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I have had the best food lately, so I have to share:


First of all, we had some sort of celery and carrot soup that was half-puréed and piping hot, and we just ate it with a little sel au poivre on top and small tartine-like hors d'oeuvres, which were, from what I can guess, wholegrain bread with Roquefort and butter on top (to cut the strength of Roquefort and to make it more of a spread) and cut into small squares. And yes, I have a newfound appreciation for Roquefort. (And I feel honored to eat it; week one, my host parents said, "Once we get to know you a little better, we'll give you stronger cheeses." I've definitely made it out of the invitée stage, finally!) We also had some of the same Roquefort/butter/bread combination with salmon on top. Not sure if they call that lox here, but it was uncooked and delicious all the same.


For dessert, though (and we have dessert after both lunch and dinner every day), we had bananas. They were SO GOOD. All you do is cut them lengthwise so you have two half-cresents on your plate, then you squeeze the juice of a lemon on top, sprinkle with sugar (I think the closest equivalent is Sugar in the Raw) and spoon it out of the banana skins to eat it. YUM!


While I still miss home cooking, it has been pretty cool to have basically eaten at a restaurant for the past two and a half weeks; we haven't had repeats or leftovers for a single meal, except for the fact we have had pasta twice. I think I'll forgive them...


Another thing that I am constantly jealous of and confused by is the fashion here. Pretty much every guy is good-looking, and all girls and women are well-dressed, though it is absolutely impossible to put a label on any style. The black leggings and short brown ankle boots are in, but so are rolled-up boyfriend jeans and flats, and so are skinny jeans of any wash, and so are heels that I'm still mystified as to how people can wear them and walk as much as they do here. You can wear a white blouse, throw on a shapeless beige knit tunic, a belt, and tights, and for as few clothes as people own here, they all look stunning-- though the guys, unless doing the typical, impressive European look, have an odd combination of east coast prep mixed with converse shoes, which I'm not sure I've grown to love just yet. Black isn't as ubiquitous as I expected, though I may be speaking too soon: apparently, come winter, EVERYTHING is either black, grey, or brown. As for what I've noticed, black and brown are always mixable, and when in doubt, go head-to-toe monochromatic (in anything from black to hot pink-- it's been done). 


Ahh, the French. They are a source of never-ending curiosity.