9 Things I'd never seen until I moved to France

[@OuiInFrance]

📖 Get my BLOGGING FOR BEGINNERS eBOOK: bit.ly/2SuesFD
Bonjour, tout le monde! If you're a beginner blogger (or about to get started), I'd love for you to check out my brand new eBook all about finding clarity with your voice, niche, and purpose.
Hope you enjoyed today's video! Let me know what things you'd never seen until you came to France! xx

[@RPLstudiocity]

Did I hear you say you also had a book on moving to France? (Or did I imagine that? LOL) I didn't see it on you blog. Perhaps I'm mistaken but I would be interested if you do have it. I ordered a t-shirt while I was there though!

[@OuiInFrance]

@@RPLstudiocity HI Daisy, yes I have an eBook w/France travel tips. Check it out here: www.ouiinfrance.com/france-travel-tips-eguide/
Thanks and Merry Christmas!

[@RPLstudiocity]

@@OuiInFrance Thank you so much, Diane! Merry Christmas to you as well!

[@midas1929]

Easy rule for parking in Paris:
If you hear the cracking sound, slowly back up 5 inches more

[@khaelamensha3624]

Did they not told you during the secret ceremony that you must never ever share this tip with anyone outside the sect??? lol 5 inch... well is is a minima :)

[@CleopatraTelevision]

😂😭

[@carolynlarke1340]

I noticed in Rome that numerous side mirrors on cars were smashed, damaged or gone entirely leaving a tail of control wires swinging outside. My friend said drivers use the mirrors as street- width gauges.

[@Mf19593]

Another rule in France is , you are the odd one out if you use indicators 😂

[@apprendrelharmonica2381]

Yes, hedgehogs are so common in France. I have 3 or 4 of them in my small garden. I'm finding them every single day, with cats food.

[@towaritch]

French gypsyes used to eat them

[@dreamsofvoid2023]

Hedgehogs are common. Especially when they are crushed in a side of a road where you go everyday for like 3 months (and it's so sad)

[@apprendrelharmonica2381]

@@dreamsofvoid2023 Yes, yes because their defense when they see a car is to stop and withdraw into themselves.

[@paulbismuth10]

I think they are endemic to Europe, very cute and perfectly harmless.

[@herrahz5894]

Same happens to me :) i love them so much

[@herrahz5894]

As a french, i've never seen a baguette vending machine too

[@rozen4260]

ça fait 2 ou 3 ans que ça commence à arriver comme les machines à pizzas, du coup on en voit pas partout

[@linoastra4121]

Dans les coin reculer ou il y a plus trops de boulangerie certaine boulangerie font le pain pour deux trois village en même temps

[@mookieyomu7285]

*As a frenchman. As a french c'est pas correct

[@domjuancourtleciel742]

Sérieusement ????

[@inekesauerbier5861]

As a dutch tourist who has travelled all over France for many years; I've seen several of those vending machines. In a little village where there is no bakery for example. A Baker from a village nearby filled them twice a day.

[@zenkid4113]

I had no idea hedgehogs were not common in North America. In France it's super common once you get out of city centers. My parents in the suburbs have some in the garden, they sometimes show up and eat the food left for the cats :) Also they're great if you try to grow tomatoes or something, because they eat slugs I believe.

[@yanki66000]

Violette is a speciality from Toulouse, very common there if you want to try more violette food go for Toulouse for sure !

[@drreaganeliedithphd6526]

oui ils sont commun à Toulouse et Frouzins

[@lfbep2165]

Long life milk is not refrigerated however you will find fresh milk along side butters, cheeses and yoghurts, etc.

[@Matthy63]

Long life milk also needs to be refrigerated once you actually open it. Eggs basically don't have to be refrigerated since they're not washed but I kind of grew up refrigerating them and just kept the habit.

[@aeolia80]

The link doesn't explain the milk, though it explains the eggs. For anyone wondering, most milk in France, and many other parts of Europe, is ultra pasteurized (UHT), like ultra, and many are put in tetrapak containers (in France they have the technology to recycle tetrapak unlike other countries), though there are still a lot packed in plastic containers. This makes the milk shelf stable for quite a while before opening, obviously after opening you need to put it in the fridge. Also all forms of cream may be ultra pasteurized and shelf stable also. However for many people that were not raised on this stuff, it may taste like burnt milk (I'm in this box, I absolutely hate the stuff), so there is fresh milk available in the refrigerated dairy section, but the selection isn't that good. Also fresh cream that isn't UHT can be extremely hard to find, you may have to go to a fromagerie to get fresh cream. I was raised with the notion that whipping cream shouldn't be UHT because it's not very stable when whipped unless you add a stabilizer like gelatin or something like that (which actually I'm finding out many bakeries here do), fresh non-UHT cream tends to be better for making clotted cream too, (also many UHT creams already have stabilizers in the ingredients, which you may want to avoid for some recipes), but finding non-UHT heavy cream for some recipes is proving to be quite difficult. Honestly, because of the fiasco of trying to find non-UHT cream and milk, I've switched to non-dairy for many things like cereal and some baking because I don't need fresh dairy, nor do I necessarily need dairy for that stuff anyways. I've come to really like this epeautre-noisette (spelt and hazenut) "milk" for my cereal and pancakes, things like that, and it helps be lower me dairy intake which is always good. But if I'm having coffee or tea with milk, I need need need the fresh non-UHT stuff, even the non-dairy stuff doesn't taste that good to me in coffee or tea

[@jean5416]

^^ I am France. So I use/drink milk uht. I have never drink real milk of cow. I don’t want ^^ no no no. I love my French milk with coffee. I need to search info on google because I still don’t understand why American eggs are white . And how they do to change the color inside the « chicken » :)

[@eiramg]

​@@jean5416 la couleur des oeufs depend de la couleur de la poule, je crois.

[@jean5416]

@@eiramg mdr je viens de regarder sur Google. Oui c’est ça ^^ c’est en fonction de la race de la poule ^^

[@mayaklast6334]

I know it's an old comment and your UHT explanation is right but I was very surprised by the affirmation that fresh cream is 'extremely hard' to find here.
I have lived in quite a few cities of all sizes and have been pretty much all over France and I have never seen a supermarket not having entire shelves of refrigerated fresh cream, from liquid to actual crème fraîche including all the different fat contents and the labels and at least half a dozen of fresh milks including buttermilk. The only time I ever had trouble finding some was in very small 24/24h corner shops but no one does all of their shopping there.
I have never bought cream or milk in a fromagerie and I have never consumed a drop of UHT cream or milk. In 2021 (year of your comment), fresh cream represents 43% of sales, UHT 53% and the rest is vegetal (the report on vegetal would come mostly from higher socio economical categories, so while I can't affirm it I find it likely it was taken mostly from the 'fresh' side of things). So UHT is really not that prevalent over all and you normally shouldn't have any trouble finding plenty of quality fresh creams in any mainstream (even smallish) supermarket anywhere in France.
Where you live must be a dairy black spot... its situation is extremely unusual and I have never heard about this before. You have my condolences.
Source:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/www.franceagrimer.fr/fam/content/download/69208/document/STA-LAI-Consommation%20de%20produits%20laitiers%20en%202021.pdf?version=1

[@RGSuperfan]

If you loved violet ice cream, you have to try the violet hard candy.
The quality ones are expensive, but totally worth it.

[@ameliehorn4516]

Stp p. P o o. P

[@cedtala]

small adjustment. ...about milk..we have two kinds..the "long conservation" one, and the "fresh" one ...and the fresh is ALWAYS refrigerated ;)

[@PlaggPlagg]

You cannot visit St Malo and not buying an ice-cream at Sanchez's. It's a must do.
Their ice-creams are so good and they always try new flavors. No wonder the violette one was a good experience

[@inekesauerbier5861]

Thanks for this info. I visit St. Malo regularly ( or Dinan...soooo pretty) but did not have icecream there yet. This spring or summer I will do so!!

[@Vespartian]

If you come in Lyon, there is a shop which sells thousands of kind of ice creams with some extraordinary tastes, like cheese, lavande..
It's crazy

[@chmeallyxh4339]

Yup :)

[@SpeedRcrX007]

Terre adélice ? Ils sont de super parfums par contre celle à la chèvre, j’ai essayé (pourtant j’adore le fromage de chèvre) en entrée avec de la salade ça n’a pas passé…

[@fb1880]

Terre Adelice! Best glacier ever !

[@alienor1836]

aaah terre àdélice j’habite juste à côté de l’usine (c’est pas vraiment une usine mais bon) et vraiment ils font les meilleures glaces que j’ai jamais goûtées

[@Misterjingle]

Same in Nice. You can find ice creams taste like cactus or beer.

[@nco1970]

You should try sugared violet petals. You put a sugared violet petal or a sugared rose petal in your flute before pouring champagne and it becomes a fancy variation of Kir royal.
You can find other flower petals in sugar as long as they are edible. And sugared leaves, eg sugared mint leaves. They are usually used to decorate cakes.

[@leneanderthalien]

Milk, you can find both because this depends from the conservation treatment they have: sterilized= non refrigirated, pateurized or raw milk= refrigirated. Eggs did not need refrigeration if the are no washed, the natural protection is thus not removed...

[@andyshacks7812]

It may be common here in the Uk now but I’d never seen couscous until I went to live in Paris in the 80s. And boy did I love it 😆

[@awkad]

Couscous is the favorite dish of a lot of french people (including myself).

[@OuiInFrance]

You bring up a good point -- that things we find normal now maybe didn't exist 10 or 20+ years ago. Another example of that is a pinata. MY husband had never seen one as a kid and the word wasn't used. Now, 10-year-olds know what they are.

[@zicketteaa1345]

In the late 80s i had a german exchange student home, and he never had seen, heard of,or eaten couscous either. The funny part was when the translation from french to german said.... couscous, that did not help him at all to understand what it was (before internet fun times 🤣)

[@korrigan6698]

@@awkad an anecdote that amused and horrified me lol I went to a Moroccan restaurant that made homemade couscous and there was an English couple. They broke down when the waiter brought the dishes. they waited 5 minutes and asked that the semolina be replaced by fries and horror !! they also asked for ketchup ...we almost fell off the chair lol

[@nancylindsay4255]

@@korrigan6698 Oh, dear. Some people should just stay home 😣

[@djastram]

My favorite thing I had in France, was the vanilla ice cream. The kind we had, had little black specs in it, which I assume were vanilla bean. It was the best ice cream I have ever had, and I'd fly back just for another bowl.
The chocolatine, macaroons, etc. were all terrific, but the ice cream, oo la la!

[@Ellinillard]

Black specs in vanilla ice cream is indication of small pieces of vanilla beans. In quality Ice cream. At small local vendors - not national brands. - they'll imitate the vanilla pecks with black painted saw dust.

[@theoschreiner2468]

Just a tip, don't ever say chocolatine to someone in France cause there's a 70% chance he'll want to kill you

[@beussta]

"chocolatine"... omg... dont ever say that

[@djastram]

@@beussta Pan au chocolat!

[@beussta]

@@djastram pain*

[@PpAirO5]

Hedgehogs is normal in Denmark too.
They are so cute, minding their own business. Easily scared. They usually stand still when they spot people... and if you get to close, or make any sudden movement they curl up. 🐌🐛🦔🐾🐾

[@KimberlyGreen]

When thinking of food vending machines, one country comes to mind ... Japan. I'm kind of surprised that the French would accept bread from a machine.

[@OuiInFrance]

Hi Kimberly, there are two kinds of machines:
1) The type that acts as a storage device for fresh bread and is refilled several times a day (or only has bread after hours). The bread goes right into it after it comes out of the oven so it's just as fresh for the most part as the bread in the bakery.
2) A machine with an oven that actually bakes the baguette. These are more common at commercial bakeries where dough isn't prepared on-site, such as the supermarket in many cases. The linked video to Intermarche has this type of machine where the bread comes out warm because it was just baked.
They both have their pros and cons but I think option 1 is better if you get there right when the machine was filled up. ;-) Thanks for watching!

[@annouchka63]

In fact it's when you don't really have choice because it's not as good as in the bakery.

[@julosx]

As a Frenchman, I've never seen such thing as a baguette vending machine…

[@khaelamensha3624]

@@julosx Il y a en quelques unes à Paris pour les fetards qui sortaient de boite... mais à part ca, oui il y en a peu ^^

[@pierrelechevalstellaire1086]

As a French person, I consider Baguettes vending machines are pure heresy

[@frenchprint]

Americans have raccoons, we have hedgehogs ☺

[@user-qn6yf9so4y]

There is also raccoons in France, and they are hunted on purpose because they are harmful to the local environment. Especially in Auvergne, where some years ago there was a huge raccoons invasion.

[@solenemb5546]

Sure, but hedgehogs don't cause any trouble to the human or environment

[@stephanpopp6210]

@@solenemb5546 In New Zealand, they do.

[@norbertfontaine8524]

Horse meat is not sold at regular butcher's. It's sold at _boucheries chevalines_ or at the packed meat aisle of supermarkets. There are only 750 horse meat butcher's left in France (out of a total of 15 986). They might eventually disappear in a few years.

[@ashleighzee1611]

Oh Lord, I hope so :-(

[@osez111]

@@ashleighzee1611 why ? Horse meat is delicious !

[@julosx]

@@ashleighzee1611 Mind you, most of the horse meat they sell comes from the U.S.

[@chelseagirl278]

Cruel and gross

[@Aurorya]

Processionary caterpillars are indeed very dangerous. Here in Provence, we have a lot of them (because we have a lot of pine trees, and they nest in it all winter). It's such a pain to, each winter, remove their cotton candy looking nests from the trees and burn them, but I much prefer doing that than meeting them on their late spring procession. Their little hairs are urticate and can fly around with the wind if you crush the caterpillars (hence why the only safe solution is burning the whole nest, so the hairs are trapped inside the cotton candy thing). There have been cases of animals getting necrosis and loosing part of their tongue after trying to eat them, and people becoming blind after getting hairs in the eyes. They are no joke. If you see them, stay at a distance and don't annoy them. Don't ever poke them, even with a stick, as it will make the hairs fly up. Stay safe everybody 😊
(But don't let that discourage you to come visit, most of the year there are 0 risks of meeting them 😉)

[@lazyshoggy]

I remember that we used to burn their nests when I was a child, but every time they just went out some days later with no harm ...

[@Aurorya]

@@lazyshoggy How is that even possible ? 🤔

[@lazyshoggy]

@@Aurorya I guess that the cocoon protects them, it's very hard to destroy and must isolate them from the heat and the smoke.

[@Aurorya]

@@lazyshoggy Well personally, we have to cut some branches anyway to protect the trees in case there's fires in the following summer. So when there is a nest on a branch, we cut the whole branch, so it's easier to transport the nest to the fire area and burn it along with the other nests and the other branches. It makes a big pile and we stay there, monitoring the fire for several hours until everything is reduced to ashes. Then, we pour water onto it to reduce the coal's heat until it's soaked cold and it's done. No caterpillars has ever come out alive of this

[@margreetanceaux3906]

About unrefrigerated milk - same confusion with Americans in the Netherlands: this is milk, meant for staying usable for a longer time. Your regular fresh milk is sold, well refrigerated.

[@heatherinparis]

Hi....can so relate to the Violette ice cream story.....when I went to south of Sweden a decade or so ago...I encountered Elderberry ice cream, which I had never heard of where I grew up in Canada. My Swedish hosts adored it and couldn't wait for me to try it....it was SOOOOO delicious....floral and sweet and mellow.....I ate altogether too much of it and have not ever encountered any again anywhere else.

[@OuiInFrance]

Ooooh elderberry sounds delicious. I will keep an eye out for it!!

[@nancylindsay4255]

@@OuiInFrance I love anything flavored with cassis (black currant), so common in France but almost absent at least in the midwest (that is, north central) part of the US. (Why DO we call it midwest when it's really north central??)

[@simonmoreil2865]

Trop génial que tu parle de Pornic !! Super ville ! Tes videos sont super !

[@lcxb8575]

Horse meat is yummy! I used to enjoy it while living in Italy. You can't find it in Texas although some slaughterhouses do process horsemeat for export. Alligator and snake meat are available but not horse.

[@ushiefreebird7470]

I live 13 years in France and have never seen a baguette vending machine. Also, milk is in the fridge. Only long life milk is at room temperature in the store. But I would never buy that. About ice cream, or macaron, you also get lavender flavour, or rose flavour. It is devine :-)

[@naluzoniro]

There's also violet and rose syrups ! I love it too ^^

[@amyspeers8012]

I have not seen hedgehogs but I have seen the bread vending machines in neighboring towns. I knew all about locks when I took my canal boat trip thanks to you! Looking forward to reading your book-congrats on all the hard work!

[@OuiInFrance]

Thank you so much, Amy!

[@spevoljub]

fresh milk must be kept in the refrigerator. Just sterilized one (not good at all) can stay out of it.

[@kidu9443]

I've only ever seen violet sweets, but I'd taste that ice cream for sure! We also make sweets/syrup/wine with elderberry flowers, it's really good. Given the region you live in, I wonder if you've heard of angélique? It's a plant who likes swamps, so it's common in Poitou, and it had a reputation of "cure all". Nuns in the city of Niort created sweets (and jams) with the stems of the plant, and it has become a staple in the local brioche. It's a vivid green, and really good!

[@stephenelewis]

I've had violet chewing gum which was surprisingly good.

[@OuiInFrance]

Ooh, sounds intriguing. I will keep an eye out!

[@udrisx1923]

canal block is because there are different height differences, which allows boats to navigate safely

[@icejohn94]

you know what i'm french, and i never saw a baguette vending machine ever.
flowers taste good, we don't use them as much as one time, but roses, violettes, lavander, poppys, tagetes, cherry blossoms, they all taste good and make great sweets, icecream, or tea.

[@anapoda3081]

neither do i lol, surprised me

[@colettemolleron2902]

If you like Violette ice cream than you should try sugar violette's they are violette's cristalized in sugar. They are a regional specialty.
Otherwise you can also get rose ice cream, rose jam. If it's an edible flower then it's used in some way. There are also some flower wines.

[@fabienneclavier5984]

I totally understand your reaction when seeing the hedgehog. When I lived in the US I was amazed seeing a possum in our yard once. And I also realized that Woody Woodpecker really existed in nature, I honestly believed he was totally imaginary. Have you ever tried lavender ice cream? So good.

[@OuiInFrance]

Oh yes, I love all the "flowery" ice cream. AMAZING!

[@LOLOVAL-os3pq]

in France, we do not put the eggs in the refrigerator because of the salmonella which is on the shell, we keep them at room temperature, there is a use-by date printed on the shell, and I have never been sick from eating eggs, it's true, I eat less and less eggs because they contain too much cholesterol, but I make omelettes with fried potatoes, I take potatoes that I cut into thin slice, I place these slices in the pan with olive oil, I brown them, and then I add the beaten eggs! a little salt and it's super good!

[@frederic6998]

6:00 violette candies from the alps mountains are great as well. No sure if you can easily find them outside the mountains areas.

[@aurellelb2503]

Violette and rose ice creams... omg. It's an addiction :-p

[@rushdialrashed9627]

Now, from today, 6th of May, in Roma, they introduced vending machine selling Pizza!

[@OuiInFrance]

Is the pizza any good? They are popular here too but I've never tried.

[@lulla-bybenoit5777]

@@OuiInFrance I've try one, they are good, a bit like the best supermarket brand pizza. Not like a restaurant but still good. By the way, my train station in Lyon has a vending machine for umbrellas! very handy!

[@annouchka63]

There is kind of machine from several years in France around 10 or 15 years.

[@melaniezette886]

I'm in the violettes area 😃 they will soon appear in my garden, precious cause it lasts a short time. Mimosa is the tree of the end of winter, beautiful yellow snow flowers and it smells so good.

[@BeckyPoleninja]

They aren't parking backwards, they are just parking. In the UK too, you can park facing either way

[@dhondtlaurent]

The milk-egg question reminds me of something i often heard about USA : the us laws don’t allow non-sterilized cheese due to bacteria risk and things like that. Whereas France has a huge range of cheese « au lait cru » that would not be possible to find in us. Do you see what I mean? I ´ve heard some french youtubers living in the us speaking about this. (Maybe you already spoke avout this but I recently discovered your channel, maybe I didn’t get it)

[@2Hearts3]

Hi, Diane-- I love your videos. So informative, always interesting content, and well presented. I spent only a week in France, many years ago, would love to see more. So staying tuned. Thanks for this topic today-- very interesting.

[@OuiInFrance]

Thank you so much!

[@metropolotankreyole]

.... Des distributeurs de baguettes ?! Jamais vu de ma vie ! Je sais même pas comment le prendre lol

[@--973--]

on s'habitue très bien quand on en a un pas loin .

[@valeriewyndham1381]

I am a french living in America and just like you there are things I had never seen before like skunks ( I can't stand the smell) opossums and also all the squirrels that are everywhere!!

[@OuiInFrance]

Yes, so true, it works both ways. I can't say I've seen an opossum here. I associate them with rabies ever since I was a kid and and a rabid one had to be put down by a cop in my backyard. Eeek. But we do have ragondins here that I see often! P.S. My husband is always amused by all the squirrels he sees in the US!

[@mfcq4987]

Squirrels in the US are annoying. When I was camping they would go into the tent and search the bags. I prefer French hedgehogs, they are loud when they eat at night, but they are not intrusive.

[@towaritch]

Because all those small animals are slaughtered in France because deemed " nuisibles".

[@julosx]

@@towaritch Not the hedgehogs, they are more likely to end up ran over by cars in one areas.

[@BB-un2ts]

French squirrels have a prettier color tho

[@juliebilmes1941]

I remember asking to use a bathroom in a bar and it was free in Paris I was skeptical when I opened the door I saw it was what I believe is called a turquish bathroom just a square porcelain thing on the ground

[@wudgee]

Do you mean the toilet you squat over. These are even in my next biggish town. I hate them. I find it so painful for my legs and back. It seems primitive to me. Especially hard if you’re wearing tight jeans.

[@annesikaddour7225]

I like your videos and the candor. Thank you!

[@glamkakes3783]

When it comes to driving you ain’t lying. I’m a New Yorker and we are sane next to French drivers😂 one tried to drive my taxi off the road when heading to the airport 😮

[@frederic6998]

5:11 no it's not legal, the car need to be parked in the direction of the traffic. That black Mercedes should get a ticket but i'm not sure if the police have time to bother with that. And parking on the sidewalk is also illegal.

[@misatokitkat]

my grandma used to give me candies that were sugar-coated violette (the flower) petals, we also have mimosa "grain", that are kind of the same thing (sugar-coated plant part, maybe more the grain in this case), it's very old-fashioned (my grandma passed away 15/20 years ago), but I think you can find some if you look around a bit (maybe a gift shop or gift corner in a supermarket). I believe the ice cream you spoke of is based on the same taste. I'm wondering if this kind of candy is really specific to france. I don't think so.
you talked about lavande, I once had a go at a lavande-flavored ice cream in roussillon (where you can find the ocher mine, very nice place), but it was too strong :)

[@chelseagirl278]

LOVE your channel, information and enthusiasm!! ❤️ 🥐🐩 🇫🇷

[@OuiInFrance]

Thank you so much!

[@Martin_Siegel]

Only lait UHT is stored at room temperature, here in Austria too, and in Italy and..... Lait frais is refridgerated, at least where I bought in Corsica last time (also in Italy and here in Austria)

[@dhondtlaurent]

Violettes are candies, they make ice cream of it. But they are little sweet candies. Try it, you’ll find in many places like carrefour, Intermarché etc

[@OuiInFrance]

I believe the flavor for the candies, ice cream, etc. originally comes from the violet flower. I love it!

[@dhondtlaurent]

@@OuiInFrance it should be of course. Makes sense. As a child i often wondered if was eating part of a flower. I was a little scared of it (don’t know why 🥲). Later, cooking broadcast (top chef-like) started using those candies to make desserts syrup etc It was something really creative and new. Its a unique flavor.

[@annepoitrineau5650]

Your processionary caterpillar moment was my poison ivy mment when I lived in the USA!

[@harnainbedi2818]

Love all your videos! Makes me so excited to move there . Full of new information!

[@ferryoceane5754]

Pornic is a very nice place indeed! I'm french and live not far from it, i used to go there every summer but is ful of tourist during the hot season 😅

[@believeitornot2650]

Hedgehogs are nocturnal ; so much so that when they find themselves wandering around during the day because their nests have been destroyed, they become extremely vulnerable. Their skin is very thin and flies come and lay their eggs on them. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae begin to dig into the animal's flesh, reach a higher stage of development, and literally devour it alive. If you see a hedgehog outside the nest during the day, it's necessary to inform a care center as quickly as possible. It's a protected species; some people (very few in France unfortunately), are empowered and trained to give them care...
Small information in passing: the hedgehog which illustrates the thumbnail is an pygmy hedgehog of Africa 😉

[@magdastar2249]

Another interesting video👍❤
Thank you.

[@OuiInFrance]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@thierryf67]

as you seen that hedgehogs are usually calm and slow... you can imagine how bad it is for them to cross the roads, and meeting cars. :-( Lot of them dies on our roads.

[@OuiInFrance]

Very true, I see it all the time sadly ;-((

[@thierryf67]

@@OuiInFrance they are very familiar, funny, timid, and acrobatic animals. They like fruits and earthworms, many things. but very often carry a lot of fleas... so too bad for your dog if it goes too close of them.

[@nancylindsay4255]

Some species of hedgehogs are kept as pets. I'm not sure that's a good thing for the hedgies, but they ARE cute.

[@blaire85]

When we bought our house over 20 years ago our local HyperU had a wine vending macine. It was built into the wall of the supermarket. Turn up with your empty bottles, money in the slots et voila! You don't see them thesedays. On the shelf is the UHT milk, fresh milk is normally stocked with the cheeses. Hate those caterpillars. Look out for Violette syrup, make for an interesting Kir.

[@michaelgreene4530]

If you want to check out a REAL lock, head up to Falkirk, Scotland to see the wheel. It’s much more impressive than a regular lock (e.g., Erie Canal).

[@testman9541]

Real? no but a stylish and impressive improvement for sure. If you like boat lifts two others you must see Pente d'eau de Fontséranes and obviously the lift of Strépy-Thieieu in Belgium. Here is the top 3 in Europe IMHO fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_ascenseurs_%C3%A0_bateaux

[@jchow5966]

This was especially interesting. i love your presentation & how you always clarify that this is your personal experience.
I also appreciate how you never say that the french way is better than the american way or vice verse - you just state what to expect/what happens. ☮️💟

[@OuiInFrance]

I really appreciate that, J. Thank you!

[@zabnuk8447]

I knew i recognised that canal, and then you mentionend charente. this is the thouerat écluses, i live like 3 walking minutes away along the river. Small world

[@MsMamabo]

Another very interesting video! We have seen many baguette vending machines in the area around Langeais where we spend most of our time in France and there is a pizza vending machine in the car park of the local Leader Price with pizzas made by a local restaurant that are actually pretty decent. The most unusual vending machine that we have seen in France was a potato vending machine in Nouvion. It dispensed 10kg bags of two different varieties of potato (depending on the culinary purpose you intended to put them to). We saw it on Google earth while looking for something else in the area and naturally we had to visit it!

[@wudgee]

I wish I could find a potato one, didn’t know they existed.

[@unrulycrow6299]

I live in the South of Seine-Saint-Denis, and in the parc near my house there's a vendor who does only old school types of ice cream, so rose, violet, poppy, honey... It's amazing. The only other place I know that goes for curious flavours is the ice cream shop of the barri gotic in Barcelona lol (they went viral a few years ago when they sold marijuana ice cream)

[@tinaperez7850]

Oh ça m'intéresse bien ça 😂 quelle est l'adresse du glacier ?

[@BB-un2ts]

Moi aussi ça m’intéresse

[@juliennapoli]

In countryside, you can also find fresh farm eggs vending machines, lovely ! I saw that in Alsace.

[@albanewest2361]

I NEVER saw a baguette machine in my entire life.

[@MrTonyHeath]

Have you never heard of 'Spending a penny'? Most milk in supermarkets is Long Life. Parking on what you call the sidewalk is usually legal and often encouraged. If you want to experience locks, go canalling in England.

[@Pizzageek-jc4xp]

never seen these caterpillars, (i live in northeast France). But I had never seen hedgehogs either until I moved to France. Anyway, love your vids, and your observations. Best wishes from your latest subscriber.

[@glurp1er]

Violette is more common as a hard candy. They are shaped as a purple flour and they are delicious.

[@foreverlearningfrench]

La glace à la Violette a l'air délicieuse Diane !

[@nancylindsay4255]

There are little violet-flavored pastilles (hard candies) that are delicious. I think they're French.

[@SergeCeyral]

You'll see many canal locks between lake Ontario and lake Erie, bypassing Niagara falls...

[@chelseagirl278]

Are you referring to Welland?

[@SergeCeyral]

​@@chelseagirl278 Yep, between St Catharines and Port Colborne... The oldest canal had 8 impressive locks in 30 mi. A more spectacular canal I know, is close to my home in France, along the river Garonne: 500 mi. and 52 locks from Langon (next to Bordeaux) to Toulouse (Canal des 2 Mers, 19th cent.) and 63 from Toulouse to the Mediterranean Sea (Canal du Midi, 17th cent.)

[@ladysparkymartin]

My sister, who’s lived in Switzerland for 30 years, parked on the opposite side of a street in California. I told her it was illegal and she may get a ticket because it implied she was driving on the wrong side.

[@OuiInFrance]

Hope you saved her from getting a ticket! The relaxed parking is definitely a thing in a lot of European countries I think. The fact that the cars are smaller makes it more accepted as well.

[@noefillon1749]

It is forbidden in France... I think it is quite dangerous, I would not do that. But I know some people do it. I don't know how because they have to make a créneau on the wrong side of the road. I don't neither how they manage to get out of their parking space.

[@khaelamensha3624]

@@noefillon1749 Tip : exactly as on the right side of the road : with taking careful attention to everything around you ^^

[@ericrinehart6047]

In the French region of Switzerland you will see beef tartare vending machines. i havent worked up the courage to try them.

[@szk4023]

The hedgehog story is so funny. I agree. I don't ever recall seeing a hedgebog in the US but I've seen them in France. Flipping the script, I've yet to see a squirrel in France! They're everywhere in the US.

[@TwilightNavarre]

We have squirrels but sure far less than in the US or even UK but it’s because we have a loooooot of foxes.

[@Aurorya]

We have squirrels but you have to go to the countryside to see them, as they don't usually come near big cities. I think your squirrels are grey if I recall correctly ? Ours are brownish orange. They are kinda cute, but don't try to catch one, it's actually illegal. Only touch them with the eyes 😉

[@wudgee]

I used to see them all the time in the UK, I’ve only seen one squirrel in France in a rural area, and it looked like a Red Squirrel.

[@OmenaOmega]

Squirrels in Europe are smaller and brownish-orange. They are also very shy and will usually stay away from humans, which makes them harder to spot than their north american cousins... Now living in Germany, I definitely see squirrels much more often than I ever did in France, probably because cities here have a lot more trees and greenery.

[@jean5416]

6:38 very French attitude ^^ it is so delicious with low down voice ^^ I want to taste this ice cream too.

[@melaniezette886]

Listen to an us video and a French one, you may have to increase the volume

[@itsydispy]

Les macarons à la violette sont une tuerie aussi

[@glamkakes3783]

Was there for a month never saw a machine. Damn I needed one for late night lol

[@wudgee]

Moved to France in December and have seen a couple of baguette vending machines, I want to use one just to say I have, but could be useful to use in the future. One is about 8 minutes drive from us, we’re in quite a rural area. I was amused one early Sunday morning to see queues outside the boulangeries with people coming out with their baguette, no idea why you’d want to get up and queue for a baguette but it’s very quaint. I still have my toast and marmalade, habit of a lifetime. Locks and hedgehogs were common in the UK yes, where I’m from. One thing we keep getting are these big centipedes! Have you had them and recently loads of big gold June bugs. Oh and what about scary bright green spiders!!

[@nance1111]

There used to be pay toilets in the US - they stopped in the med 1970's. (see Pay toilet - wikipedia page) Congratulations on the e-book.

[@benlhyenethehyena9947]

Ok there is a shop selling violet icecream here but I never tasted yet because I always go "I will next time" and take rose instead lol This makes me want to

[@santanalaforgue9154]

When I was little, I remember they used to sprinkle some caramelized and roasted peanuts on violet icecream, if available in the shop you're talking about, have a go at it ! :)

[@benlhyenethehyena9947]

@@santanalaforgue9154 nope it isn't here x)

[@chucku00]

You can find _violette_ candy or syrup in any French supermarket.

[@OuiInFrance]

Yup, it's SO good!

[@chucku00]

@@OuiInFrance Absolument : un peu de sirop de violette Monin sur de la glace à la vanille ou même mélangé à un yaourt non sucré... fantastique.

[@nibwa4798]

If you liked violette ice cream you should try violette liquor to make a kir royal with.

[@nancylindsay4255]

I think kir royale is usually made with cassis (black currant), but with violette sounds wonderful! Kir suprème?

[@fannyprat792]

If you liked Violette ice cream you should try Violette candy it's great !

[@skypper1969]

No processionary caterpillards in Calvados (Normandy) 😸

[@silviahuls1728]

Francophile here😊 I love macarons / ice creams and everything that tastes like flowers and I will always choose those flavors over any other!!! I miss France so much !!!
Lavender, violet, rose ... yummy !!!
My favorite violet ice cream was in Tolouse and the best lavender ice cream I've ever had was in Roussillon. Dreamy !!!

[@benoitguitard2887]

Funny, in the same way I saw my first squirrel in front of the capitol in Washington DC a long time before seeing one in France.

[@OuiInFrance]

Yes, exactly! The first time my husband came to the US, he was SO amused by all the playful squirrels. I was like, "Don't they have squirrels in France???"

[@nancylindsay4255]

@@OuiInFrance I doubt that we could invent animals that are more fun to watch than squirrels. Has your husband seen them cavorting on birdfeeder baffles that are meant to keep them off the birdfeeder -- or on squirrel feeders that are meant to challenge their athletic abilities?

[@noefillon1749]

I have already seen a lot of squirrels in France, I am in Toulouse. May be in other places there are fewer.

[@TheMacdeluxe]

@@noefillon1749 Yeah i'm from Castres and i see Squirrel like every month (not during winter).

[@noefillon1749]

@@TheMacdeluxe You just have to find the right places. If there is a parc large enough, there will be squirrels most of the time. I saw some in the Parc de la Tête d'or in Lyon, in another park in Sarcelles near Paris, and in the park of my ex-lycée in Toulouse (lycée Bellevue which have a huge piece of land). These are some of the many examples.

[@korrigan6698]

violet ice cream !!
nectar of the gods lol

[@clementineclement5757]

How right you are Christophe ! First thing we always used to do when starting our holiday in Arcachon was rushing to the beach restaurant Le Bikini and ordering "une glace à la violette".The very taste of relaxation and summer, the very symbol of lovely vacations ahead. By the way candied violets or violet syrup are an excellent speciality from Toulouse.

[@khaelamensha3624]

For your information, horse meat is usually given to children as it is one if not the most lean meat, almost no fat in it. Taste is different from beef. As for the animal, i found horse AND cows cool animals but for me, both may be eaten.

[@Raikuthedragon]

If you like violet ice cream, you should try violet hard candies.

[@MissNCGirl]

When I was a little girl in the 70s, there were toilets here in the US where you had to pay ten cents to use.

[@artnodulot1525]

pour la glace je vous conseil aussi verveine délicieux , frais surtout l été

[@nancylindsay4255]

Mmmmm, lemon verbena! Of couse it makes a delicious tea also. And it grows like a weed!

[@Svartalf14]

Violet ice cream? I've had it as syrup, but not as icecream.

[@Cl3verify]

About the parking situation. That was indeed tolerated for years "as long as it doesn't prevent the car flow" which sucks big time for anyone having problems navigating sidewalks or just anyone with a stroller.
By the way, ever wonder why there are some iron poles on the sidewalk ? Like everywhere in city centers ? It's to prevent "savages parking" (such an accurate name for the practice don't you think ?).
You can find tons of photos of people parking like shit with the #GCUM (garé comme une merde) and even buy stickers to put on cars if you dare :)

[@carinedemolin7832]

In the UK and belgium a lot of public toilets also Incurr a charge. Until recently even Victoria station charged for the bathroom. Horse meat, we used to have boucheries chevalines that specialised in horse meat. Anyone who wants to try horse meat should start with a saucisson de Cheval. Parking wise, don't think you can compare the US to any European country. We don't have huge roads over here. So people park where they can. In small towns it's usually not a problem. In the town where I grew up you have to park on the pavement. As for reversing, maybe we're just better at it so we don't find it a problem :) and as a pedestrian we're just used to it. Every time I'm in France with my British husband he is confused by the implicit traffic rules, but they're normal for us.

[@wudgee]

Oh my goodness, no matter how we try we can’t understand the right hand priority rule, just no idea. I’m sure we must have annoyed the French many times.

[@DaD3coy]

About 5:13
It's illegal, you shouldn't park in the opposite way of traffic. (article R417-1 du Code de la route. Have fun x)).

[@peggygraham6129]

Locks are common in the state of New York.I lived by Lockport.I live in Ireland now and many years ago there were pay toilets in train stations etc. but they are free now.

[@nancylindsay4255]

We have a small lock on the chain of lakes here in Madison, Wisconsin, that enables boats -- fairly little ones) to navigate two lakes that are at different levels.

[@mokapeach1791]

floral ice cream flavor are my favorites :)

[@chlore2amine]

eggs don't need to be refrigerated because the eggshell is thick enough not to crack and then allow salmonella to pass through it. With bad quality food the shell is too thin.

[@janehall2720]

I, too, lived most of my life in NJ but SJ. I am assuming that you are not familiar with parking in Philadelphia. If you drive south on Broad street, it gets really hairy. Parking is done not only on the right or left, but also down the center. There's no parking spaces, just room for a car. People crossing the street! Crazy! I had heard that they were going to put a stop to it but I'm not sure if it happened. Also, you gotta love Jersey's circles! I'll race anyone around them! Hahaha