REIMS, DOLLY + DINNER WITH STRANGERS
LOTS OF BUBBLES AND FLÂNERIES
On the heels of Vivian leaving town I have also finished my work contract for the year. Back to retirement again – just for the holiday season – and it’s the best! With all of my free time this week, I have … booked my ticket to the Land of the Free eeeep, I have rsvp-ed to two Friendsgivings, one holiday bazaar, one 90’s trivia game night, and a weekend brunch here in Paris. I have gone to one traveling Broadway musical, been to my first Time Left dinner, covered 30 miles by foot by wandering aimlessly at a slow pace — what the French call flâner, and I have feasted my eyes on the moon every night. She’s been extra BRIGHT this month! Or maybe it’s an allusion since the sky is hidden for practically the whole day until she starts her glow around 5pm.
France is always beautiful and always moody most winter days. By moody, I mean gray.
Silver lining, the sun typically peers out around 2pm most days for at least a few hours. That’s when I hurry to slip on my boots, over bundle (in the case that when I reach outside after descending 5ish double flights of stairs, I won’t have any reason to hike back up again to get another scarf) and set out for my flâner. This week has been blissfully FULL! And of course it has… Life always seems to move at a rapid full pace once a direction has been set. Am I right? It’s called flow. Now that I know that I can, and am, going home this year for the holidays (for an entire month - pinch me), I feel like my days are accelerated at a hare speed here à Pareee. I can hardly stand it. I find myself squealing sporadically with excitement that A. I get to wake up here, to the sound of bells and feast my eyes on ancient beauty every livelong day while I’m in Paris and B. that I will get to go home in a few short weeks to snuggle down the most precious family (mine) and make out with my very best friend’s boodle, my godson, Jimmy.
But before all of that. Paris has been so wonderful to me lately. Here goes…
SHOPPING, DINNING AND BUBBLES
Vivian and I met up late afternoon on Saturday, after she checked out of her work hotel in Saint Germain and moved to another INCREDIBLE airbnb. This time in Le Marais. It was huge! It was practically all brand new, yet old, if there is such a thing. And beyond chic. We made a flâner (now that you know that word) and shopped. She is a pro at this and I love love love being her sidekick when she’s in one of those “I want to try it on” moods. She selects, tries, has me try, we leave, we consider the options, we rank them, and then, we usually go back to get one or several of the items – which happened this time too.
We stumbled into System, a new shop to Paris, yet an established Korean brand to the rest of the world. We went in search for a birthday gift for V’s sister, but then we got distracted and started to play dress-up. While V found the BEST coat, Mark, the fabulously gay sales associate who had a tick to the tune of working in the word “literally” into every moment of silence, found me, and talked my ear off. He told me about his move here from NYC by way of wait for it… wait for it… RICHMOND. He told me about his modeling career, the school here in Paris that he attended, his financial debacle, his trouble getting a visa (comme moi!), and then he let his colleague take the lead and sell Vivian the most beautiful wool cashmere blend dark green wrap coat. If my experience, and understanding of retail, serves me correctly. I do believe, if you don’t make the sale, you don’t earn the commission, therefore you don’t get paid. Our sweet, southern, young, handsome Mark “literally” needs a wakeup call. Mais, he be PRESH! He’ll figure it out. And Viv be happy with her new purchase! Look at that grin below…
Next, dinner time! We had wanted to add a new restaurant to our repertoire, but the universe wouldn’t stand for it. It knows what we like. All the new places were closed when our stomachs started to sound. (Albeit, it was 5pm – naturally everything was closed here – but Americans live to eat at dusk. At least these two Americans!) So, we found ourselves at a tried and true, Les Enfant Rouge. Our precious waitress from this past summer recognized us immediately and came over to speak. We ordered all the things and drank only one (maybe two) glasses of wine. We wanted an early night so that we could be rested for our day of drinking champagne to follow. That’s right! We were Reims (impossible to pronounce correctly to anyone who isn’t French by birth, and the unofficial capital of Champagne) bound the next day.
Vivian, lead producer of all things including our excursions, took this adventure into her hands. As I made my way back to my apartment that night, she looked into the Ruinart Cave for a tour, train times, and city guides for our flâner (can’t stop wont stop – love my new word) around the downtown. By the time I reached my apartment she was calling to discuss the options. We decided on booking a noon train to give us our morning in Paris and then got busy trying to ensure we could get a cave tour. To no avail. That part of our excursion never came through.
The rule at Ruinart – the cave we most wanted to go visit – had an 8 person per tour only. Hummm, what does that mean? I mean I KNOW what it means, but one person could be my niece, who is all of 70 lbs soaking wet, and another person could be a Sumo Wrestler who is 300lbs bone dry. So, what? 8 people, tops? No matter the size? I did my best to convince the women at the reception desk that Viv and I would walk in tandem and act as one average sized person — would hardly be noticed in the group. Mais, c’est la vie. We did not pass go. We did not collect $200, or in this case a grand tour of one of the best champagne houses in all of the world. Instead, we did have the best lunch and collected several flutes of what they’re known best for: bubbles! [Ruinart Blanc Singulier edition 18, recommended by our server, and a special Ruinart Brut Millésimé 2006 champagne, selected by Viv.]
We wandered about their beautifully renovated interactive art garden and museum, and then we hailed an Uber to the “original” Notre Dame. Evidentially this was the original design of what has become the most famous (on a much grander scale) of all cathedrals in all of the world – the Notre Dame in Paris. It was breathtaking – as ALL of the European Cathedrals are in my eyes. Then we made our way through town, where we managed to lose Viv’s new Coqui Coqui suede mini bag that she had bought in Menton. We retraced our steps, but twice in one day, we had a to no avail verdict. To brighten our mood we got hot chocolates with Chantilly cream for our ride back into the city. A sugary treat before our dinner at Robert et Louis – a hidden (packed) gem of a … steakhouse (??). It was delicious and so cozy.
Vivian found it at the foot of her building where she was renting. And since she had noticed how popular it was, she called in advance to see if we could make a reservation. “Impossible!” was the only word on the other end of the phone. They were booked solid. She asked if it would be possible to leave her phone number in the case of a cancellation – normal request, you’d think. Mais, non! The next response on the line “That’s too confusing.” She hung up laughing. So, we decided to pretend we hadn’t called and walk in to just see once we reached town. Would you guess it??! Walking in, the owner, neither Robert nor Louis we learned, was posted up at the bar smoking his vape pen and drinking his wine while studying the reservation books. He winked and said in broken English that we were in luck. That he had a place for two little people downstairs. Ironic no?! This time, it was all about size. And we fit!
It was SO yummy, filling, and fun. We got moved at the end of our meal to finish at another table with two men on a holiday from NYC. The world continues to grow smaller! Turns out both of them and Vivian were flying out the next day – JFK bound.
U.S. PLANS, GLADIATORS, DATES AVEC MES AMIES and DINNER WITH STRANGERS
Monday and Tuesday I got my plan together and started my agenda for my time home. I started texting those who I want to see, I started making arrangements with my family about timing in Conway, in Greenville, and in Myrtle, I coordinated timing with Jane so that I can be with her on her birthday this year, AND I texted my sister-cousins, Sarah and Emmy, that I have been training (does only two runs in two weeks count?) to be able to strap on the Baby Bjorn during our walk through Nights of a Thousand Candles at Brookgreen Gardens carrying the newest addition to our family, baby Smith! Sarah, Smith’s mama, has reported back that Smithy boo is a hefty 16 lbs!! I’m upping the training (runs) to, eh??, two this week! Goal – stamina to hold that heavy boodle all the livelong night strapped on my chest.
I finally watched Gladiators for the first time ever! Miranda and Nico were absolutely horrified when they found out that I hadn’t seen it before. Determined to remedy this, they downloaded a copy for me and gave me a 48-hour deadline to watch it. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought they were channeling Caesar himself! Our goal is to go to the cinema to see the new one together before I am US bound. I have to say though, after watching it, I was horrified too that I had waited this long to see it. It was honestly one of the best films I’ve ever watched. Well, the parts I managed to watch, anyway. Let’s be real – there were definitely moments (a lot of them) when my hands instinctively shot up to cover my eyes, trying to block out the brutality. But, the costumes!! The costumes! They were everything!
And as far as dates go lately, wow have I had a lot! I’ve had the pleasure of seeing my sweet Selden for an overdue date at our watering hole, Buvette – where we may or may not (but 100% did) have two glasses of wine at LUNCH. Both dead the rest of the day. Worth it! I’ve seen Sarah recently for a very long stroll through our waterhole, or more like our walking garden, Jardin des Tuileries (where we stopped first at Laïzé for the best Taïwan coffee), I have seen Cara for a long chat in our meeting spot, Place des Vosges, I’ve had my weekly date with Nico, Miranda and bébé Margaux, where we celebrated Nico’s first full week of work over beers for the adults, and countless olives for the boodle. Margaux lives to eat these during happy hour, and the waitresses lives to have her baby-clap when she places them in front of her – so the cycle continues.
I went to my first ever Time Left dinner and had a BALL! So many of my new friends (not new anymore, really – who I met back when the Olympics were in town) have told me about this dinner application being a dream in terms of meeting cool people – mostly expats living in Paris. I’m in! Bring on more friends for me, s’il vous plaît! So, on Sunday, just before I was to meet Vivian at Gare l'Est for our jaunt to Reims, I logged on, signed up, and paid for dinner on Wednesday night.
I was the second to arrive at the restaurant. So, I did what any normal person who needed a get it together moment because I was about to have dinner with four strangers would do – I waved to the solo guy sitting at our table and immediately excused myself to the loo to collect my thoughts and consider texting all of my new friends “WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?” I didn’t. Instead, I took a breath and derobe from the winter walk over. Then went back to the table where another person had joined, Jean. He was my favorite. Then, Marie and then Mila – they were wonderful! We all squished together and started the gabbing. Evidently the app supplies games and questions to ask your group – but I am proud to say, we needed none of that! We all were so similar. With the exception of one of the people. He had me in stitches with his outlandish remarks and random commentary. He was from Brazil and loved talking about all things girls / women / dating related. At one point, I was telling something about how I used to call from my home phone – to prompt the story (since there was a land-line involved), I said “I’m about to date myself.” A phrase we often say in the US when we are referencing something in the past that will identify our age. The Brazilian guy perked up and said “What?! What do you mean you want to date yourself??” I roared with laughter. I was so uncomfortable. He missed it. The looks around the table were killing me. Everyone else got it. His mind was somewhere else. We all kept it so kind and non judgmental – but I felt an internal ruling in all of our heads that this guy was looney. At the end of the night we all swapped Instagrams. We came to the consensus that that would be a softer way to share our info. We all said goodbye and away we went. Back to the 18th, the 5th, the 1st, the 19th, and moi, returning back to the tiniest island of all, Île Saint Louis. I hope I see them again. That was my first time – everyone else had tried it out before. I told them that I felt like I had hit the jackpot. No need for another. I got three new friends just like that!
PLAY TIME and SING ALONG
At 8pm on Thursday night, Cara, Miranda and I pushed our chairs in for Hello Dolly at the Lido 2 Paris theater on des Champs-Élysées. It was a riot! With a water fountain IN the theater as a main act. The costumes, signing, laughter, smiling, bright lights. Encore!!
Later today, I will have lunch with Margot – my Margot. Simon introduced me to two Margots (who both spell it the exact same way and who both, I am in love with) when I first came to Paris last year. Since then, we would distinguish who I was referring to based on the words “my” or “your” in front of their names. Even though I tease that they are both mine, today, I get to have lunch with MY (original) Margot. Can’t wait! I’ll also get to attend my first Friendsgiving of the season tonight. Sarah, my precious Soho bestie, is hosting a house party for all of her friends here in Paris. I’m over the moon. I’m still undecided as to what to bring, since I can’t make my crowd-pleasing American pecan pie given that I have no oven in my tiny precious treehouse – only a stove, if you can imagine. But who cares. I’m so excited to kick off this holiday season regardless of what I’ll have in tow. It’s my favorite time of year!
This coming week I plan to see more friends and enjoy Paris down to her last drop before I leave her for a full month and return stateside to snuggle down all the babies, all the family, eat all the southern treats, and walk and nap with my main squeeze, Miss Goldie Hawn Bethea.
Xx ac
Ooo! I hope to see you sometime over the holiday!! ❤️