🇺🇦🇪🇺 cweickhmann @cweickhmann@qoto.org

Last day in #Antibes. Time for a small account:
Côte d'Azur is beautiful. I enjoyed diving back into Frenchiness and actually practicing my French against natural speakers and not just my poor kids.

Many things really didn't change much though: traffic is still just a bad and stupidly organised as it used to (with the honourable exception of Grenoble and Paris). Yes, they have nice wide sidewalks in Antibes and an actual pedestrian zone that is effective at keeping cars out. But once you're out there, cars and lorries are everywhere. Pedestrians regularly have to wait for two red lights when crossing a street, even if there's light traffic. Pedestrian crossing are of course parking spots for very busy drivers and constructions workers work around parked cars in construction sites. Antibes Ordnungsamt just like Darmstadt Ordnungsamt.
The contrast between Paris's traffic soundscape and that of Antibes is stunning: Paris limits speed (30) and through traffic, Antibes doesn't (50 even towards central Place Général de Gaulle). You can definitely hear that.
What you can also hear is the ubiquitous disrespect for 'livraison' parking. Resulting in lorries unpacking on the road, blocking busses and setting off a cacophony of honking - because of course traffic jams disappear when honked at angrily.

On the other hand I was pleasantly surprised by the playgrounds: they are all new and really well planned and nicely laid out. And they are heavily used. That's a nice change from our 2020 Arcachon expérience. The one thing I don't understand though: when you remake a playground, why not repair or exchange the doors? And if there's a public toilet just next to it: why not renovate that one too?

#SNCF's concept of luggage storage (consigne) in Antibes is a barber shop that closes 19h00 with two FIFA playing guys that don't even want to see my receipt upon depositing the luggage on almost the other side of town.

They are probably genuinely nice people, but wtf, SNCF. The alternative would be a simple locker.

Oh, and by the way: the train leaves 19h30, so 19h00 is okay, but the two alternative shops close 18h00 and 17h00, respectively.

At least the booking website is run by a company that knows how to make booking websites (Nannybag).

You travel light, I presume @jon ?

Just read several pieces criticising #Harris for not speaking until the morning after the election. Also pieces rather demanding on finding the culprit for the Dems' desaster and very impatiently so.

I don't think that's good, transparent and democratic behaviour. Just like it's very disrespectful of the election process to 'call' a winner before the ballots are counted - especially when it's not even statistically safe.

Taking this extra night to mourn and get a clear head, taking time to introspect and hopefully understand the disconnect, the strategic and communicative errors is the least that must be done.

Media demanding otherwise are impatient at best. The media landscape has been destructive enough. Interested only in the circus of things rather than the very bleak reality that this election may well be the last free election in the US.

Euch ist schon klar, dass ne kaputte #Ampel gelb blinkt...

#Fußgängerampel ist da wesentlich besser.