French Pollution

I read a post by HemisphereDancer about his first trip to France. And I have to admit my first response was jealousy. I mean while currently it wouldn't be my first choice if I were traveling abroad, it was the first country I remember being interested in as a child. And French was the first foreign language I attempted. HemisphereDancer has also posted some marvelous pictures that almost rekindled my love for the French, until, I had a flash back from 1995. Tori and I were spending the summer with her father in Orlando that year. He is a Florida resident and got us a discount on tickets to the Universal Studios Theme Park. So there we were standing in line for the Back to The Future ride when we heard the most interesting conversation. In French. A mother and her daughter, chatting away while we hung on every incomprehensible word. (I only had one year of high school French) Then it's our turn on the ride and we pile into the simulator sitting just next to la femme et la femme petite. The door closes behind us and we are completely enclosed. A smell that we had not previously noticed could no longer escape. The smell that was obviously coming from the French lady and her daughter. An armpit odor like I have never smelled before nor since. We were panic stricken as we realized that there was no way we could hold our breath for the duration of the ride. Some may say, how uncultured! Every body knows the French go natural. I can't speak for Tori but I was 18 and though I knew about the armpit hair thing, I did not know that going natural meant that a beautiful, 3o something, drop dead gorgeous, blond woman could ever smell like rotting flesh. I don't know how long the ride actually lasted, 5 min, 10 min, an eternity. And I don't remember anything about the actual ride itself. To be quite honest, I had forgotten the whole thing until I read the afore mentioned post. I can't help but to laugh at the whole thing. Maybe I will get a chance to visit France one day. But not in the summer, and I certainly won't subject myself to any enclosed spaces while I tour.