Et une carafe d'eau, s'il vous plaît

I think it's time to talk about food. The culture of eating here is very distinct, and the French take their food and drink seriously. Obviously, I'll have plenty more to say about this topic later, but to start off:

First, the café. Fitting, since I am currently nursing a tea at an outdoor table at La Fée Verte ("The Green Fairy"), a corner establishment a block and a half from my apartment. (I'm also listening to the Putamayo Paris CD, there's a guy in a beret walking by, and my chair is facing the boulangerie across the street.  No joke. It's almost a frenchness overload.) Anyway, there are street cafés everywhere, so if you pass one and realize you could really go for a café au lait and croissant right now,  relax and keep walking - there's most likely a better one 50 meters down the street. The parisian café is not your blackberry-wielding, laptop-using, yuppie stressfest; in fact I'm pretty sure my computer is screaming "American!" At any time of the day, people fill the tables to smoke a cig, drink a cup, and shoot the breeze. The chairs all face the street for optimal see-and-be-seen opportunities. You can order great food as well, of which I keep getting reminded whenever I steal a glance at the poulet-frites of the woman next to me. I'll get that next time.

Then you have restaurants, bistros, brasseries, sandwich joints, pizzerias, crêperies, bars, pubs, etc. Once I understand the distinguishing factors of all those choices, I'll elaborate. But for now I'll say that when you dine out for dinner, you go around 7pm if you're weird, 8 if you're kind of weird, 9 if you're normal, and 10 if you're cool.

Food at home. Breakfast is tiny - a coffee and piece of bread if you're lucky. Don't expect a croissant hot out of the oven unless you're willing to fetch it yourself from the boulangerie. Approximately 90% of the cereal options at the grocery store include chocolate. If you're the type of person who would consider it disgusting to single-handedly finish off a box of granola aux 3 chocolats in one day, probably don't buy that cereal... or should I say drug. (Same goes for jars of Nutella.) As for lunch, I'm not sure what most French families do since my host mom works during the day. Eat out, I guess. I've been making myself cheese and tomato sandwiches to be fiscally responsible :) Dinner is lengthy, and if you're in a household that truly appreciates the cuisine, it includes several courses. My host mother is mid-range - she doesn't slap stale bread and cold stew in front of us, but usually makes a dinner with one or two dishes plus a cheese or dessert course. For example, one night we had an egg and potato dish served with marinated tomatoes and cucumbers, and a couple of cheese choices, french bread, and juicy grapes for dessert. Luckily I haven't had cow brains or escargot shoved down my throat, and call me unadventurous, but I'm going to keep it that way.

Wow, this talk is getting me hungry. Might have to go snack on that chocolate granola if I want to last until dinnertime...