Last night's reception for Bernard-Henri Levy turned out to be...pretty boring, actually. But there were a few moments of levity, so I thought I'd share them with you. I figured we could all use a little break from settlers, right wingers, left wingers, Hitler analogies and all that jazz.

There was a very spiffily uniformed French guard with a perfectly barbered little beard at the entrance to the French ambassador's residence; he looked a bit confused when I automatically said "good evening" to him in Hebrew, so I quickly added "bon soir." A lovely French woman who bore a striking resemblance to Susan Sarandon asked my name, scanned her list and said, "Ah oui, presse literaire." I had no idea that the two articles I've written about Israeli writers qualifies me as literary press, but hey - if it'll get me free champagne, why not?

The reception took place in the large garden in the back of the residence. About 40 people were standing in little clusters on the beautifully manicured lawn, chatting quietly. Waiters served champagne and unidentifiable finger food. Nitzan Horowitz, the Channel 10 foreign affairs correspondent, was holding court near the round table set with trays of hors d'ouevres. He speaks perfect French, and had all the Gallic gestures - especially The Shrug - down pat.

Bernard-Henri was nearby, and my friend and I started to giggle because he was wearing a white shirt unbuttoned to his navel. He had a flat tummy, though, which is pretty impressive given his age. He was very good at The Shrug, too.

I kept waiting for the great philosopher to address the crowd, or for a musical performance, or for some real food to emerge from the kitchen (after all, it was dinner hour), but nothing happened. I kept thinking to myself, "And the point is...?"

After awhile, the Susan Sarandon look-alike joined me and my friend. She spoke pretty good Hebrew with a strong French accent, and immediately apologized for the dullness of the little soiree. We started to chat, and she said that she had been living in Israel for about 10 years and was married to an Israeli. She gestured contemptuously at the French men and said, "Israeli men are just so much...sexier."

Geez, yet another illusion shattered.