To ring in the new school year that starts tomorrow, we had our friends Michèle, Ron and Gudrun, and their daughter Natasha over for a French-American brunch (meaning: there were bagels with salmon and cream cheese, but also Champagne and wine). The weather cooperated nicely: the temperature didn’t exceed a pleasant 28°C (or 82°F), the humidity, though still on the high side, was bearable, and there was a breeze coming from the Mediterranean. Natasha and I have a great deal in common: we are both very well behaved, we like chocolate (though she favors dark whereas I prefer light), and, contrary to the other people present, neither one of us is a teacher. Reasons enough to make the young lady, shown here with her mom, the subject of today’s entry.