Day 179: Lobster

Dinner Menu:

• Homard entier
• Frites
• Salade
• 1 Verre de chardonnay
• 1/4 Cheese cake & 1/4 de Crumble aux Pommes

Thanks Theo!  It was his 16th birthday today and as he is a foodie who likes lobster we all went to dinner at a restaurant called Pinces (Claws) where we had a lobster each (except Eliot who had steak!).   Theo asked me today what would be better in my opinion banning all industrial cattle farming or banning all industrial fishing ?  My natural inclination would be to ban cattle farming as it creates a lot more CO2 emissions and I prefer losing beef rather than fish from my diet.  Having said that I then thought that might mean we would replace the beef by catching even more fish which would devastate the ocean.  But some quick google research shows we consume 70 Million tons of beef a year compared to  200M tons of farmed or wild fish so we could probably replace all the beef with fish & poultry (which has a much lower environmental impact). I hope my butcher doesn't read my blog!

Happy Birthday Theo!

Day 178: Movie

Fianna and I went to see a movie tonight with another Franco-American couple whose daughter  is in Theo's class.  The film was called Thunder Road and I think it was supposed to be funny, dramatic, meaningful and independent, needless to say I was not impressed.  For some reason I find it particularly annoying to go to the cinema and be disappointed.  This is not true for books or bande déssinée.  My initial thought is that I don't like wasting 2 hours of my life, but if I'm honest that's not a good enough reason.  I know that I "waste my time" doing all sorts of things which don't annoy me as much.  I think its the fact that I feel trapped, I have to spend the full 2 hours in the cinema with limited opportunity to escape.  I remember watching Titanic (one of the most popular movies) of all time and feeling if only I could leave but not doing so because of the people I was with.  Maybe I should practise going to the cinema alone, sitting on the aisle and leaving in the middle of the movie, that way I wouldn't feel trapped and if I stayed to the end of a bad movie it would be a choice rather than an imposition.

Day 177: De-Growth

Today was a fasting day

My daughter tells me that as I write a lot about environmentalism I should write about de-growth (décroissance).  She recently saw a documentary on the negative effects of electric dams.  Hydro-electricity is often seen as renewable and therefore green but in actual fact it creates plenty of havoc through the destruction of all the local ecosystems (not sure that is true of nuclear plants!).  I think I understand the intellectual logic behind de-growth, we have a finite amount of resources which means that if we continue to pursue constant growth we will run out at some point in the future.  But I don't understand what we are supposed to do in practise.  Ultimately I find that there are quite few inconsistencies which I find difficult to resolve:

• What is the ideal amount of economic activity we should be aiming for ?
• It's impossible to have zero environmental impact so how much is acceptable?
• How do you convince (rather then compel) people to give up things that they expect and that make their life easier or better? (I'm not giving up my standing desk!)
• Proponents of de-growth are often anti-technology but I feel that being anti-technology is like being anti-human.  Isn't our intelligence what makes us difference from all other animals? I don't understand how we can decide the point at which technology is bad?  Is a plough bad or an oven or a pen ? 

As you can tell I'm not an advocate of de-growth I think I'd rather work towards smart-growth...

Day 176: Go

I received a GO today.  Which, for those of you who have who don't know what I do, means that a client agreed to a give me a project.  This was a tough negotiation which has resulted in a 2M€ project spread over 16 months.  It's always nice to get a go ahead as it shows a client has faith in you and in addition this is an interesting project which is different to our usual ones. It also means that I will most definitely be working for my current firm until 2019....No comment. 

I had a long (and fruitful) day today so I am allowing myself a short blog with no meaningful lessons.

Back to normal tomorrow

Day 175: Hospital

One of my best friends has been in hospital for the past 5 weeks recovering from a pretty complicated operation.  I understand that it has been and is still a pretty traumatic experience and that he is keen to break out of the hospital environment.   I can most definitely sympathise with this sentiment.  My 15 days of post operative stay in hospitals in Arizona and California confirmed my phobia of those buildings.  I understand that in certain cases there is a need for overnight or even extended stays in medical facilities but I can't help feeling that there must be a healthier and more humane option than these huge "health facilities". I am convinced that in many cases patients would benefit from an early release to their home environment with possibly a daily visit if necessary.  Or why don't we put technology to good use ?  I'm sure that we could devise smartphone apps that could provide remote monitoring of people at home.  After a difficult illness or medical procedure the sooner you can be home the better chance of healing.  Lets devise human sized hospitals, as I have said in a previous blog: small is beautiful.   

Day 174: Squash

Dinner Menu:

• Bar de ligne au four
• Riz
• Haricots verts
• Fromages
• Mangue et yaourt de brebis

This weekend I played squash with my friend Guy.  I introduced him to the game over 30 years ago but since then he has played a lot more than me and is definitely at a higher level.  People (my wife, my mother, my daughter) keep telling me I should do more exercise but as I have mentioned before (Exercise blog) most of the physical activity people do in big cities is not to my liking.  I guess I should look for some Squash or Tennis partners who are there more regularly. Then again a big part of the enjoyment comes from winding down with a juice afterwards and discussing the ups and downs of life.  The solution as alwasy in the 21st century is probably a smartphone app.  SquashBook the app to find friends to practice your sport with.

Day 173: Zen

Today was a fasting day!

Although I have a reputation as being quite relaxed and unfazed by adversity I think I am still further  than I would like to being a Zen Master.  When things that I care about or that I have committed to others don't go as planned I don't have the ability to just let go.  I had promised to send a client a revised proposal for a big project which we are close to winning by today.  The client expected it during the day and called me at 7 PM to ask me why he had not received it yet.  I told  him that there were some internal procedures which  needed to be finalised but he should have it quickly.  I then had to wait 3 hours while different people involved decided whether we should have a comma here or a semicolon there! Finally I was able to send something which was not substantively different from what everybody had agreed to 6 hours earlier.  My point here isn't about the total stupidity of the process, its about the fact that I wasn't able to just accept that it was out of my hands and I could not do more than I had done.  For 3 hours I could feel myself boiling inside (similar to when I'm stuck in a traffic jam) which is probably not good for my mental or physical health. What's interesting is that this is not systematic, I don't get as upset for train or plane delays for example. 

So still work to do to attain perfect detachment!

Day 172: Series

The number and variety of series which are now available on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and HBO is quite stunning.  There are series for all tastes and genres.  Comedy, Drama, Romance, Fantasy, Western, Crime, Artsy, SciFi, etc... As with  everything the quality is quite varied.  One common thread that I have observed is that series are often longer than they need to be.  Its as if what would have been a 90 minutes film in the pre-streaming days is now made into 10 or 12 50 minute episodes. I think its a combination of 2 factors:

1. Directors always need more time and more scenes.  They probably find it difficult to cut and trim once they have shot something.  (eg. Director's cuts of films are always much longer than the "original" version)
2. The streaming companies have such a need for new and original content that whenever they get a good concept they need to maximise the amount viewing they can get out of it.  Thus we get  long repetitive scenes that don't always bring much to the story.

Although I have seen some good series I'm not sure that ever increasing length is a good trend.  I recently watched the first series of A Handmaid's Tale 10 episodes of over 1 hour each.   As it happens I have read the book (300 pages published in 1985) and seen the Film (1h49 mins in 1990) both of which are quite good.  Although the photography and depiction of the story in the series is very well done I don't feel the extra 9 hours were necessary (actually they have to invent all sorts of extra scenes and flashbacks to try and use up the time).  

More thoughts on this in a future blog,  Fianna is waiting for me so we can watch the next episode of our current series!

Day 171: Cheese

Dinner Menu:

• Rougets au four avec courgettes, carottes et navets
• Fromage variés
• Baguette 

As we were running low on cheese and Sasha wanted to go out so we went to our local fromager to stock up.  We bought:

• Figou (goat cheese with a fig inside)
• Chèvre frais au thym et citron
• Gouda aux truffes
• Mimolette extra vielle
• Tome corse
• Roquefort
• Chèvre cendré
• Crottins de chèvre
• Baguettes fraîches (tradition, graines et pavots)

I think this is the main reason I would find it difficult to live elsewhere than France.  I often wonder (see previous blogs) which location(s)  Fianna will retire to and its difficult to find the right balance.  But one thing is clear I will need to have regular access to a proper  fromagerie artisanale preferably with a good wine merchant next door and of course a boulangerie!

Day 170: Miracle

Dinner Menu:

• Whisky Japonais
• Spaghetti Vongole
• Salade verte
• Fromage
• Baguette
• Vouvray

I had what should be considered good news today.  It is highly likely that I will win a big Consulting job for my company.  The good part is that I will probably keep my job at least until 2019 (as I wished for at new year) the bad part is that I will probably keep my job at least until 2019!  Overall its probably a good thing since it gives me more time to prepare my inevitable next steps. The other piece of good news is that it seems that my CEO has hired a Managing Director for Europe which means that he would  between me and her! Hooray!  If that is the case I would be delighted.  Anything that insulates me from my present boss can only be highly positive.  If his role is confirmed and implemented as it should be meaning the new MD is a real buffer I could end up lasting in this job until 2020.  Now that would be a real miracle!

Day 169: Credit

Today was a fasting day.

Now that I have signed the promesse de vente on my first mini-apartment I have to find the financing to allow me to complete the sale.  This involves calling some banks and credit organisations and then preparing a solid administrative file.  The file (dossier in french) is composed of a series of documents (payslips, bank statements, tax certificate, ID, etc).  In the old days all these documents would be original or copies of your actual documents.  Nowadays (thankfully) everything is done electronically.  All your documents are scanned copies which you send to the bank by e-mail.  As I am preparing my documentation I realise that considering my knowledge of computing it would actually be relatively easy for me to create all these documents with whatever numbers would suit me. The banks don't ask to see originals anymore they just assume that a pdf file or image file is an actual document.  I'm thinking I should do a whole false dossier for "fun" and then when the bank gives me the loan I could sell them a Consulting project to oversee their loan procedures.  Or I could publish it as a case study in a newspaper.

Day 168: Exercise

Dinner Menu:

• Emincé de veau (de Maurin) aux girolles et à la crème
• Riz
• Salade verte aux avocats
• Eau avec bulles maison

The multiplication of shared electric vehicles (scooters, bikes, mopeds) in Paris means that I am getting further away form my goal of 10,000 steps a day.  I know that exercise is good for you but I find it difficult to practise it in Paris.  I have never liked running which would be the easiest one to do, I do enjoy cycling but in Paris you end up stopping at traffic lights most of the time.  I'm also a fan of swimming but their aren't that many pools in Paris and they are often overcrowded which I find unpleasant. I do enjoy tennis or squash but I'm lacking a regular partner (although my friend Guy is planning to spend more weekends in Paris).  What I need is a swimming pool in my basement or even better in my attic with an electric roof.   My ideal exercise is a swim in the morning before getting dressed and preferably in cold water.   While I work out how to get a pool in my building I have the 5 minute cold shower and 4 minute plank every morning... close enough I guess.

Day 167: Forgiveness

Today was a fasting day.

Also it was (or will be) Yom Kippur a Jewish holiday about which I know nothing other than its the day my wife asks me to forgive her for any past wrongs real or imagined she may have done.  Forgiveness seems to have a big part in most monotheist religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism that I know of).  In principle I'm all in favour of letting bygone be bygones, however in religion it is often about asking God to forgive you for your sins, which seems to me a little self serving.  You repent or otherwise show contrition (through fasting) and God gives you a free pass until the next time.  Be that as it may,  I do feel that the capacity for forgiving others is a fundamental requirement to having a healthy mind (and happy marriage). 

More importantly I wonder why we don't use forgiveness to contribute to healing our societies. I would like to see regular pardons of all our prison population irrespective of whether they recognise their "sins".  The hardest but most beneficial act is to forgive those who don't recognise that they may have been at fault.

So I forgive Fianna and anyone else who happens to be reading this blog for any offence that I might have caused knowingly or not and I am happy to receive forgiveness in return from anyone whether I deserve it or not.

Day 166: Legislation

Dinner Menu:

• Côte de boeuf de Galice
• Purée de pomme de terre
• Purée de céleri et navet
• Salade verte
• Tarte aux abricots
• Côte de Bordeaux

In pursuit of my ambition to become a slumlord I signed the promesse de vente (the preliminary contract before completion) on my first property today. There was a minor issue because the property is designated as a "commercial workshop" which means that I might not be able to rent it out as student accommodation.  I think this has been resolved but it does raise the question of why a property should need to be designated in the first place.  Does the state really need to get involved in deciding whether a property should be an apartment, a workshop, an office or a shop ?  Why can't the owner or occupier decide what use he or she wants to make of the space ?  I understand that anarchy is complicated and may require some more thought before being implemented but it seems to me that our societies are becoming overly complex.  There are over 12,000 laws and 140,000 decrees in France at present.  And yet there is a French saying that nul n'est censé ignorer la loi (no one can plead ignorance of the law).  That doesn't seem realistic to me.  Maybe we should have a manageable number of laws (120 ?) and any new law would have to replace an existing law.  

Day 165: Welcome

Dinner Menu:

• Coucou de Rennes au paprika fourrée aux pommes
• Pommes de terres et carottes au four
• Haricots verts
• Yaourt au brebis avec groseilles et myrtilles
• Eau avec bulles maison

This weekend was the Journées Européennes du Patrimoine.  Its 2 days during which buildings of historical or cultural interest which are normally not freely accessible open their doors to the public.  Last year we visited the Palais Royal which houses the Conseil Constitutionnel, the Conseil d'État and the Ministry of Culture (and happens to be the place where we had Lunch on Fianna and I's wedding day).  This year we visited the Cour des comptes which is the body that verifies all French public accounts (like the National Audit Office).  The building itself was quite interesting one of many quite grandiose state buildings we have in Paris.  But I was more impressed by the fact that the President of the institution was there himself to welcome all comers individually and the Secretary General and other Senior Civil servants were there to answer questions and give information on the work of the Court.  I was thinking it would make a big difference if people could do that with all state institutions at least once a year.  

Day 164: Prize

Dinner Menu:

• Sebaste au fenouil et olives
• Riz
• Eau maison

This week one of the most famous French literary prizes the Renaudot decided to include a self-published novel on its shortlist.  This has created a storm of protest from the Syndicat des Libraires  (booksellers union) not so much because it is self published but because the author has used Amazon as his platform which means bookshops cannot sell his book.  although I have some sympathy for the bookshops because I feel they do provide an important service in allowing people to browse for books physically, I still find their position untenable.  Marco Koskas' book Bande de Français was turned down by his existing publishers and therefore he had no choice other than to self publish a book he believed in. If we were to go along with the Syndicat des Libraires  it would be akin to giving physical book publishers the exclusive right to defining what can be considered a book.  I think a better solution would be for the booksellers to get it physically published now that it has been shortlisted for a Prize rather than trying to suppress it.  After all most books on Amazon started in print so why can't we also go the other way from electronic format to physical? 

Day 163: Negotiation

Today I spent the day in Hungary. I was asked to do an introduction to negotiation workshop for 33 executives from around the world. What I like about my negotiation workshops is that people are always interested and engaged in the subject.  Many people are uncomfortable with negotiation because they see it as confrontational but that is confusing the solution with the problem. Negotiation is what you do to resolve issues and conflicts not the cause of them. As long as individuals, groups or states are negotiating it means they are seeking agreement.  Disagreements happen all the time and the only way to overcome them  constructively is to talk them through which is another way of saying negotiate. 

Day 162: Europe

Today was a fasting day.

I am writing my blog from Bük a small village in Hungary. As it happens it is also today that the European Parliament voted a motion effectively condemning the Hungarian government for its attack on European democratic norms and in particular the rule of law.  This does pose an interesting theoretical question:  Is it imaginable to expel a state from the European Union because it is no longer in ligne with Fundamental European Principles.  I don't have a simple answer, but it does seem to me that sometimes liberal democracies need to stand up for their values.  I think it would be useful to clearly define a few principles to which all EU states have to sign up to, with the possibility of expelling those who do not abide by them.  The  expulsion should be a last resort requiring a lengthy process but it should be possible.  

Day 161: Bag

Dinner Menu:

• Raviolis aux tomates séchées, tomates fraiches et mozzarella
• Salade verte
• Eau avec bulles maison

I'm off to Hungary for the day tomorrow.  I am giving a Negotiation training session to 35 managers from a big Japanese company. It should be interesting.  However this blog post is not about negotiation it about packing.  I haven't packed yet and its quite late. Thankfully I am a very light packer.  I expect I will have small shoulder bag with the essentials and nothing else.  When I travel and I see people with huge suitcases, often more than one, I wonder what they are taking with them. To me the worst thing about traveling is having to take things along. I will not be reincarnated in a tortoise in a future life.  I cannot imagine a trip that would require me taking a non carry on suitcase.  They should have special planes for people who take less than 10kg of luggage with them.  All the saved  space could then be used to make more comfortable seats!

Day 160: Bubbles

Today's (rushed) menu:

• Pizza
• Salade verte
• Eau pétillante (fait maison)

Yes you read that right.  I am now making my own bubbly water.  The problem with writing a blog which includes some personal information is that it allows people to point out your inconsistencies. As I often my dinner menus in this blog, my dear sister pointed to me that all this drinking of Badoit bubbly water from plastic bottles was not helping the environment.  Stung by this justified criticism I rushed out to buy a sodastream machine which allows me to transform tap water into nice bubbly water (sadly the fact that I bought a new piece of equipment does not sit well with my anti-consumption stance). Although the machine was quite expensive (no cost is too much to save the earth) I am getting a lot of use out of it, I think it will have paid for itself within the year and I will have avoided using at least 400 plastic bottles. So 1 point for AuntC for contributing to save the environment and 2 points for giving me a blog subject.

Day 159: Protection

Today was a fasting day.

This morning my mother sent me a video of a peaceful demonstration, by environmentalists in Alsace, being broken up violently by riot police, in full body armour, using tear gas.  On the same day I read in Le Monde that Mexico's new president Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO for short)  has decided to refuse to be protected by the State Presidential Security Group.  He doesn't like being surrounded by heavily armed goons with black sunglasses and bullet proof vests.  In the face of significant pressure from all sides he finally announced that he will have a protection group of 10 men and 10 women who will be unarmed.  That's what I call a truly democratic president.  AMLO is becoming president of arguably one of the most dangerous countries in the world and one of his first acts is to demilitarise his own security.  In these times of populism, anger and violent debate it is encouraging to see that an elected politician can propose a different vision of the state.  I will follow AMLO's progress with much sympathy and encouragement.  Mexico's northern neighbour could learn something from this example. It would be easier to persuade Americans to give up the right to bear arms if the state itself gave up its own weapons at least as far as all police and security services are concerned  (next step would be military). Nothing makes me feel less secure than the sight of armed "security" services.

Day 158: Internship

It's my niece's birthday today and it's an eventful time. Not only is she turning 21 (I think) but she just graduated from UCL (I hear it's a pretty good university ;-) ) and she is now starting an internship at a think tank in Washington. Congratulations on all the good news Z.  More importantly she gets a point for giving me a subject to talk about in my blog.  Her internship is taking place at a very well known and well funded think tank and yet it is unpaid.  I find that absolutely unacceptable.  An internship is a full time job often requiring more hours than a normal job as the intern grapples with new requirement and seeks to demonstrate his or her value.  An intern cannot have a paying job in parallel so he or she must either have savings from a previous job (in which case why would they now be an intern) or assistance from his or her family.  This is a flagrant case of discrimination against people who come from families with limited means.  It should be illegal to propose unpaid internships.  Interns carry out valuable work and although they are benefiting from the experience the organisations that hire them are also getting value.  An intern just like an apprentice should have the right to a minimal subsistence wage.

I don't know if there is an Intern Union in the United States, but if there isn't it's time somebody (you know who you are) founded one!

Have a great time in Washington Z.

Day 157: Maman

Today was my Mum's birthday.  Thankfully I remembered to call her.  Not only did my mother give me life (which is what one expects of ones mother) she (with my father) gave me a great childhood and an unassailable confidence in myself on which I was able to build my adult life.  I remember from an early age being extremely proud of my mother who to me was beautiful and original.  When I was 7, in our house in York, on one of the walls there was a black & white "artistic" (code for semi nude) photo of my mother and I would proudly show it to my friends.  Growing up in the 70ies it was less common to have a mother who was working and again it was a source of pride that mine was different.   I feel it's fantastic that I only have good memories of my childhood and of my interactions with my Mum.  I'm sure that it can't have all been perfect (being served vegetable soup for dinner every night for example) but when I look back I can't imagine a better childhood.  It's also thanks to my mother (and my grandmother) that I have such a sense of family, I grew up feeling it was normal to have extended family around (especially in the summer) and to spend a lot of time with them.  I hope that my children will have as pleasant memories of their childhood as I have.  It's also my mother who introduced me to two of my favourite activities: skiing, which came from her father, and reading Bandes Déssinées, thanks to the Tintin and Spirou weeklies which she read to me when I was 5 or 6 years old.

So thank you Mum for everything you have done for me and given me.

Day 156: Anonymous

Dinner Menu:

• Poissons parmentier
• Cassis et yaourt de brebis
• Carré de chocolat noir

The news these last few days is all about the anonymous article which points that Trump is an idiot (this is news?!!?) and that people in his administration are trying to frustrate his agenda.  I cannot agree with the method even if I understand the sentiment.  Anonymity is a big part of the problem.  One of the most unhealthy aspects of social media is the fact the people can say things and express sentiments which are just as virtual as the forum they are using. The internet facilitates the dissemination of slander and lies because there is no ownership of the material posted.  If posting or commenting on the internet required proof of identity I believe it would completely change the nature of the material we would see.  In the history of humanity nothing has good has ever come from anonymous material (starting with the bible!).  

Day 155: Zozo

As you may have noticed technology comes up occasionally in this blog.  Today I received my (free) Zozo suit. What on earth is that you may ask.  It is a tight black body suit with strange white dots (see below - its a good thing ridicule never killed anyone).  You put it on and then following robotic instructions from your phone you turn around while it takes pictures of you from all angles.  Once this is done you can then choose some clothes from the Zozo shop (a free T-shirt and jeans in my case because I am an early adopter) and they are guaranteed to fit you perfectly.  So technology is bringing Saville Row to everybody.  I will update you on the results as soon as I receive my "tailor made" outfit.

Day 154: Permanent

Today was a fasting day

One of my uncles (once removed) passed away today.  I will remember him for always having a mischievous twinkle in his eye and for his love of Préfailles (my family holiday village).  Fittingly he died in the village he loved even though he still lived in Paris.  I don't know where his funeral will be held or if I will be able to go but it seemed to me natural for him to be buried in the Préfailles cemetery.  It made me realise that there is no natural place for me to have a permanent resting place (I'm not suggesting this will be needed imminently).  Strangely enough the only place I could imagine would be in Yorkshire where I spent an important part of my childhood.  Of course its a bit of a moot point since I actually do not want to be buried on land.  I think my preference would be burial at sea (preferably the Atlantic) which must be the most environmentally friendly option. As a backup I guess I would consider cremation at least you don't take up space afterwards and the ashes could easily be dispersed in an appropriate location. Or even better my ashes could be dispersed in many locations such as : Strasbourg, Préfailles, Yorkshire, Paris and ... Antartica just to give my mourners something challenging to do. 

Day 153: Results

Dinner menu:

• Emincé de boeuf aux champignons et à la crème
• Riz basmati
• Salade verte
• Eau gazeuse (faite maison) 

As you can see after 2 months of no meat and no alcohol I made some beef (bought by Fianna) for tonight's evening meal and a few days ago in the Loire Valley I shared a 1/2 bottle of wine with Fianna.   You might well ask, what was the point of that?  Well I didn't lose any weight (but I didn't gain any either which I usually do when I go to the US on holiday) but I feel I have changed my food attitude.  I will occasionally have meat again but definitely less than before maybe once or twice a week (I don't want to hurt my butcher's feelings). Same thing with alcohol I will probably have one or two drinks a week and sometimes none.  The most important thing is that none of this is a hardship or deprivation, I'm sure at some point in the future I'll probably give up meat quasi permanently.

Day 152: Unexpected

Today was a fasting day.

As I mentioned in my blog from 2 days ago we had a mini crisis during our trip which caused some friction in our travel party.  In the interest of maintaining my healthy marriage I will not go into specific details. Instead, lets just ask a hypothetical question:  If you are going on a trip is it better to plan everything in order to avoid any mishaps or crises, or is it better to leave things to chance and take events as they come ?   Of course many people might say you need a bit of both, which is a fair point.  But I do believe that if you over plan you might lose the capacity to deal with the unexpected.  No amount of advance planning can prepare you for all possible outcomes, which means that you need to have the capacity to deal with the unexpected.  This is especially true for kids, its a lot easier to add planning as a skill in later life than it is to learn crisis management.  Kids need to be taught to appreciate adventure and to see that even if things don't go according to the initial plan its always possible to make new plan. 

Day 151: Chateaux

Dinner Menu:

• Salade de tomates et cottage cheese
• Salade verte
• Baguette
• Carré de chocolat noir 85%
• Eau (plate)

As I mentioned yesterday we spent the weekend visiting the Chateaux de la Loire.  Although I have seen most of them before I am never tired of seeing them.  Over the weekend we saw 5 in the following order:

1. Chambord
2. Chenonceaux
3. Azay le ridaux
4. Vilandry
5. Amboise

Our agreed order of preference based on which ones we would want to live in was: 2, 3, 5, 4, 1.  For an architecture student (like myself!) I found the different styles, structures and settings quite amazing.  I also wonder where are the equivalent buildings of today? I know we don't have aristocrats anymore who need these buildings to justify their status but we certainly have megalomaniac politicians and billionaires.   I wonder what a modern chateaux might look like ?  

Day 150: Range

This weekend we decided to test the electric car on long distance so we went to visit the Chateaux de la Loire which are around 250 km from Paris.  Driving the car on small roads or on the motorway is a pleasure.  There is complete silence broken only be the sound of the wind if the windows are open.  On the negative side we rapidly realised that the promised 280km range is true when you are in town or on small roads but when you start going at 140 on the motorway the autonomy comes down significantly to less than 200km.  At first it is surprising and can be deemed stressful (more on this subject in a future blog), but once you understand the limitations it means you travel differently. Planning for stops every 1 or 2 hours changes your approach to car travel and makes it fun again.  Its probably similar to what it was like in the twenties and thirties when mass travel was just beginning.  Overall I'm delighted that Fianna has an electric car which not only allows us to feel smug compared to all these other cars but also forces us to have a completely different approach to long distance travel.