Paris Journal 2014 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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“Are you hanging out at Le Petit Cardinal this evening?” I messaged Roniece. I received an immediate and enthusiastic “Yes!” as a response. She made it clear that she’d like to see us. Off we went, by foot, over to the 5th arrondissement. We arrived at quarter past seven and found Roniece at the same end of the bar where we saw her last. After we’d been chatting and catching up for about twenty minutes, a tall young man appeared at her side. His name is Trent, and he was just meeting Roniece face-to-face for the first time; they’d been friends on Facebook for a while, via a friend of a friend. Trent explained that he is visiting Paris for the first time, and he’d just arrived a few hours earlier. His boss had urged him to save his money and travel to some “real places,” instead of making the more minor trips that he’d chosen for vacations so far. Admiring his boss for all the interesting travels he’d made, Trent agreed. So now he’s in Paris. Good choice! When he spoke about all the things he wants to do while he’s here, it became clear that he’d really done his homework. Like any 30-or-so-year-old, he was going to start with the clubs over in the Marais that evening; he had no jet lag, even though he’d only just arrived. We were both a little amused when Trent mentioned a concern about the safety of walking at night in Paris. From what he’d read and heard, he said he thought Paris is probably a fairly safe city, and we assured him that it is. The reason we were amused is that Trent is well over 6 feet tall (about 6-foot 4-inches), and he was a lineman in college football. No mugger or pickpocket in his right mind will bother Trent. Now Trent works for the TSA, and lives in the D.C. area. So he’d had an easy, direct flight over to Paris, and he got to go through the short line for employees at airport security. He’s an easy-going guy, with a winning smile. Ten minutes later, another couple of Roniece’s friends arrived: Mike and Harriet from Alabama. So we moved over to a high-top table. The six of us had a great time chatting and visiting, and our topics were wide-ranging; because we share the same political views, we did not have to hold our comments in check. The most somber topic we talked about was the fact that this was the thirteenth anniversary of 9/11/01. And life goes on. Trent wanted to try some unusual (for Americans) but yet typical (for the French) food, so we urged him on in his desire to order escargots and foie gras. He wasn’t interested in just drinking his rosé. “I’m a big guy,” he explained, stating the obvious. “I need some gnosh.” Mike, Harriet, Tom and I were interested in ordering a little dinner, too, so we asked for menus and put in our orders. (The classic brasserie fare at Le Petit Cardinal is very reasonably priced.) It was fun seeing Trent enjoy the escargots (which he’d had before, but this was the first time he had to pry them out of their shells), and the foie gras, which I think he was trying for the first time ever. He especially liked the foie gras, and asked me how to spell it so he write it down in his little spiral notebook. I hope he’s doing a blog or keeping a journal about his trip. Trent was all ears as Harriet, Mike, Tom and I talked about all the things he could see and do in Paris. He said he liked history; so I recommended the Musée Carnavalet – the history of Paris museum. For Impressionist paintings, Harriet and Mike recommended the Musée D’Orsay, and Tom and I recommended the Marmottan museum. Trent said he liked “posh,” and so we recommended the Petit Palais. He planned to go to Versailles, but we said we thought that since he’s only going to be in Paris for several days, that would be too much time to devote to Versailles when there is so much to see in Paris. Yet he had a good reason for wanting to go out to Versailles. When it was time to go, Harriet, Mike, Tom and I walked with Trent to “point him in the right direction” as he ventured up to the Marais. Tom and I split off at the boulevard Saint Germain, to head for home. But we’ll see Trent, Mike, and Harriet again, hopefully, at a picnic in the Luxembourg Gardens on Sunday. Roniece talked about how happy she is in Paris this year; last year, her life was more unsettled, but this year, she’s doing great. She looks great, too. It was delightful to get to know Harriet and Mike; we have much in common. This journal has been not just a good way to let our friends know about our life in Paris, but also a great way to get to know more Francophiles like us. I think of all the wonderful people we’ve met via this journal: Deborah and Alan, Sue, Roniece, Elisabeth and Ron, Trent, Harriet and Mike, and many more. Blog on! And don’t hesitate to ask me anything about this journal (via Facebook message).
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Friday, September 12, 2014
Roniece and Trent at Le Petit Cardinal. (Roniece is tall, but not that tall; here
she sits on a very tall barstool, while Trent is standing next to her.) Good times!
Looking through the Place de la Sorbonne from the beginning
of the rue de Vaugirard at the end of the day.
The Hotel du Globe on the
rue des Quatre Vents.
The lovely brasserie Danton, on the boulevard Saint Germain
and the Carrefour de l’Odéon. |
