Rural rat goes to the supermarket

Finally saw my bunnies after almost a week of missing them. Luq had put the Eee-PC in front of them and set up a video chat via Skype so I could talk to them and see them at the same time.Must have really frightened Kell, cos he was all huddled up in his little house peeking out at me. Not sure if he was more afraid of the disembodied voice coming out from the square box, or if he associated the laptop with the shock he received yesterday (from chewing through the adapter wire) though. *Sigh*

Tanya was a little better. Was worried about her since Luq mentioned that there hadn't been a single peep out of her since I left - and she's normally vocal to the point where I've to shut her up by caressing her into silence. She behaved pretty normally, and actually came quite close to the screen when bribed with a milk and honey drop.

Wish I were there to hug them and remind them I still love them.

Went to Auchan, the supermarket at 3 Fontaine Cergy, the mall I discovered the other day, to cheer myself up. Maybe it's because I'm getting used to being in a small town, but gawked like a country bumpkin at just about every aisle I came to. Had somehow lost my comb along the way to the hostel (at least, the last time I saw it was before I left the plane), so hit the toiletries section to get a replacement.

Got sidetracked before I even saw a bristle. They had familiar shampoo brands!!! Pantene, L'Oreal, Sunsilk... the packaging looked different for some of these, but they were all there! (And to think I had lugged my full-sized Pantene conditioner all the way to Cergy Le Haut from Singapore. That's a really well-travelled bottle, man. Maybe I should send it back to the factory so it can teach the little bottles about the world =P )

Checked out the shower foams too, and got a nice bamboo and lime one from Fa that was actually PH-neutral. That is just something you can't find in Singapore. And believe me, I've tried!

When I finally tired of toiletries, I went grocery hunting. Had wanted to get green tea at the 'supermarket' in Cergy Le Haut, but the only green tea they had - Lipton Clear Green - came out yellow and tasted funny. Sort of minty, and definitely not the green tea I'm used to. Fresh foods were upstairs, so off I went. Started smelling something fishy on the travellator, and no wonder, the seafood section was right in front. Lobsters, prawns, mussels, scallops.... and even some unidentifiable white longish one-inch-thick strings of squid-like substance labelled in French. I could make myself a really nice meal from these.

Didn't feel like cooking, though, especially with two thick course catalogues in my bag, so took my goggling self elsewhere. It was a pretty well-equipped supermarket. The pastries looked ultra-delicious, and there was even this delicacy that looked like two huge choux pastry held together with strawberries and cream. For just 6-plus euros! I was really tempted by it, but wasn't sure how long it could keep... Figured I had better skip it before I gave myself a bellyache.

Had a brainwave for how to live well in France on a student's budget: keep packs of smoked salmon (for 2.50 euros), some cheese and lettuce/rocket in the fridge, wrap them in between two slices of freshly baked baguette or croissants, and voila! I've got to get that done over the weekend.The green tea was a little expensive, so I treated myself to Jasmine tea instead.

Gotta remind myself to ask Luq to send me some of that wonderful imported green tea we got from that Japanese restaurant in Suntec. It'd come in really handy for warming my insides on a cold evening.I digress. To demonstrate the breadth of the supermarket's offerings, there was even a halal pavilion dedicated to Ramadan goodies. Now, that's just about the last thing one would expect from a French supermarket.

But hey, surprises abound everywhere, don't they? And that's part of the reason why travelling broadens one's horizons, isn't it? I can feel my mind being stretched already...