear your table by a certain time, but this should be made clear to you when you book or when you arrive. 

If it's getting late and the place is emptying out the waiter may bring over the bill and ask you to pay so they can close up the till - but they're not necessarily saying that you have to leave. If they start stacking up chairs, however, then that's your cue to go home.

Where to pay the bill - One major difference between France and other countries is that many restaurants - usually more casual ones - will expect you to walk up to the cash register to pay the bill.

This means that once you feel ready to go you can just walk up and pay at the counter, rather than waiting for the bill.

You can always double check with the server by saying Est-ce qu'on paie ici ou au comptoir? (Do we pay here or at the counter?) In many cases, the answer will be 'either' so it's really up to you.

How to split the bill - If you dined with a friend or friends, then you may want to split the bill. Some French restaurants use smart tablets that allow servers to click each of the items you ordered and then inform you of exactly how much you owe individually, while others will expect you to do the maths yourself. 

If you're in a group, some restaurants will include the amount if the bill is divided equally by the number of people in your party, it's usually just below the total.

The waiter will likely ask how you want to pay (Vous voulez régler comment ?) In response, you and your friend can tell the waiter on va partager l'addition (we are going to split the bill) once they come out with the card reader.

If you want to split it, you can say On va le diviser par deux/cinq, s'il vous plaît (we'll divide it in half/divide it by five please). If there's two of you can also say on va faire moitié-moitié.

If you don't want to do an equal split - let's say your friend had the lobster and foie gras and was drinking wine while you had a salad and a tap water - you can just do the maths yourself and then tell the server exactly how much you want to put on each card when they come out with the card machine.

How to leave a tip - In France, service is included as part of the bill, so - strictly speaking - it is not necessary to add a bit extra.

If you want to do so, you can check to see if there is a jar for pourboires (tips), which would be for small coins. In a similar spirit, you can leave a few coins on the table afterwards.

If you are paying by card, then you can also ask the waiter to round up your bill. So, let's say your final bill is €27.30. In this case, you might just tell the server to put €30 on the card instead. They will revise the amount on the card reader. 

Ultimately, choosing to tip is a personal decision. The Local ran a survey of readers' habits in France, and over 90 percent of respondents said that they tip at least some of the time.

But although almost everyone tips at least some of time, only a third (34.8 percent) said that they tipped every time they have drinks or go out.

In terms of how much to tip, that is also a matter of personal choice. Most respondents said that they would round-up a bill to include a tip, while others said that they would give some spare change. Most agreed that they added between 5 percent and 10 percent to a bill at a time.

Vocabulary guide

Sans contact - Contactless card payment (tapping your card on the machine)

Régler - To pay, a synonym for payer

La caisse - The cash register

Pourboires - Tips

L'addition - The bill

Au comptoir - At the counter

Par carte - By card (for payment)

Par espèces - By cash (for payment)

On va faire moitié-moitié - We'll split it, half and half.

On va le diviser par deux/cinq, s'il vous plaît - We'll divide it in half/divide it by five please.

Vous voulez régler comment ? - How do you want to pay?

Vous voulez votre ticket de caisse ? - Do you want your receipt?