Post by Foggy on Oct 22, 2017 8:40:04 GMT -6
I got back home yesterday after two weeks touring in France. Landed in Paris....then Lion. Spent a couple days in Nice, then the French Riviera including a trip to Monoco, a few other cities including Beaurdaux and the Wine Country, then on to Normandy and Omaha Beach, the cemeteries and battle fields of WWII. Then more travel to Paris and the "hunting lodge" transformed into a palace at Versailes. (some of this stuff is crazy with history and grandiose). In all....about 2000 miles of road travel on a big circle tour of the country.
I will include a few pics in a later post....but wanted to comment on my observations about this trip.....from a political perspective.
1. I did not see as many Muslims as I had expected. Very few berkas anywhere. They definitely do not have the quantity of Muslim or other races cultures that are present in St Cloud...... or Mankato for that matter. At least as far as I can tell.
2. These folks keep restoring antiquated statues and buildings.....and "wasting" much of their economy on this old stuff.....only to do it again and again. I don't know how they can afford to spend the many Euro's it takes to keep doing this stuff.
3. HUGE separation between the wealthy and the average person here. The wealthy must have mega bucks stashed away.....and there are allot of 'em.....judging from the many expensive cars and the palaces throughout the country. the Casino at Monaco was filled with Lambordini's and such. Minimum bets were crazy high.....I spent $5 and walked away with a .15 cent cash-out at Monaco. Grin.
4. They are proud of their "free" healthcare. Maybe justifiable so.....but its hard to understand enough on this issue or their country's economic position.
5. AVERAGE wages are somewhat low.....but nobody seems to work very hard either.....and their expenses in this lifestyle are quite low. mostly they just eat out and mill about in the streets for entertainment.
6. If you work here you get a minimum of 4 weeks vacation each year and most will get about six weeks vacation. Also your employer will pay your tax of 1/3 of your wages. Very stiff penalty if he does not pay up each quarter. AND....they cannot fire you. They got you for life....good bad or otherwise. Duh! MO would have trouble with these regs....grin.
7. Most places (cities, towns, homes) are old, but quite clean. Plumbing is all retrofit to old buildings and would be sub-standard by our standards.
8. Everything feels like its made dwarf size.....small. Efficiency in all of Europe is huge. So the automatic lights turn on and off while your using the toilet etc. Some is kinda comical.....some is kinda irritating after a while. Their govt plans for them to be 100% electric vehicles by 2030.
9. I feel these guys should pay some bigger costs toward NATO and do more to support the USA and the free world. ....though I am uncertain how they compare to other nations.
10. Always interesting to travel in Europe. Saw many structures that were 1000 years old and still are in good repair. Some took 100's of years to complete. Ruling classes and religion take on a new perspective with enough travel in the old country. Lots of wars and fighting for "control" and trade over time.
11. Glad to be home (got sick on this trip - not too unusual).
I will include a few pics in a later post....but wanted to comment on my observations about this trip.....from a political perspective.
1. I did not see as many Muslims as I had expected. Very few berkas anywhere. They definitely do not have the quantity of Muslim or other races cultures that are present in St Cloud...... or Mankato for that matter. At least as far as I can tell.
2. These folks keep restoring antiquated statues and buildings.....and "wasting" much of their economy on this old stuff.....only to do it again and again. I don't know how they can afford to spend the many Euro's it takes to keep doing this stuff.
3. HUGE separation between the wealthy and the average person here. The wealthy must have mega bucks stashed away.....and there are allot of 'em.....judging from the many expensive cars and the palaces throughout the country. the Casino at Monaco was filled with Lambordini's and such. Minimum bets were crazy high.....I spent $5 and walked away with a .15 cent cash-out at Monaco. Grin.
4. They are proud of their "free" healthcare. Maybe justifiable so.....but its hard to understand enough on this issue or their country's economic position.
5. AVERAGE wages are somewhat low.....but nobody seems to work very hard either.....and their expenses in this lifestyle are quite low. mostly they just eat out and mill about in the streets for entertainment.
6. If you work here you get a minimum of 4 weeks vacation each year and most will get about six weeks vacation. Also your employer will pay your tax of 1/3 of your wages. Very stiff penalty if he does not pay up each quarter. AND....they cannot fire you. They got you for life....good bad or otherwise. Duh! MO would have trouble with these regs....grin.
7. Most places (cities, towns, homes) are old, but quite clean. Plumbing is all retrofit to old buildings and would be sub-standard by our standards.
8. Everything feels like its made dwarf size.....small. Efficiency in all of Europe is huge. So the automatic lights turn on and off while your using the toilet etc. Some is kinda comical.....some is kinda irritating after a while. Their govt plans for them to be 100% electric vehicles by 2030.
9. I feel these guys should pay some bigger costs toward NATO and do more to support the USA and the free world. ....though I am uncertain how they compare to other nations.
10. Always interesting to travel in Europe. Saw many structures that were 1000 years old and still are in good repair. Some took 100's of years to complete. Ruling classes and religion take on a new perspective with enough travel in the old country. Lots of wars and fighting for "control" and trade over time.
11. Glad to be home (got sick on this trip - not too unusual).