When a French friend of mine first moved to London, she found one local tradition utterly mystifying. It wasn’t the English penchant for talking about the weather, or for apologizing when someone else steps on their toes. It was that Londoners eat while walking down the street.
“Devouring a Niçoise salad and dodging pedestrians at the same time is not a sign of civilization,” my friend told me, with Parisian hauteur. “It’s a sign that you need to slow down.”
