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Feeding a duck with my breakfast

Thoughts for the Weekend & this Week’s Links

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Caen, Paris, Zurich.

Whilst sat by the lake, sheltering from the rain and feeding the ducks my breakfast, here are a few thoughts from the week:

  1. When one of the country’s largest taxi firms can’t get you a pre-booked taxi on time on a quiet Sunday morning, then can’t give any idea of when it will arrive, you know there is a labour problem and that we need the people who used to do this work.
  2. When you turn up at a ferry terminal on foot, having changed your mind about taking your bike and get charged extra, you know The System has taken over. Luckily there was a man with a brain who overrode the Cyborg, but whose programme could not hold back a parting shot, “you must call when you change your mind.”
  3. When you taste homegrown potatoes chipped in oil, you know you don’t need to be part of the air frying craze.
  4. When you see what one man can achieve in a lifetime, you realise that you’ve either not used your time effectively or have to accept that some people just operate on a different level. The Norman Foster exhibition at the Pompidou is worth a trip to Paris alone. “Never heard of him. What did he design?” Well, the Gherkin, Stansted Airport, the Millennium Bridge, Hong Kong and Shanghai banks, Hong Kong Airport..Oh and Wembley. And Apple HQ. And the Millau Viaduct, and….and….
  5. When you see those idiots whizzing around a city two abreast on electric scooters, remember: you’ve probably not tried it 😉
  6. When you see people who can’t lift their suitcase onto a large train, when sweat is pouring off them just to push it along the aisle because they’ve packed too much stuff (and they’re unfit). When there’s two of them, who need a complete rethink of how they travel. Why don’t they ask themselves, ‘What would happen if everyone was like me?’
  7. When you realise someone’s booked a ticket for their tabby cat to curl up on its own seat, you know they’re a little bit bonkers. But the world needs bonkers people, provided they wear long enough sports shorts and/or resist putting their feet up on the seat. (He did at least take his shoes off).
  8. When there’s no fuss about the simple things, e.g. booking into a campsite, you know you’re in Switzerland.
  9. When even the toilet door in your favourite cafe closes with the solidity of a bank vault door, you know you’re in Switzerland.
  10. When you’re drying your socks in a Dyson Air Dryer and they smell like fondue, you probably need some clean socks. If the smell makes you hungry you really need to eat.
  11. When the price of a pint, well almost a pint, in Switzerland doesn’t seem too outrageous, you know you’ve got a problem at home. Mind you all is not lost, a twenty-five quid pizza means we still have some slack in the system.
  12. When you see someone with five young kids, one of whom is floating his croissant in mum’s coffee..

 

Have a good weekend. This week’s links cover a few things which might be useful if you are planning your own trip. Any comments or suggestions you can get me at carl@carlarchitect.co.uk

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This week’s links:

Great no fuss lake side camping

One man’s mind-blowing work

A decent, and not overpriced central Paris hotel with a view of the river (if you’re lucky – room 641)

If you have a football-mad son or daughter, then the FIFA Museum is for you.

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