Differences in Fashion and Food

Today's post will be sans pictures to compensate for the deluge of photos yesterday.

This morning I awoke and it was cold and overcast.  Autumn has come to the south of France, apparently, so I decided to make soup.  This endeavor involved a leisurely stroll to the supermarche, during which everybody in town stared at me, presumably for my eye-catching white trench coat.  They don't wear lots of color here.  Last week when I asked how the French imagine the average American looks, Edith said, "The women wear dresses with flowers, and everyone wears lots and lots of bright colors!"  Yeah, we like our color.  And you might be thinking, "White isn't even a color."  You are correct.  But from what I've seen, the French like their greys and blacks and ivories and neutral tones.  Bright white does not fit into this category anymore than do pumpkin orange and fire engine red.

But moving on.  The supermarkets are really tiny here, practically convenience store sized.  I wish they had bacon, but alas.  By the time I come back to the States, there's supposed to be a shortage of the stuff.  Boo.  Anyhow, I bought some potatoes, onions, and celery and came home to make potato soup.  There were some bananas turning a very disagreeable shade of brown on the counter as well, so I decided to introduce Edith and Nico to the delight that is banana bread.

They didn't seem particularly fond of either dish.  They ate dinner in the same manner that I eat the grass, soap, and dirt-flavored Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.  With interest, but without much pleasure.  I think they must not be fans of dishes that are 90% potatoes here.  They actually called the potato "the vegetable of America," which seems accurate.  I happily sprinkle potato chips on my potato soup back home, and can be perfectly content with a plate of mashed potatoes and fries for dinner.  Best vegetable ever.

So all in all, it was kind of a lazy rainy day with comfort food, tea, and books.  Also Angry Birds.

JK Rowling's new book comes out tomorrow.  Damn, I love the Kindle and not having to tackle a tardy postman.