Biking plus Parisian drivers plus ham

This morning my host father asked if I wanted to join him for a "petit tour" de Paris on bicycle to get something for lunch. I very happily said yes and we took off on bicycles down the Parisian streets. Bicycles are very popular in Paris, and sometimes there are bicycle lanes in the streets and sometimes bikes ride along with the traffic and sometimes they just ride through it. We did all of the above. He rides at a quick pace, and a few times I lost him when a pedestrian, or a car, would try to cross in between us. He kept talking to me along the way, especially when we were stopped at traffic lights, and explaining where we were and what happened/happens there. Our destination was a butcher/wine shop in the 1st, where he bought a massive ham for today's lunch. We had to wait a while to be served, and while we were waiting he handed me 5 euros and asked me to go buy eggs from the market down the street. It took him three tries to explain this to me, and he asked if I wanted him to go with me, but I finally understood and bought the eggs all by myself, plus discovered a new market in the process. My bike had the basket and the pack on it, so I got to ride home with half a dozen eggs and a ham behind me. I was a bit worried as we were riding across cobblestones and up and down curbs frequently, but the eggs made it home safely. I know my host dad enjoys bike riding and does it often, so hopefully I'll be able to join him again.

When we returned my host mom had the t.v. on, tuned into Nicolas Sarkozy giving a speech, followed by Segolene Royal annoucing her plan for her presidency. My host mom really doesn't like her, so she was making negative comments about her throughout lunch. My host mom said she hadn't prepared anything big for lunch, and we started with ham slices and bread. Then she pulled potatoes out of the microwave with olive oil and spices. Then she pulled egg rolls out of the oven. Then finally she had leftover dessert from a dinner last night and she prepared it for me. She made flan using coconut milk instead of regular and topped it with fresh fruit. So delicious.

I have my first big test tomorrow, on the European Union, so I spent the rest of the afternoon studying, and I even went to the cafe on the corner, had a hot chocolate and studied there for an hour. I felt very French.

When I got home, 4 Midd girls were there taking a cooking class, and I went in to say hi as they were finishing up there meal. My host mom asked if I had eaten dinner yet, and when I said no, she insisted on making me some sort of poached eggs with tomatoes that the girls had made earlier. She also put everything left from their meal on my plate. Then I got to share the dessert they made, which was meringue in a vanilla creme. Lots of yummy desserts for me today. and bonding time with the host fam, which was great since I haven't seen them in a while.