Conquer Club

Posted: **Tue Apr 03, 2018 6:11 am**

France's rail network has been severely disrupted, as a wave of strikes against President Emmanuel Macron's labour reforms gets under way.

The start of the strike has been dubbed "Black Tuesday", but the action will spread over three months, affecting two days in every five.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-43617033

Posted: **Tue Apr 03, 2018 5:43 pm**

So I guess SNCF can stop pretending to pay them?

Posted: **Fri Apr 06, 2018 3:37 pm**

The one time I was in Paris I did notice how laid back the French seemed to be regarding work. It was nothing to go out and take a 20 minute smoke break even though the waiter had 15 tables of people. Getting a refill was tough. I'm American, if I don't have at least 4 glasses of Dr. Pepper with my burger then I'm not happy.

Posted: **Fri Apr 06, 2018 5:09 pm**

Posted: **Sun Apr 08, 2018 4:26 pm**

tkr4lf wrote:The one time I was in Paris I did notice how laid back the French seemed to be regarding work. It was nothing to go out and take a 20 minute smoke break even though the waiter had 15 tables of people. Getting a refill was tough. I'm American, if I don't have at least 4 glasses of Dr. Pepper with my burger then I'm not happy.

You were in Paris and you were eating a burger?

Posted: **Sun Apr 08, 2018 4:31 pm**

They call it steak hash or whatever, which makes it a cultural experience.

Posted: **Sun Apr 08, 2018 5:08 pm**

jonesthecurl wrote:
tkr4lf wrote:The one time I was in Paris I did notice how laid back the French seemed to be regarding work. It was nothing to go out and take a 20 minute smoke break even though the waiter had 15 tables of people. Getting a refill was tough. I'm American, if I don't have at least 4 glasses of Dr. Pepper with my burger then I'm not happy.

You were in Paris and you were eating a burger?

lol I was just joking.

Mainly we ate cheese and drank beer/wine, but also tried escargot and foie gras. Both good. The fried calf brain in London was really gross though. Almost threw up with the first bite. If not for the sauce (something similar to a hollandaise I think) we wouldn't have ate much of it at all.

Posted: **Sun Apr 08, 2018 5:08 pm**

Mmmm, the full English breakfast was bomb too.

Posted: **Sun Apr 08, 2018 6:07 pm**

Love english breakfasts and long smoke breaks, hate calf brain, SNCF workers and dr pepper. Which obviously doesn't exist in france.

Posted: **Sun Apr 08, 2018 7:23 pm**

doctor poivre

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2018 2:28 am**

tkr4lf wrote:
jonesthecurl wrote:
tkr4lf wrote:The one time I was in Paris I did notice how laid back the French seemed to be regarding work. It was nothing to go out and take a 20 minute smoke break even though the waiter had 15 tables of people. Getting a refill was tough. I'm American, if I don't have at least 4 glasses of Dr. Pepper with my burger then I'm not happy.

You were in Paris and you were eating a burger?

lol I was just joking.

Mainly we ate cheese and drank beer/wine, but also tried escargot and foie gras. Both good. The fried calf brain in London was really gross though. Almost threw up with the first bite. If not for the sauce (something similar to a hollandaise I think) we wouldn't have ate much of it at all.

I do love all sorts of French food, but could honestly live just on bread and cheese there. And wine, and imported beer. Oh, and I almost forgot the gorgeous Normandy cidre.

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2018 3:17 am**

Calf brain? Is that some sort of 'tourist in England' thing to eat? I've never even heard of it.

The weird shit in London is jellied eels.

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2018 8:01 am**

The only eating I really loved in England was kebab[sp?] some steaks we cooked on a havachi, food from a couple of random Chinese places my wife said were too expensive to enjoy and potatoes roasted by her friend that were unbelievably good.

However I never made it to London, some food looked good there on https://www.travelchannel.com/shows/the-layover which we happened to watch yesterday.

I have enjoyed Big Macs in France as they are the best I have had of that variety in the world. I would have burgers in France often if I could. My favorite things there were mussels as part of a wedding feast that I over indulged in at a small Inn. http://lemasdujuge-maillane.com Some cheese I bought from a guy at a small village weekly market. The free bread, cheese and jam they gave us at most hotels for small meal of the day back in 2000. Now I want to go back to France pretty bad.

As the dominant animals at my grandma's farm we killed some cows and ate them every few years. One of my uncles by marriage wanted to eat some brains. I don't even know if he did or not. I was told it was gross and I wouldn't like it. I think my mom was unable to get one out intact so it never worked.

This was quite a while ago. Maybe now there is a YouTube tutorial video on, how to remove a cow brain and cook it just like...

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:34 am**

jonesthecurl wrote:
tkr4lf wrote:
jonesthecurl wrote:
tkr4lf wrote:The one time I was in Paris I did notice how laid back the French seemed to be regarding work. It was nothing to go out and take a 20 minute smoke break even though the waiter had 15 tables of people. Getting a refill was tough. I'm American, if I don't have at least 4 glasses of Dr. Pepper with my burger then I'm not happy.

You were in Paris and you were eating a burger?

lol I was just joking.

Mainly we ate cheese and drank beer/wine, but also tried escargot and foie gras. Both good. The fried calf brain in London was really gross though. Almost threw up with the first bite. If not for the sauce (something similar to a hollandaise I think) we wouldn't have ate much of it at all.

I do love all sorts of French food, but could honestly live just on bread and cheese there. And wine, and imported beer. Oh, and I almost forgot the gorgeous Normandy cidre.

Dude, yes. The bread and cheese is to die for. I never was a fan of brie here in the states but then tried it there and loved it. As for beer, I mainly drank imported Belgian and/or German ales. That's mainly what I would drink here in the states too if I could afford it all the time.

mrswdk wrote:Calf brain? Is that some sort of 'tourist in England' thing to eat? I've never even heard of it.

The weird shit in London is jellied eels.

Well, the funny thing is that we had the fried calf brain at a French restaurant in London, but then never saw it anywhere in Paris lol.

Honestly, the taste wasn't all that bad, it was the texture that got us. It was smushy and grainy, kinda like what you might expect a brain to feel like. The fried breading was good!

Of course the authentic fish and chips was bomb, and the bangers and mash at a pub while the world series (or whatever you call it for soccer) was playing, with a bunch of beers was fantastic. Got to witness a bunch of rowdy Irishmen getting way too into a game for their own good. Was a hell of an experience, I wanna go back. Hopefully spend longer than 4 days in each place tho. I think I could easily spend 2 weeks in each of those cities and still not run out of things to do and see.

If I ever win the lottery, I'm doing a grand tour of all the major European cities. Gotta try some local food, beer, and hookers in each city. Maybe some cocaine too.

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2018 10:07 am**

Yeah, trips to Europe are pretty spectacular! Then again I love traveling nearly anywhere.

I would definately ride trains more often if I could afford it.

You should try the south part of France. The eating is incredible and the people are quite nice. I bet most of them thought I was from the US&A too. I never made it to Paris but as we got closer the interactions get more like the stereotypes. "Hamburger? I don't know what that is."

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2018 3:59 pm**

Honestly, the people were probably the worst part of Paris. Of course there were nice people there, but overall, they tended to have a snooty air about them and tended to look down on us because we were American and kinda overweight. Lol, one time this hot ass French girl walked by me and made this disgusted sound as she passed. I felt real good about myself there.

I've heard nice things about the south too though. I'd like to visit Bordeaux and Marseilles, maybe Nice too. I'm sure Toulouse would be cool too. Supposed to be beautiful country out there. But really, I would be going for the cities. I like the architecture and history, culture, etc. I've lived in plenty of naturally beautiful places in my life, so natural beauty doesn't really excite me all that much. The Ozark mountains in northern Arkansas/southern Missouri are quite picturesque. I'd rather see the cathedrals and museums, the castles and the really cool plazas and statues, etc. etc. etc. Notre Dame was probably the coolest manmade thing I've ever seen in my life. Westminster Abbey was really cool too, but it wasn't nearly as beautiful as Notre Dame.

Man, if only I were rich.

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:08 pm**

These are pretty cool, a bunch of them are on top of small mountains.

http://www.catharcastles.info

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:18 pm**

lol, the first one is in that johnny depp film "the 9th gate".
also, NA cheese is all pretty much shit because pasteurization...

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:21 pm**

This is the standard tourist experience in France:
https://www.thelocal.fr/20180409/drunk- ... travellers

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:29 pm**

2dimes wrote:These are pretty cool, a bunch of them are on top of small mountains.

http://www.catharcastles.info

Dude, those are badass. Would love to see the one at Carcassonne. I'm a sucker for a restored/still completely standing castle.

Windsor castle just a bit outside London was amazing.

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:47 pm**

tkr4lf wrote:
2dimes wrote:These are pretty cool, a bunch of them are on top of small mountains.

http://www.catharcastles.info

Dude, those are badass. Would love to see the one at Carcassonne. I'm a sucker for a restored/still completely standing castle.

Windsor castle just a bit outside London was amazing.

Yeah, have been to Avignon twice and Carcassonne once. Very amazing trips.

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:57 pm**

Carcassone is probably the most complete Castle I have been to in France. The old city is pretty cool. The story of the Queen and the pig is interesting. I wonder if it was the basis for the French launching the cow with the catapult in Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail?

First time I went to France I checked out a few random castles in the north, a few were just open like a park. Only the stone structure is still there in some but it's pretty cool to just wander, sit in the windows and explore, soak it up and wonder what it was like when it was occupied.

Eleven years ago you could still pretty much wander around the entire places to explore many of them. I went to a bunch of those mountain top castles in February and they were quiet. Part of Queribus was closed for restoration.

They were planning a restoration at Arques which was probably never used by the Cathars even though it had been rumored to have been, because it was in the area. There was one near Arques that looked like it was privately owned and had quite a lot of things like old cars in a fenced yard around it.

The first thing I went there to see was Rennes Le Chatau back in 2000. Then before going back found out about the other ones, I'd love to go back again.

Posted: **Mon Apr 09, 2018 10:04 pm**

tkr4lf wrote:
2dimes wrote:These are pretty cool, a bunch of them are on top of small mountains.

http://www.catharcastles.info

Dude, those are badass. Would love to see the one at Carcassonne. I'm a sucker for a restored/still completely standing castle.

Windsor castle just a bit outside London was amazing.

Carcassonne is amazing. Unfortunately I only visited it once, and for half a day ( I was not in charge of the timetable). Ever since I have wanted to go back. We had the choice of eating or doing a quick tour. I went hungry. Which was prolly a bad choice because the second half of the day was wine-tasting.

Posted: **Tue Apr 10, 2018 1:54 am**

Strictly speaking you’re supposed to spit the wine out after tasting it ^_^

What’s that castle in France that’s like a little island next to a coastal town? That one’s cool.

Posted: **Tue Apr 10, 2018 2:02 am**

St Michaels's Mount.

Conquer Club

French rail workers to stop pretending to work

French rail workers to stop pretending to work

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