Checks issued elsewhere in France take two days. The checks themselves are interesting. Kim and I both needed help the first couple of times. Because French numbers can be quite long, you have two lines to write the longhand amount. You write the recipient's name, the date, and the town where the check was written.
All checks have a standard size and layout.
This is very handy for going to stores, because many of them have check printers. All you have to do is hand them the check, they print the whole thing, and then give it back to you to sign. The Fine Art of Creative Begging 've talked about panhandlers before, but on the way back from the bank I hit one who was particularly creative. A little old woman walked up to me and tried to sell me a handmade piece of lace. Now lace doilies, no matter how beautifully made, remind me of funeral homes and stale cigar smoke, and I had no interest whatsobloominever.