Don't forget, there is also "chausson" for slipper! Just to confuse us once we've figured out the difference between chaussures and chausettes...

Rolly pillows! I can happily say that I have never seen one in any of my in-laws' homes, sisters and brothers-in-law included. The first time I ever saw one was at Doc's in-laws' home and I haven't seen one since! Yay for me! Though I can assure you that, while my pillow is big and square, it is nice and soft and cuddly. I went on a pillow finding mission at the hypermarch� and sqeezed every pillow until I found one I liked. Soft comfy pillows do exist in France, it's true!!

Cornishfrog - that is FASCINATING. I always associated the bidet with the French and I didn't know you used it over there in England!Sam, you are my inspiration. I am going to put my foot down. Although I'm facing a VERY stubborn frenchman, though, so I'll have to gather all my courage before I do it ;)Kim darling, I would have been terrified to go near that rug thing. Imagine it! Spotted with the pee of a toilet trainer! Not that he can help it, of course, because he's just learning - but it would be much better to have bare tiles and clean up as you go. Eww.

As a side note, today we went to eat with the belle-famille and... there was a thing around the floor of the toilet! However, it wasn't like a rug, but like a towel, but shaped around the toilet and everything! However, I don't think it is a permanent fixture because I don't remember it before... I think it may be because David's 3 year old nephew is moving from the training toilet to the normal toilet? Not sure. But yes, thought I should report that.

You two (Katia & Kim) need to put your foots down and get rid of the rolly pillows! Ours was out the minute I moved in...though then again, it was as old as Fabrice was and all's I could think about was how nasty and mite-filled it was. And seriously, I've stayed in so many hotels over the past five months, and they've ALL had the damn rolly pillow. The regular pillows are stuffed in the closet, so every night, I had to throw the rolly pillow in the closet and take the regular ones out, and then every morning, the cleaning ladies would come in, put the rolly pillow back and the normal pillows away. Did they not get that I didn't like that damn thing? Or were they just trying to teach me a lesson (ie. one must NEVER move the rolly pillow from the bed)? The world may never know.

Have you ever asked a french person what they use a bidet for? Because in Britain we don't use it for the same thing.... Emily xxxP.s I only know the answer to this because of a very drunken dinner conversation(in france it's for their feet and in Britain we wash our bits in it)

Ronica- EVERY time I see "chausson aux pommes" in the bakery, I think of a slipper filled with apples. teehee!I'm going to have to look up all these words - siding, drywall. heh.Stefanie, bring on photos of the scary wallpaper! And yes! Flare's crazy crazy crazy biker paper was what was running through my mind when we were talking about this... I want to see yours! Who has the craziest wallpaper!?

oh boy, i have some ugly wallpaper to send you...and I think Aimee does too...for some reason French people are really into wallpaper. They even wallpaper the walls just to get texture and then paint over them. our rental apartment is entirely wallpapered and it is pretty scary stuff. I'll send a photo of my kitchen fruit basket wallpaper asap (and throw in the bucolic scenes of country life which grace the tiles on the kitchen backsplash.cheers!

While a lot of the homes in the south and the Midwest (where they actually have space to build newer homes and to grow whole cities), the homes are often made from drywall and whatever choice of siding. But if you're in an older city like NY, where there's pretty much no more space left to grow and build, the homes are older and mostly made from brick. It's supposed to serve as an effective insulator, and homes that feature exposed brick cost a lot more money than those that don't. Homes with carpeting are more popular in the south and the Midwest of the US...over here, we prefer wood flooring and when I used to live in Cali, there was mostly tile (to keep the home cooler), although I'm not sure if they still prefer this out there. But, I've noticed that people downsouth, for example, have this penchant for carpeting...which is funny to me, because we generally find that pretty suburban. Our sense of "what's normal" in the US varies according to the region you reside in. I've noticed there are quite a few times that Kyliemac mentions something about American culture, and it's often something that's completely unknown or foreign to me. But that's because we hail from two completely different parts of the country. That happens to be one of the (few) things that I absolutely love about the US.

I hate the rolly pillow. Hate. The other thing I've discovered I hate is sleeping with just a bottom sheet and a duvet. I prefer a top sheet in between myself and the duvet.Oh, also, housebuilding depends on where you live in the States... we have no basements in New Orleans! And my parents' house also does not have drywall, nor does my apartment in Washington. (plaster walls) Also, neither of our homes has carpet... wood floors and tiles, which I prefer, honestly.When I lived with the crazy old French woman she had a bidet in the bathroom I used. but that was the giant 5 bedroom ritzy apartment in the 8th. with really bad wallpaper, but I don't think I have any photos...