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 a 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 ( 侮辱 ) . 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