vive la france (et le vin! et le fromage!)

i am a bit worried that i have become an alcoholic. when this thought troubles me, i reassure myself—like those chimneys who content themselves after declaring they are only “social smokers”—by stating that i am only a “travel alcoholic.” or more specifically, a “france-travel alcoholic.” at home, i usually drink one or two glasses of wine every one or two weeks during dinner, and perhaps a couple of glasses of scotch during the weekend at a party or when hanging out with friends. here, my dinners and parties seem to start at noon and extended way into the evening. there’s been wine at every single dinner i’ve had since my arrival and it’s just too good. during lunch, i’ve also had a bit of wine, although not every day. it’s amazing how it brings out the flavor of all sorts of dishes... and it helps when you are surrounded by experts who know how to pair up appetizers, entrees, and desserts with the right wine.

today, annick and mika invited annick’s parents, monique and gerard, for lunch. i can’t even remember all the stuff we ate, but we had 4 or 5 courses with 3 different wines—one white, one rose, one red—and it was just fantastic. mika bought a piece of beaufort and a saint-marcelin cheese that were just ridiculously good. it just made me sad to think how bad is all that “good” cheese i buy in the states when i want to get fancy. and, of course, since today is sunday, there’s always bread and pastries straight from the near-by patisserie for breakfast and steak et frites (belgian style!!) for dinner. of course, i had my one pain au chocolat and my croissant aux amandes, my two favorite pastries, for breakfast. not including the pieces of baguette i had, one with fig, the other one with cherry marmelade (no wine, though!). then for dinner we had pieces of duck, chicken, and beef steak, together with belgian-style fries, cooked broccoli topped with melted (and slightly burned, mmmh!) cheese, and carrots. strange mix but delicious. all with wine. aaaagh!

and every day’s been like this (do you pity me?). thank God i have little money and i won’t be eating like this in germany. otherwise, not even all the slim-fast in the world will be make my pants fit ever again.