Thank you
Dear Desmond,
It was wonderful to have you home over the holidays. We know that you don’t think of Paris as “home” and that you would have loved to be celebrating Christmas in Calgary. But for now, Paris is home to us, and squeezing you into our apartment and the bunk bed in Mavis’s room made us very happy. Our family was complete.
Thank you also for the Christmas gifts. The shortbread was delicious but the gift for which we are most grateful was “our day”: the day that you spent with the girls so your dad and I could spend it together in Paris.
By way of a thank you note, I am sending you a list of ten memories of that day. Some are highlights. Some not.
We discovered a lovely little coffee shop called Coutume where they served fabulous breakfasts. We plan to go back with the girls to order the pancakes. Normally we don’t get out of the apartment in time to go for breakfast so this was a treat and it has inspired us to do it again.
Celebrity spotting #1: As we were walking towards the bridge Bir-Hakeim, your dad noticed a woman who was walking with her market cart. This is a pretty regular siting on a Saturday morning in Paris. This woman happened to be Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, and we were tickled pink that she lives in our neighborhood.
After breakfast we randomly wandered around the Saint Germain neighborhood. It didn’t really matter what neighborhood we were in, although Saint Germain was lovely and we haven’t spent much time there, but the fact that we wandered without agenda or destination was special. Random wandering is one of my favorite things to do and, understandably, is one of the girls’ most hated activities. We don’t enjoy it much either when it is accompanied by ongoing questions of when it is going to be over.
Whilst wandering we witnessed a crime! We saw a man sprint from around a corner, holding a purse. He stopped to grab the wallet out of it, tossed the purse on the ground, and kept on running. A few of us stopped to stare at the purse and look around for its owner but there didn’t seem to be a victim in sight. While we were wondering what to do some police drove by and some French people flagged them down to handle the situation. What a drama!
We discovered an area full of interesting twisty streets and art galleries. One of the people admiring a gallery window was the father of the artist. He also happened to be Dominique de Villepin, former Prime Minister of France. Celebrity spotting #2!
A massive line of Gilets Jaunes were protesting again that Saturday and blocked our passage across the Seine. I was tempted to walk along with them for a while but your wise father insisted that we keep our distance. We managed to get through the crowd and not ten minutes later we heard loud bangs which we thought was tear gas being set off but have since learned that it was little grenades that explode with pieces of plastic and are meant to disperse the crowd.
We’ve walked by the Hotel de Crillon countless times but have never been inside. This day, we decided to go in for a drink. It was chilly in Paris and after lots of random wandering we were cold. We debated between tea in the stunning dining room and a drink in the bar. The bar won. Your dad had a cocktail and I had a glass of wine. They were the two most expensive drinks we’ve ever had and were worth every centime as we relaxed in the bar for a couple of hours and chatted about things in the way that you can only do when you have no time constraints. Leaving the hotel, the Place de la Concorde was filled with Gilet Jaunes. The hotel staff were busy moving luxury cars to safety and clearing items from in front of the hotel that could be used as projectiles. Stepping from the decadence of the Hotel de Crillon into the streets filled with France’s disenfranchised speaking out against social and economic inequities and injustices was an interesting perspective. It seemed to illustrate the complexity of problems facing France these difficult days and what we have come to see as the enchanting surface of Paris with the difficult realities underneath.
I’ve been fortunate enough to see bits of Paris through guided tours offered by the school and also with my fabulous Parlons Paris class. I wanted to show your Dad some of my “finds”. Walking through the covered passages of the Passage du Panorama and then the Galleries Vivienne we discovered a gem of a combination wine shop and bar. We went inside for a drink (two times in one day!) and were lucky enough to get coveted seats at the bar. Your dad was absorbed by their massive wine list, a tomb, which listed many hundreds of wines.
There is a restaurant group here that is extraordinarily popular called the Big Mamma group. None of their restaurants take reservations and it can be difficult to get a table. Your dad and I went to Mamma Primi when we did our reconnaissance trip and loved it. On my apartment hunting trip with Eloise we went to Pink Mamma and loved it. We haven’t gone with the girls because we don’t think they would love it and with a potential two hour wait to get in, it isn’t the kind of place where we can leave them at home alone and enjoy going out. “Our day” seemed like the perfect time to try for a table. Our plan was to be there for opening time at 7PM, very early by French standards. But we lingered in the wine bar and so didn’t get there until 8PM and then joined the massive lineup. It appeared to be moving and we were encouraged but then someone came to tell us that the restaurant was completely full for the night. There was no chance. A little dejected, we thought we’d just go home as we had no dinner reservation and we thought anywhere good would be full. But then we wandered by a cool looking pizza spot called Pizzou and decided to try it. It was casual, cheap and delicious. Turns out it is also reviewed in our Le Fooding guide as one of the go-to pizza spots in Paris. Dinner saved.
The whole day was one big highlight: it was the gift of time. Time to wander, time to chat without worries that we’d take a wrong turn, or that the girls would get tired or bored. We could pop into whatever little shops we wanted and sit in beautiful spaces and enjoy our surroundings. We walked 17KM through maybe five different arrondissements and saw a huge variety just within Paris. What made it even better was knowing that while we were having our day, you three were having your day. The “day with Desmond” is a highlight for both Sophia and Mavis and we hear stories about your own adventures. The failed dessert crepe and the lock project are two repeating themes.
We know that you are happy to back to school and we are thrilled that you love your school, your program, your city and your friends. Our apartment is a little quieter without you. There is more room on the couch. Mavis’s Barbies have reclaimed their space in her bedroom. But we miss you. We look forward to the next time we will all be together again.
Lots of love,
Mom & Dad