European toilet paper

I was visiting with friends last night, talking about my upcoming trip and the blog I would be updating.

"What is your angle?" asked one of them. "You need an angle for your blog."

I hesitated.

"Two weeks in France," I said. "I don't want to go too specific." He nodded, pondering.

"Two weeks in France," he repeated. "Has it been done?"

I wasn't sure.

Another friend jumped in.

"I know what you need to post about!" she said. I waited expectantly for her solution.

"Toilet paper!" she said.

I felt my forehead wrinkle and wondered if she was joking.

"Toilet paper!" she repeated, more enthusiastically. "Listen. When I went to Europe, there was all kinds of different toilet paper. Thin stuff, thick stuff, weird hard stuff..." she trailed off.

I still wasn't sure if she was kidding.

"I brought home all the different kinds," she continued. "I have pieces from Italy, France, Switzerland, you name it."

She wasn't kidding.

"I'm not sure I want to blog about toilet paper," I told her, smiling.

"I bet people would want to read about it," she replied. My other friend laughed.

"They don't even use toilet paper in France!" he said. "They use bidets." (prounced bi dei)

Horrified, I stepped back.

"I thought those were Japanese," I said. He laughed again.

"Nope! French! You should know that. And you should use one; it's an experience!"

My other friend jumped in. "Then blog about it!"

"Oh, I don't know," I replied. "You guys are weird." They laughed even harder.

"You can come see my toilet paper collection anytime," my friend told me.


While my friends were helpful in trying to help me find an "angle" for my blog, I don't think I'll take their suggestions.
Rather I hope to blog one day at a time, attempting to capture my two weeks there. And if a day includes unusual toilet paper...well then, maybe I'll consider writing about it.