Breakfast Abroad

I have a very passionate relationship with cereal that has cooled a bit with age. As a child and through my teenage years I frequently consumed a couple bowls for breakfast and at least another one or two at night before bed. The nightly bowl is rare these days but I still regularly consume my two morning bowls (though in Austin the practice is harder to maintain with my predilection for breakfast tacos).

The strangest thing about my already strange cereal habits is my preference for plain cereals (Top Five: Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Chex, Grape Nuts, & Rice Krispies). Even as a child I never cared much for Tony the Tiger or Toucan Sam or Count Chocula. I would even load down my Cheerios with Wheat Germ when I was a kid. Curious as they might be, my preferences have never been an issue. As anyone that's been in a grocery store can attest, there is never a shortage of cereal, healthy or otherwise, to choose from. That isn't the case here.

The French apparently have an utter disdain for non-sugared cereals. It seems like the common Frenchman would rather go hungry than not have a little chocolate or fruit in their cereal. One might be tempted to think that it's natural because they don't eat cereal as much as Americans. This, however, is false. They have an entire row devoted to cereal! They have a different cheese for each day in the year, one would think they could diversify their stock a bit. Instead I'm left with three non-sweet options--Corn flakes, 100% Bran, and Muesli.

I've been forced into a corner: for the first time in my life I'm willingly eating Honey Nut Cheerios regularly. Some would argue that bucking habits is a positive benefit of travel, even if the habit is as minute and ridiculous as my cereal choice.