Tractors in France

hitekcountry · Jun 27, 2007

bones1 said:
Great pictures. In some of the shots looking down the streets I actually felt I was there.

Glad you liked the pictures, I don’t want to boor anyone with my vacation photos but you might like these lake pictures I took. They have plenty of lakes in the area I was in.

dieselalles · Jun 29, 2007

I lived in West Germany near the town of Bitburg in the late '70's and early '80's compliments of Uncle Sam. France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands, beautiful, peaceful, quaint, rustic and the people were great. Learning enough of the different languages to get around sure opened a lot of doors, especially with the older folks who didn't speak English. Oddly enough, didn't experience hardly any culture shock at all moving from a farm in Tennessee to a farm in Germany.

Just curious, what happened to the yellow headlights that were required on all French vehicles back then?

hitekcountry · Jun 30, 2007

dieselalles said:
I lived in West Germany near the town of Bitburg in the late '70's and early '80's compliments of Uncle Sam. France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands, beautiful, peaceful, quaint, rustic and the people were great. Learning enough of the different languages to get around sure opened a lot of doors, especially with the older folks who didn't speak English. Oddly enough, didn't experience hardly any culture shock at all moving from a farm in Tennessee to a farm in Germany.

Just curious, what happened to the yellow headlights that were required on all French vehicles back then?

The yellow headlights thing I wouldn’t have known anything about if you hadn’t mentioned it, but my GF says she thinks that got changed sometime in the 80’s.

My experience with the people I met was good, everyone was friendly, but I suspect that had more to do with the fact that I was with her paving the way so to speak. The one thing she kept on me about was the need to greet anyone I met with “bonjour”. She said the French will take you as being rude if you don’t.

For now I only speak English, my GF Speaks French and fortunately for me English, she also speaks Italian and Latin. I know I was able to see parts of France I would have never had the opportunity to see if I hadn’t been there with a local.

My first little culture shock experience is kind of funny. The first day at her house I went to take a shower and I asked her where the soap was and she pointed to a shelf and said any one of those bottles that you like. So I’m in the shower and I grab a bottle and I look at the label and it says “Pour La Douche” Woops I don’t need That!! I grab another bottle and check that one out and it says the same thing!! I look at all of them and they All Say “Pour La Douche” What’s a guy to do??? I look around and I finally catch sight of some of those decorative soaps in a jar and I used that. Later when I asked her about it she didn’t understand my question, then I told her what douche meant in the US, and she just cracked up. As it turned out douche in French means shower, so “Pour La Douche” just means “For The Shower”.

She says she wants to teach me to speak French, I kind of think that would be worth learning, so I’ll be headed back over there soon. A few nice pictures with my GF

rox · Jul 1, 2007

hitech,

On a different thread http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/safety/102437-yard-sales-cell-phones-rant-4.html Post #123 I supported the Round Points in France as working very veyr well, better thann stop and go lights and stop signs. I also commented about how pretty they were how the cities and villages take pride in them and ow they are always decorated. What did you think about the round points (perhaps best to respond back in that other thread)

Also thanks for the pics of your gF, oh yeah she be styling as most French put a high priority on their appearence, especially women. Did oyu know that France buys more makeup than all the rest of europe combined? It is jsut part of their culture, looks matter, appearnces matter. Of course they have more vacation days and a shorter work week than any other country so I guess they have the time to invest in themselves.

If you ever get further south please do come for a vist. We are in Salon de Provence. Do you ue Mappy - Road Guide in Mappy Place means city.

What I see around here are a lot of New Holland tractors. A lot of Blue. That could jsut be that there is a really good New Holland dealrship nearby though. Oh and there is some Bota's.

hitekcountry · Jul 1, 2007

rox said:
hitech,

On a different thread http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/safety/102437-yard-sales-cell-phones-rant-4.html Post #123 I supported the Round Points in France as working very veyr well, better thann stop and go lights and stop signs. I also commented about how pretty they were how the cities and villages take pride in them and ow they are always decorated. What did you think about the round points (perhaps best to respond back in that other thread)

Also thanks for the pics of your gF, oh yeah she be styling as most French put a high priority on their appearence, especially women. Did oyu know that France buys more makeup than all the rest of europe combined? It is jsut part of their culture, looks matter, appearnces matter. Of course they have more vacation days and a shorter work week than any other country so I guess they have the time to invest in themselves.

If you ever get further south please do come for a vist. We are in Salon de Provence. Do you ue Mappy - Road Guide in Mappy Place means city.

What I see around here are a lot of New Holland tractors. A lot of Blue. That could jsut be that there is a really good New Holland dealrship nearby though. Oh and there is some Bota's.

Rox

I liked the round points. They took some getting use to, but when you get the feel and understand the flow of it you can appreciate the common sense of the thing. The one problem I had with the round points is the times she would say “Just follow this road” and then I’d get to a round point with a large mound in the center to where you couldn’t see to the other side, then as I come around the other side I see two roads, neither of which lines up with the road I was on, quick make a decision, “which road – which road”.

I found driving in France to be noticeably different than driving in the US. In the US you can be half brain dead with a cell phone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other and still manage to get around. In France you need to stay alert.

Driving on the “speedway” (freeway) was one of the more enjoyable driving experiences I have ever had. The basic rule is you don’t do anything to slow down any other driver, sort of like the faster car has the right of way. The end result is that everyone is driving at the speed that they’re most comfortable with. Add to that the beautiful green gentle rolling hills and the long sweeping turns of the road, and it’s just driving heaven. I told my GF I’m thinking about bringing a Corvette to France just so I could drive it on their freeways. For me that would the ultimate driving experience.

Driving in the cities is where it can get to be really challenging. Roads intersect at crazy angles with a zillion different types of traffic signs, and you could be looking at any number of traffic lights, trying to figure our which one you need to pay attention to. One way streets are quite common because some places the distance between buildings is too narrow to allow two cars to pass. And then add to all of that my GF would sometimes get the French to English translation of left and right mixed up. So if she said turn left here and pointed right, I’d turn right. It was always exciting.

When I get around to moving to France does it make sense to ship my tractor there or sell it here and buy a new one there?