Back in 1975, I was working in Chile and met a nice young woman on a train. She invited me to visit her at her folk’s place in Zermatt, Switzerland. When I visited them later in the year, I wore a nice, dressy green polyester shirt with a gorgeous paisley design. I thought I looked great.
She disabused me of that notion. She basically said I stood out like a sore thumb in Europe.
She also didn’t like the way I cut my lettuce in the salad up to bite-sized pieces, either. You are supposed to fold and shove the entire large lettuce leaf into your mouth. Cutting it up is very gauche.
And, of course, you don’t hold the fork in your left hand and use your right hand to hold the knife to cut food up. Nope, the fork ALWAYS stays in the right hand — no switching knife and fork back and forth right hand to left hand.
I was in my mid 20s. How was I to know about proper European dress and eating habits?
That Miss Manners dinner was the last time I saw her.
Great move. That was going to be just the tip of the iceberg.
“That Miss Manners dinner was the last time I saw her.”
But did you score?
Well, the Swiss are Swiss. However, Zermatt is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Skied there a couple of times….