Farewells

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Ali, apartments, Aya, Berkeley Books, English Book Store, Jackie, L'épidon, Lisa, meals

My last days in the 15ème with Jackie, Lisa and Aya sped by in a blur. I had arranged to check in on Tuesday to my new place in the 2ème (of which more later) to leave me free to focus on checkout from our shared apartment the next day. Tuesday evening after my check-in we all met up for an apéro at Berkeley Books, an English language book store in the 5ème that is the labor of love of Lisa’s great friend Phyllis Cohen.

A little fountain I noticed on my walk down to Berkeley Books.

Joined by several of Phyllis’s cousins and a young friend we strolled a few doors down and had a marvelous organic dinner at L’épidon.

My filet of Saint Pierre at L’épidon

A unique feature of L’épidon is two swings in place of seats, to help keep children amused.

Hmm…

Getting everyone packed up on Wednesday morning was a minor project, since Jackie was moving to a different Airbnb, while Lisa and Aya were packing for the long trip back to Uganda. The check-in person was late because he encountered some of the same confusions we did about the precise entry and stairway. Then just as he arrived we noticed Aya playing with the pieces of a glass bird. It wasn’t clear whether or not she broke it but I acknowledged it to the checkout guy rather than trying to cover it up. It’s a minor miracle that there wasn’t more breakage than there was since the place is full of hundreds of tiny fragile objects! I bundled Jackie into an Uber, then helped Lisa carry luggage over to Ali’s place, from which they left very early the following morning.

The most poignant farewell was between Lisa and Ali, but I felt a pang too when I said goodbye to them.

There were many farewells, as everyone went in their different directions. The most poignant was between Ali and Lisa, although they will see each other again in October. I hope to catch up with Ali again this visit myself, and also with Jackie, but I don’t know when my paths will cross again with Lisa and Aya. My time en famille in the 15ème was a special, and heretofore unique, part of my intermittent life in Paris.

Friends and Family

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Arooshee, Art, Aya, contemporary art, Jackie, Lisa, Metro, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Parc Zoologique de Paris, Paris, Rosa Bonheur, temple de la Sibylle, weather, zoo

The gorgeous weather has continued: sunny and warm during the day and pleasantly cool at night. One of the best runs of fine weather of any of my Paris stays! The rhythm and energy of our household has been the main theme, except for Sunday afternoon, when I went my own way.

On Friday Lisa and Aya visited friends so Jackie and I had dinner at a Lebanese restaurant which I found on The Fork — with a 50% discount! It was about a mile away but we both enjoy walking so we strolled over and back. Not only did we get a good meal but we took home enough leftovers for Saturday lunch, after which we checked out the Salon de Montrouge, an annual contemporary art show that I have enjoyed in prior years. It was about half the size of the 2016 exhibition, but enough art for the time and energy we had.

Jackie and Bob reflected in “Your Infinity” by Roland Burkart at the 2018 Salon de Montrouge

That evening we hosted Ali for dinner. Lisa and I had seen him on several casual occasions this trip, but it was a particular pleasure to join him for a proper event. Our conversation was trenchant and engaging as always!

Bob, Ali, Aya and Lisa at our dinner party. Photo credit, Jackie.

The fruit tart which I slaved over a hot cash register for several minutes to acquire.

Sunday was so lovely that I took the métro up to the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, one of my favorite spots in fine weather. The trip was from one corner of Paris to the other, so it required three subway legs. The last one, on the funny little 7 bis line, was the most amusing, since almost everyone was more or less obviously heading for the same place.

Sunbathers enjoying a perfect day at the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont

Bob at The Temple de la Sibylle, in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont

Exploring the park was thirsty work, so I stopped by Rosa Bonheur for a beer (or two). As always on a fine Sunday afternoon, the always-mixed crowed tilted in a decidedly gay male direction by 4 pm, when the barriers went up to limit the size of the crowd. I have sometimes had wonderful conversations there, but it’s hit or miss and this afternoon I was more of a sightseer than a participant.

Boys, and girls, on a Sunday afternoon at Rosa Bonheur

Through a mutual friend I had met Arooshee, a junior at University of Michigan who is finishing a semester in Paris. We met that evening for dinner, at Phở 14 in the 13ème, with her college roommate, who had just arrived to join her on a whirlwind European tour.

Dinner in the 13ème at Phở 14

Jackie had business to attend to on Monday, so Lisa and Aya and I went over to the fully modernized little zoo in the Parc de Vincennes. The highlight for Aya was the lions, and by happy chance she was able to turn into one herself!

The zoo features big outdoor enclosures that allow the larger animals to roam around, rather than being confined in cages. I heartily approve, although this can also make it hard to get good photos. As it happened, Aya was more interested in an indoor giraffe than the fourteen others that were outside.

Over the next two days we will wrap up our stay together in the 15ème and I will move to my own Airbnb in the 2ème. While I’ll be living alone for a while plans are afoot with Zhizhong and with my cousin Brian and his wife Sheila, so I won’t be lonely.

Family and Friends

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Aya, Bains-Douches, Jackie, l'Oasis d'Aboukir, Lisa, Marais, meals, Oasis d'Aboukir, Paris, rue Montorgueil, weather

The weather has been sunny and less chilly these past few days. We’ve taken lovely walks, enjoyed the nearby park, and eaten most of our restaurant meals a la terrasse.

Lisa and me enjoying an afternoon glass of rosé on our way to the nearest shopping mall.

We had chosen a perfectly random café — L’Argument — but it proved to be quite satisfactory.

Poké salad at L’Argument

Where, you ask, is my Jungle Jim sun hat? Someone else tried it on for size…

Aya trying out Uncle Bob’s silly hat

Our big adventure the day before had been the local park, which was jammed with kids since it was their school holiday. A highlight for Aya was scaling this really challenging climbing rock. At four years old I was nowhere near as brave!

Aya atop an impressive climbing rock

Friday afternoon Lisa and Aya visited friends so I had lunch with my Harvard friend Elliot, at his neighborhood Moroccan restaurant Le Berbere.

Lunch with Elliot Marks at Le Berbere.

He’ll be in the U.S. for most of my stay — part of the time in Boston — but we plan to catch up once again just before I leave Paris. Unfortunately, I’ll miss the Harvard LGBT alumni event by just a few days, along with many other events in the latter part of June. I looked into extending my stay but at this point changing my flights would be punishingly expensive. And yes, Boston isn’t a bad place to be either in the summertime.

After lunch I strolled over to the Marais with Elliot, then wandered up to my favorite quarter, rue Montorgueil, where I will be living for most of this year’s stay. The impressive vegetative wall that I have watched grow year by year — L’Oasis d’Aboukir — was getting a trim.

L’Oasis d’Aboukir getting a trim.

I met up with Jackie for dinner at a Lebanese place about a kilometer from our apartment, and noticed this historic building on our walk back home.

Public bath house, for people of an earlier era without bathing facilities at home. Now fortunately an anachronism.

I’ve been walking about five miles a day so far this trip, but on Friday I broke ten miles so hopefully I’ll end up with my usual Paris average of about seven miles a day.

En Famille

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Ali, apartment, Aya, bis, Jackie, Lisa, May Day, meals, neighborhoods, Paris, quater, ter, Virgule, weather, Zhizhong

The unique feature of this year’s petit séjour is that the first part is en famille. I’m staying for ten days in the 15ème arrondissement with my first cousin Jackie, her daughter Lisa and Lisa’s four-year-old daughter Aya.

Jackie, Aya and Lisa in our intensively furnished Airbnb in the 15ème

Our apartment is lovely, well-designed and filled with light. It’s also filled with a fascinating collection of bric-a-brac. The location is safe and quiet, well served with grocery stores and boulangeries, albeit completely lacking in anything that might interest a tourist (I haven’t noticed one since I’ve been here). We chose the area to be close to our friend — Lisa’s former partner — Ali. I’ll move to central Paris next week, but I have to admit that living here is perfectly pleasant, and perfectly Parisien.

The day I arrived the weather was dreadful, cold, windy and rainy. The flight was early but there was a SNAFU. The plane landed in the distant reaches of Charles de Gaulle airport, and the five buses sent to take us to the terminal left me behind, along with two dozen other passengers (and the entire crew). We waited for ten minutes or so on the freezing exit steps until the crew invited us back into the plane, where it was at least half an hour more before a sixth bus finally arrived to rescue us.

The was also a SNAFU concerning the address. Lisa had correctly told me that our building was at « 15 quater, rue A___ B____. ». I didn’t know what to make of quater, which isn’t in my Larousse, so I ignored it … to my sorrow! I was well acquainted with 15 bis, which means a second entry with the same number, somewhat like 15A. And I congratulated myself on having also encountered the enigmatic ter, which would in America be 15B. But Lisa had to explain by telephone, after the door code didn’t work at 15, that quater is yet another entry beyond ter!

15	15 Bis
15 Ter	15 Quater

After quater I personally give up but for the curious I offer this link. Jackie called me with the same problem when she arrived later in the day. I’m afraid I was laughing too hard to be properly sympathetic!  2019 Update: So far absolutely everyone (except one Uber driver) has been confused by Quater the first time they visit, even when we’ve tried to explain it beforehand.

One of the peak experiences my first year in Paris — 2010 — was a walk across half the city with Lisa on May Day. We planned my arrival to allow us to take another May Day walk, adjusting gracefully to the changed route of the march and the inclusion of my new hyper-radical first-cousin-twice-removed Aya. Luckily, the weather was much improved, so we had a delightful walk, after a longer bus ride than we had expected. We arrived at Place d’Italie a bit after the main demonstration, but still managed to borrow a red flag for a classic photo op.

Aya waving the Socialist banner to demand equal rights for all!

Zhizhong was busy at work that afternoon — on a jour férié ?!! — but he joined us later for a lovely reunion dinner, at Virgule, near Place d’Italie.

Jackie, Lisa, Aya, Bob and Zhizhong at our May Day dinner.

The adventure in dining begins!

That afternoon we noticed some curious posters, for another demonstration next Saturday.

Google Translate explains that la fête à Macron means “the party in [President] Macron.” Sounds like fun!

Mot du jour: faire la fête à, to beat up.