I have always loved France and the French language from . I don’t know if it’s from watching the Disney film Beauty and the Beast as a child, but I’ve always had this dream of living in France, going to the local patisserie, buying a croissant with a coffee and speaking French outside a cafe with friends. This really was the stereotype I grew up on as a child. In England, for girls, the stereotype of French women is that they all dress is black clothing, they barely eat they are all so skinny, everyone rides a bike with a basket on the front, normally carrying a baguette, everyone smokes and it is the most romantic country in the world.

After visiting Paris several times and now that I’m living here in Toulouse, the stereotype doesn’t exactly match up to the reality. I must admit, England, cyclists are a common sight, as are the numerous patisseries shops everywhere and I can’t deny, I love French food, the , the fashion, the autumn weather, the French streets and the mentality to the importance of , although this equally can be irritating. In France everyone seems to have for lunch, and most shops close at this time. This doesn’t really happen in England, nothing shuts for lunch.

One thing I have noticed recently, which is probably a weird observation, is that sometimes when you are coming through a doorway with another person or you give way to someone walking along the same pavement as you when there’s no room, . I would say that English people do have the stereotype of being overly , saying ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ for a lot of things but I’m starting to think that perhaps this is not just a stereotype anymore. I this whilst living in Spain too; I think the English are just in some circumstances. As for me, you can’t beat the French language, it just sounds so beautiful. The accent and is difficult for English people but whenever I hear a French person speak, I’m just so jealous that I wasn’t born French.

Oh and lastly, one thing that has got a bit recently is the fact that dog owners don’t . Walking along the pavement, I’m constantly annoyed by the fact haven’t thought about pedestrians. I’m not generalising and saying that this is the image of France I now have, and this is France, it’s just something that you don’t really see in England so coming to France and owning a dog myself, it really bugs me.