We were in beautiful Cannes for just a day last week, and after a wonderful morning touring the monastery, shopping, and strolling along the Boulevard de la Croisette, we decided to stop in for crapes. It was the lunch hour and most of the outside tables were occupied, but there was an open table at the corner of the sidewalk seating. We tried to find a maitre d' but there was nobody around. A couple at the next table suggested we sit down and someone would come to us. We did, and waited. After about five minutes, someone walking down the street jostled the table and a glass ashtray fell, shattering on the pavers. I immediately started to pick up the pieces, cutting my finger in the process, when the proprietor appeared and loudly chastised us for taking a table without being invited to do so. I offered to pay for the ashtray, but she snootily deferred. We left. Her behavior was rude, embarrassing, and wholly inappropriate and unemphatic, and enforced every bad French stereotype. It took my wife more than an hour to shake off the shock of the encounter, and it almost ruined what was up until that point one of the nicest days of our 25th Anniversary vacation. read more