As soon as we arrived in Nantes France we picked up our rental car and headed to St. Nazaire, France, about 45 minuets away. We stopped at the factory to check the progression of construction and Jeff gave me a tour. What a big undertaking, moving to a foreign county, starting a factory from the ground up, hiring all the employees from his office assistant, to HR, finance, managers, and mechanics, learning all the French labor laws, learning the language and lifestyle, and being away from home. I think the biggest assignment will be to find his replacement when things are up and running smoothly. But wow how impressive will that be on a resume ?
There is a big ceremony Friday July 23 when they will hand over the keys to the factory to Jeff. The mayor of the city will be there, and some of Jeff's bosses will be there as well including Jeff Turner.
After the tour we went and had lunch at Del Arte a regular spot for Jeff. It is comparable to a De Fazzio's. Maybe better food and they wait on you. We had 2 individual pizzas, a Pepsi and a “still” or “no gas” water. It was 20.10 Euros, which is equivalent to $25.00. Ouch! Oh yes there is no tipping in France or very rarely depending on the situation. They find it insulting. The minimum wage for here is about $8.50 and hour with free health care and four years of collage paid for.
If you order water here there are several kinds, kitchen water which is tap and is "drink at your own risk", there is still water which is like bottled water, with gas is carbonated water, and there is mineral water like Evian or Pierre.
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