The only part of that particular example that's a bit questionable is the smell.
I must disagree regarding smells. I hate the spell of coffee though most everyone else I know loves it. I know people who love the smell of wet paint while I find it nauseating. My great grandmother loves the smell of ripe fertilizer fresh from the stall. It smells like crap to me!
I guess the difference is that I strive to accurately portray opinions as such. Others may have a different style. Just because a noble describes dwellings as mud huts and peasants as leaf-clad it does not necessarily have to be taken literally. Everyone sees a different picture. Even if it was taken literally the meaning of the supposed facts do not have to match what the character doing the RP suggests.
If I had been on the receiving end of such a role play I could imagining reacting in many ways. One could role play that it was a show being put on for the knight to serve some purpose. It could be role played that the Barcans, upon seeing the knight and his retinue, found wonder at the level of decedance on display. Or, if there was no prior RP against it, it could be accepted. The peasants of Barca, for cultural reasons, like mud houses (not uncommon in history) and made their clothing from plant materials. Or perhaps they wore flowers and leaves decoratively.
