At 7:14 this evening, the Café des Arcades in the main square of Valbonne was still pretty quiet because most people tend to eat a little bit later. The advantage of showing up early, however, is that one can easily pick a good table. In most restaurants, one doesn’t need to make reservations, and the practice, so commonplace in the United States, of having to line up for a long time, putting one’s name on a list, and possibly being obliged to carry a silly buzzer to be told when one’s table is ready, is virtually unknown in these parts. The exceptions might be the some of the most crowded tourist restaurants at the height of the season, but even then things are not that bad. And a good thing it is, too: sitting down for a good meal should not requite extensive planning.