When you visit a European family in winter, you’d better not take off your coat as soon as you enter the house. Because that means you will stay for a long time, which will make the host feel nervous. So you should wait until the host asks, “ May I take your coat?” If you are lucky enough to be invited to formal dinner party in Paris, you should mind your manners. Even your “ finest manners” may not be correct by French custom. For example, it is not polite to arrive with a gift of flowers in hand, because the hostess will deal with finding a vase when she is too busy to do that. Though the French love wine, you must never bring a bottle of wine to a dinner party. Why? It’s as if you feared your hosts would not have enough wine on hand, and that’s an insult. You may, however, offer a box of chocolate which the hostess will pass after dinner with coffee. Another thing you should remember: it is not polite to use the bathroom in a private house. Once seated at the table, guests must never get up and leave the table—not to go to the bathroom, not to help the hostess in the kitchen, and not to serve or clear.