An absolutely delightful article landed on my desk this morning, which I just have to share with you.  French Kissing – how do you go about it? Before you all get hot and bothered under the collar - no, it’s not that sort of kissing; it’s the Cheek Greeting Kiss kind!  We Brits have never been over demonstrative in our affections, sufficing normally with a formal handshake for “unknowns”, a heartier one for someone familiar and, daringly, a pat on the back if it’s someone we really like.  

Thankfully, France is much more convivial and has a wonderful tradition that once you’ve been “accepted” either as work colleague, friend or part of the family, you will be cheek-kissed.  I find this a lovely gesture but it does mean you’ll need to cheek-kiss back.  And if you’re new to the game it can be all rather worrying, but the trick is simply to let your new French friend take the initiative – and simply copy them.

“Faire la bise” (to give a cheek kiss) is normally done when you meet friends for the first time and, depending where you are in France, the kiss count is different.  (Cheek kissing began in the Middle Ages when men began kissing women as a form of greeting: Bourgeoisie on the cheek, Nobility on the mouth).

But I can tell you that here on the French Riviera you only need to kiss once on both cheeks – and that goes for the whole of the department Provence-Alpes-Maritimes-Cote d’Azur. It’s also true for the departments of Aquitaine, Lorraine, Franche-Comté, Rhone-Alpes and Limousin. But it’s three kisses in Midi-Pyrenées, and Poitou-Charentes. The further north you go it becomes four kisses as Ile-de-France (Paris), Picardie, Normandie, Bretagne, Pays-de-la-Loire make you feel very welcome; as will Champagne-Ardenne, also with four kisses. Mind you, for a glass of their gorgeous bubbly I’d gladly accept twenty kisses.

Now that you know all about French Kisses – have I told you the pitfalls about offering flowers?