Sceaux 152 (Hmmm...is that a YGM reference?)

OK, today is the day you get the cheese appraisal.  I warned you it was coming.  Keep in mind that there are 240+ kinds of cheeses in France, and I have tackled less than 5% of them.  I do not intend to go much further on my own.  I will likely not even reach 10% of the cheeses.  I am cheesed out, for now.  In the listing which follows, rather than rank the cheeses numerically, which would be impossible to do accurately beyond the first three, I have created three groups: Group I, cheeses I would buy for my own consumption; Group II, cheeses I would eat in a social setting (in addition to Group I), i.e., someone else served them; Group III, cheeses to avoid no matter who serves them or what is on the line.

Group 0 
(I did not count this group above, as these are the children cheeses, though adults also buy them for their "inner child")
Babybel (encased in red wax)

Vache qui Rit (smiling cow, cream of gruyere)
Kiri (soft white cheese)

Group I

Chevre frais

Compte

Reblochon 

Group II
Brie

Camembert 
Emmental (French version of Swiss cheese)

Group III

Chevre affines (ripened goat cheese)

Merzer

St. Agur (blue cheese)

The cheeses of Group III either stink, or are strong, or both.  The ripened goat cheese (chevre affines) will knock you to your knees with its smell.  Honestly, I am so cheesed out I cannot even buy the Group I cheeses at the moment.  There is nothing wrong with the Group II cheeses, they just don't do much for me.  I am not an expert, I am only declaring what I like, which, when in a store or at a dinner, is the only thing that matters.

Enough on cheeses, and lets move on.  Autumn is here in its cold, wet, rainy manifestation.  I do not like it.  Ile-de-France, I am surprised, does not have brilliant foliage in autumn.  Leaves on the trees turn yellow and brown, and fall off.  Spring is spectacular, so at least there is something to which one can look forward.  Walking almost half a mile (0.8 km) to a bus stop exposes me more than I am used to back in Houston, so a coat from REI Outlet, Thinsulate gloves from Monoprix keep me warm during my treks.

I found out something great this week, on my way to get my "titre de sejour", which is a card that says I can legally live here.  France now reciprocates with Texas on the driver's license.  France makes a deal with each state, on what criteria I do not know, but until recently, there was no reciprocation agreement with Texas.  This would mean a relatively long and painful process to get a driver's license to drive anything.

But now, it is like a swap; really, I do not know the full details yet, and I can drive.  Moreover, with the same license, I can ride up to a 125cc motorbike/scooter without  additional licensing.  I know 125cc is not much, but for darting around here, it could be WAY convenient.  Now, I am thinking...

a bientot, mes amis,

Mark