Epiphany en Boulogne

Sunday night may serve as the highlight of our trip to Paris as we were invited to a family celebration in the beautiful home of Elisabeth and Hubert, Lucie's parents.  (Lucie and Mandy are friends in Richardson - Lucie is an exchange student at JJ Pearce High School this year.  Lois, our dear neighbor, serves as her American aunt and has had Lucie and Mandy over for dinner many times.)

Their home was exactly as I would imagine a French home to be in the city... enter through a heavy wooden door next to the sidewalk onto a porte cache, then into an inviting home filled with beautiful Louis XV furniture and lovely art with a ceiling with exposed raw beams.  Their windows looked out to pretty courtyards very similar to those in New Orleans.  By the way, there is wrought iron balconies everywhere.  New Orleans is by far the most European city we have in America... or at least the only one that I have visited.  And while I'm on decor, the most unexpected thing on this trip is to see all of the very modern furniture in many of the restaurants and lobbies.  It is like the French have decided to turn their back on their history and leave antiques to the museums.  The bright, sleek Ikea-like furnishings are in stark contrast to the beautiful old buildings which house them.   Americans would give their eyeteeth to have the antiques!  Well, at least the cathedrals here retain their beauty and history.

Amanda Rose and I took the bus to Elisabeth's neighborhood and then she picked us up at the bus stop.  The bus ride was fun but slower than we expected.  We were slightly apprehensive about knowing so little French to attend a family gathering, but what the heck!  This is nothing if not an adventure!  We have both developed tremendous courage from this trip.  Not to worry!  The family was sooooooooo gracious.  Many were able to carry on long conversations in English even though they learned it years ago. They were very interested in talking to us and we enjoyed their stories.  The cousins, uncles, aunts, sisters all had very interesting education and careers - lawyers, UN diplomats, government officials, retired military, financial managers, commercial real estate.  Lucie's older sister is working in rural France to help poor farmers rent land.  She organizes investors in the city to buy land for them.  So cool!  The uncles and aunts complimented me by saying they thought I was Amanda's sister, not her mother.  I just love these people!  Amanda attracted the attention of many of the charming great uncles.  They were very complimentary of her eyes.

Oh and the food!  King Cake here is like an almond or apple turnover with flaky crust.  The "baby" inside are ceramic charms and the one who gets it wears a crown for the night.    We also had champagne and cider and wonderful French coffee.

Elisabeth brought us back to the hotel which seemed way closer by car than by bus.  She also brought Uncle Phillippe home in the car - he lives one block from our hotel.   We have made lifetime friends.  Should Amanda stay through July, I will feel much more at ease knowing she has these wonderful people to turn to.

Amanda is researching French schools today.  Elena, Elisabeth's daughter-in-law from Brasil, suggested she look into a course at the university - La Sarbonne.  We are also venturing to Notre Dame and Saint-Chappelle today.  So much to see and do!

Love to all,
Lisa
(guest blogger for Amanda)