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Musings on Travelling in Europe....

I am presently in Europe - or Marbella [Spain] to be precise. Other places visited to date have been Paris, Bruges and Antwerp. Each has been delightful even if freezing cold.

There are a number of interesting things to observe for an Aussie. First, whilst Australians might be health conscience [well to a degree!] forget about low-fat or skinny milk with that coffee, margarine instead of butter at breakfast or low-fat anything. As for smoking, the laws prohibit it in restaurants - but in the main it is simply ignored. Oh yes, do not be surprised if you share your dinner with the diners alongside you having brought along the family pet-dog! Surprisingly, the dogs all seem well-behaved! And we won't even go into driving habits..... Each person for himself, be they car-drivers, motor cyclists, moped-riders or pedestrians!

What never ceases to amaze is the ability of the "locals" to speak English so well. It is an indictment of our education system that so few Australians can speak another language besides English. Is there a degree of arrogance in all of this? "They" can speak "our" language - we don't have to speak theirs!

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