AND JUST LIKE THAT I'VE BEEN HERE A MONTH

Hard to believe, but it's been four weeks since I touched down in France, hauling my weight in books and clothes.  To commemorate, here's a mish-mash of observations

* Some (french) people wear berets seriously.  No hint of irony or touristy-ness.  Always straight-faced, and normally dressed in all black.  And for them, it works.  If only I could wear hats; maybe I would hop on that trend.

* Razor scooters are a thing here.  Not only for kids, but for commuters.  Roll through the metro station, hop on the train, and roll off to work.

* Rarely are there separate male/female bathrooms.  There are just bathrooms, and they're a free-for-all. Note, they're not always free: some public bathrooms (I mean you, Tuileries) make you pay an entrance  fee.  On the bright side, once you're in, there's sometimes a gift shop.  No joke.

* Savory crêpes are not crêpes, they are galettes, and they are delicious.

* Eggs, and milk, do not need to be refrigerated (or so they say.  I'm resisting)

* Dr. Pepper is the soda-ambassador of the United States.  Along with peanut butter, and Oreos, it makes up the teeny-tiny, and very expensive, American section in the grocery store.

* No matter the weather when you leave your apartment, if you don't have an umbrella you are naive and unprepared.  Same goes for a scarf.

* The Trenta would probably take a french person 6 hours to finish.  A Tall is considered, by many, obscenely large.  

* Skim milk is not really a thing.

* If you want your picture taken, look for those white-tennis-shoe-wearing American tourists.  It's some sort of unspoken code, that americans abroad must take each other's pictures.

* If there's not a baguette, it's not a meal.  Same goes for cheese.

* There is nothing better on a rainy day than a crêpe(*galette) with mushrooms, ham, cheese, and a fried egg.  Except maybe the one that follows, filled with butter and dark chocolate..

* If you want to know the state of nature, cross a Paris street.  Survival of the fittest, friends.

* If you're eating before 7:30, it's not dinner.  It's a snack.

* There is something innate in French people, that allows them to wear Uggs and high-heeled tennis shoes without looking ridiculous in the least.

photo from The Red Balloon