Without meaning to be morbid, I can recall that there have been at least three occasions since our arrival here in 2000 where we have been confronted with the death of a close friend and subsequently reminded of our own mortality, not to mention its actual location. The practicalities of dealing with the death of a relative or friend here are not complex, but our Anglo-Saxon attitudes will most probably mean that we'll seek the nearest crematorium. There are not many more than 100 of them in the entire country, the equivalent of one per county if this were the UK or one crematorium per half-a-million people.
Another thought occurred to me; the differences between those people one meets back in the UK or on holiday here who will say that they are "dying to live in France one day". It's those who find no problem saying that they're "living to die in France one day" who actually settle happily here.
Mapmaker
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To date, we have only been to two thankfully but the difference was amazing. For a French friend there were very few words but everyone went up to the coffin to say a personal quiet farewell and then the doors closed and that was it! Pam's was a beautiful mini-service of thanks.
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