Jargon

Folk here instinctively know the difference between a bar, a café, a brasserie, a restaurant and a bistro. 
I have to read the menu to try to work out what's going on. From my limited study and reflection I have put the establishments roughly in order of perceived price !

Last night talking to our neighbour I mentioned that this evening's concert was 8€ including une consommation - that it was a soirée cabaret avec cocktail dinatoire, and she understood it all. Not just the words, like me, but the intended meaning, which escapes me utterly.

This could be one of those moments when we get it deeply culturally wrong as neither my family nor the folks we've invited to come are French and when I asked for explanations it was like trying to explain green to a blind man or trying to get your goldfish to appreciate the Saint Matthew Passion. 

Oh well. Nobody will die anyway.

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