See, in Lyon, free (and good) bread everywhere we went. As the Lord intended. French food can be (and often is) overrated but they certainly, as a nation, know how to eat. Though I was reading an article the other week that said les Frenchies are on their way to becoming a consummate nation of fast food scoffers – Quickie burgers and supermarket baguettes, the horror. And the expanding waistlines. Still, good to see (if less good to inhale) they're still trying to smoke their way out of the problem.
In other rants – yesterday we grabbed lunch at Maltby St market in that London, and wandering by one of the drinking establishments in the arches stopped for a drink with our meal. Only to be pounced on by the chap running a concession inside and be told we couldn't eat 'outside' food in there. OK, to be fair, if they want to do that, then fine, it's their funeral, but put a fucking sign up stating this because we don't have psychic powers. And I don't get it – these places ought to thrive on the fact they have a street market next door (and generally have, encouraging people to wander in with their food for an accompanying beer, which is what we mistakenly did). We already had food so really, unless your business is the food, there's really no value discouraging custom on that basis. And if your business is the food, well, probably not the best plan to open by a famous street food market.
Anyway, I might have been a bit bolshy, but it got us a free beer*.
*that said, the food guy just grabbed it from the fridge, so I'm not entirely sure it was legitimate, I presume he's separate from the bar. But hey, free beer.
