Bonjour! Our French journey continues.

From the beautiful city of Montpellier my wife and I made a 25-minute railroad trip to Nimes. Nimes, once a Greek (6th Century B.C.) and Roman (1st Century A.D.) city, is famous for something entirely different today. It is the textile manufacturing site for a cloth called bleu de Nimes, or blue denims as we Americans prefer to call them.

We were fortunate enough to be able to go to a bullfight in Nimes. Yes, my reader, Southwestern France - close to Spain - has bullfighting. At the ancient Roman ampitheater there (Arenes des Nimes) we witnessed the stirring pageant with beautiful costumes and music from Carmen blaring from trumpets. It is entirely too brutal for my plebeian North American tastes. When el toro (the bull) is given a sword to fight back, maybe I will appreciate the action even more.

In last week's column, I enumerated the many positive attractions of France. Today I will balance the assets column with a few debits. Here goes!

Hand-held showers are not my thing. However, I do love the deep, spacious bathtubs, and the odorous bubble bath solutions for luxuriant soaking.

Dogs and cats in restaurants and on railroad cars are something of an acquired taste. They should also institute some New York City "pooper-scooper" laws into effect. Walking without observing can be dangerous.

The language I will never, never, ever master with its nasality, its intricacies and its flourishes. (My fault, not theirs.) Even though you may try, and come close to pronouncing the unpronounceable, some Frenchmen will stare at you with no hint of understanding in their eyes.

Too much smoke! Even for moi (me), an infrequent cigar smoker. I have trouble with people who eat and smoke at the same time in restaurants.

A serious recommendation: Stay only at hotels that have CNN or the Sky Channel (British). It is uplifting in a foreign land to hear spoken English and find out what is happening in the world. In addition, the International Herald Tribune is a great paper which features articles, crossword puzzles and the jumble from the New York Times and Washington Post.

I will close with another sincere au revoir, until next week, when I present to you "L'Affaire Greenberg."