Ordering a Bagel

Morgane, my collocatrice, and I went to Part-Dieu shopping centre for the morning and for lunch we decided to eat at Bagelstein. There are stores here centred around bagels because they are so North American, I guess. (Tim Horton's, take note). They serve bagels like specialty sandwiches.

I wanted to order an "Isadore" bagel which had marinated bell peppers, cream cheese, lettuce and dried tomatoes on it. I don't like tomatoes (I know, it's strange) and so I made it as far as to say sans tomates without the guy taking my order misunderstanding. Unfortunately, I had to identify the type of bagel I would like this taste sensation to be served on. Who would have thought that "plain" would be just as difficult as "whole wheat" or "sesame seed"? There was no posted list of options for me to use as a starting point and I attempted with "for the bread part...." and the proceeded to point at the choice I wanted. He pointed at the one beside it to verify.

No. I want the plain!! I asked Morgane for help with the word but she didn't know what plain meant initially. Then he pointed to the muffins and the cookies in turn asking if that's what I meant.

No!! I just want the plain!!!

Finally, he pointed to the plain bagels.

If you are ever attempting to order anything plain in French, here is my bit of wisdom to pass on as a result of this experience: natur(e) is the word you are looking for.

The bagel was delicious and I had to laugh at myself a lot, but it was one of those moments where you go "this is what it's like when you don't have a good grasp on English; the day-to-day activities in your life are really stressful because you can't communicate simple things".

The worst is when the people you're attempting to communicate with don't have any patience for you. Thankfully, the gentleman behind the counter was very patient and laughed with me, and not at me. I hope.