Wearing pants in France? You’re breaking the law, ladies.

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Several months ago, French prez Nicholas Sarkozy knocked around the idea of banning the burka. Today The Telegraph points out another item to add to the ever-increasing list of dumb laws: in France it is still against the law for women to wear pants. The law reportedly has been on the books since 1800 and has survived multiple attempts to repeal it, although its application has been narrowed somewhat.

In 1892, an exception was made to the law that allowed women to wear pants “as long as the woman is holding the reins of a horse.” (Sounds like something Borat might propose.) A 1909 modification to the law allowed women on bicycles to wear pants.

Though the law has obviously not been enforced in many years, the French government has little interest in overturning it. A 2003 request to repeal the law was denied by a government official who said, “Disuse is sometimes more efficient than (state) intervention in adapting the law to changing mores.”

More here.

French hotel lets you pay to be treated like a hamster

by Scott Carmichael on

Hands up if you ever had the sudden urge to be treated like a hamster for a couple of days? Well, your wish has come true, though it will involve a flight to France.

In the French town of Nantes, you can pay just under $150 a night to eat hamster food, run around in a giant wheel, and sleep in hay stacks.

According to the first two paying guests, being able to experience how a hamster lives helped them “come out of their daily routine”. Well, yeah, I can see how pretending to be a hamster for a couple of days will change things a little.

The owners of the “Hamster Villa” run a company that specializes in unusual and bizarre hotels. One of the owners used to dress up as a hamster, making their venture just a bit weirder. Sadly, the new “hamsters” in this hotel are already demanding WiFi access and a flat panel TV, so the current $150/night rate will be going up in the near future.

Gadlinks for Monday 11.16.09

by Brenda Yun on

It’s “Wild West” day here at Gadling, so I dug into the travel blog archives to find some of the best “Wild West” reads. Hope y’all enjoy today’s pickin’s!

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening!

More Gadlinks HERE.

Wild West Shows in France

by Andrew Evans on

It’s no secret that the French are so totally obsessed with all things American. One day they’re thumbing their noses at us and the next, they’re waving American flags, dressing up like cowboys, dancing the Texas two-step and pretending like it was the good old 1870’s. Indeed, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Maybe it’s not the reason you came to France, but if you ever do max out your quota of impressionist art or vibrant chateaux gardens, consider the following Franco-American spectacles:

Le Country Rendez-Vous Festival
This boot-kickin’ country music festival takes place every July in the fair town of Craponne (pronounced: Crap + Own). Over 35,000 country music lovers don their best imitation cowboy gear and drive their Peugeot’s like wild Nevada mustangs into the green hills of the Haute-Loire region of France. I hear they even start speaking French with Texas accents. The event is sponsored by France’s Radio Country Club which you can listen to with much amusement online.

Disney’s Buffalo Bill Show
The French obsession with the wild west can be traced back to Buffalo Bill’s original Wild West Show that came to Paris for a limited run in 1889 and then happened to sell out every night until 1913 (kinda like “CATS” in the 1980’s). Disneyland® Resort Paris (née EuroDisney) has tapped into that long ago love affair with a twice-nightly Buffalo Bill show featuring a real herd of American bison tearing up clouds of dust upon the fields of Champagne. Expect lots of lasso tricks, fancy riding, and thunderous gun battles of exploding blanks all whilst eating your Disney dinner. Note: vegetarian menus are available, just like in the real Wild West.La Camargue
For a real French cowboy show with real men in real hats who work with real cattle, head south to La Camargue. The Rhône delta region of France is an exotic little corner of the country, bleached with salt air and the dry winds of the Mediterranean coast. Wild flamingos provide a flamboyant contrast to the local white horses and black-rimmed hats of les gardiens who ride them. You can witness cattle-branding in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and take in one of the famous bull fights of nearby Arles.

Explore London with Sherlock Holmes

by Katie Hammel on

In anticipation of the Christmas Day release of the new Sherlock Holmes movie (starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law), Visit Britain has developed a microsite to help guide fans to the London locations used in the film. The site also offers possible itineraries for a Holmes-themed tour of London.

The list of London stops on the Holmes tour includes St. Paul’s Cathedral, Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, Freemason’s Hall, Brompton Cemetery, and the Sherlock Holmes Museum. The site also suggests a drink at the Sherlock Holmes Pub (decorated with Holmes memorabilia) or walking tour, “In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes”, offered by London Walks.

For those venturing out of London, there are additional filming locations in Manchester. Cheshire, Kent, Leeds and Suffolk in England, plus spots in Scotland and Wales.