Over the last week, three friends from my "past life" were in France. One was a woman I knew three jobs ago in DC, and two were former Peace Corps friends. All three I've known for over a decade. One I had not seen in 15 years, and one I saw at my going away party last June.
It was a delight to see them. Our lives have changed much over the course of those years. People got married, moved overseas, had children, advanced in their careers. I read the updates on social networking sites, so some things were not a surprise. However, there is no replacement from sitting across the table from them and having a warm conversation. The fact that we were catching up and reconnecting in Paris under the shadow of Notre Dame or over wine from the Languedoc region in a small trendy bistro added to the enjoyment of the outings.
While we gained many things moving to France, Thomas and I lost these valuable connections with trusted friends. Our family and friends had been central to our lives in the US. We often organized or attended dinner parties, outings to discover the DC area, spontaneous get-togethers with neighbors during snow storms. I lived in DC for 15 years and Thomas for five. We were well established and comfortable there. The move to France was (is) exciting , and we are experience things we could never have experienced in the US, but there is a small sense of loss. The distance makes it difficult to connect with those that were at one point very central in our lives. Email, phone calls, and facetime helps to bridge the distance. I am thankful for these advances in technology (When I was in the Peace Corps twelve years ago, I was lucky if I could email once a month). But it really is not the same.
It was a nice feeling to have old friends in our new life in Paris even if only for a few hours over dinner. It reminded me that as our lives evolve, we don't have to forget about the past, as much as we just add to it with new experiences. Just like the city of Paris.
There are many facets of Paris. There is the old, historic part where tourist flock in droves. And there is the modern, urban Paris where Parisians flock to experience something different. It's all one Paris. With each visitor, we had the opportunity to visit the different parts of Paris.
Last Saturday, Thomas and I had dinner with some American friends who are currently living in Germany. We met them at Cafe Panis - our usual place to take visiting friends. Across the Seine from Notre Dame, the location gives visitors a chance to do some sight seeing before having dinner. This cafe is on the edge of the Latin quarter (where all the student's live since it's so close to the Sorbonne). It's also near the Shakespeare and Company English language bookstore- a fixture on the Left Bank of Paris for half a century.
It was a delight to see them. Our lives have changed much over the course of those years. People got married, moved overseas, had children, advanced in their careers. I read the updates on social networking sites, so some things were not a surprise. However, there is no replacement from sitting across the table from them and having a warm conversation. The fact that we were catching up and reconnecting in Paris under the shadow of Notre Dame or over wine from the Languedoc region in a small trendy bistro added to the enjoyment of the outings.
While we gained many things moving to France, Thomas and I lost these valuable connections with trusted friends. Our family and friends had been central to our lives in the US. We often organized or attended dinner parties, outings to discover the DC area, spontaneous get-togethers with neighbors during snow storms. I lived in DC for 15 years and Thomas for five. We were well established and comfortable there. The move to France was (is) exciting , and we are experience things we could never have experienced in the US, but there is a small sense of loss. The distance makes it difficult to connect with those that were at one point very central in our lives. Email, phone calls, and facetime helps to bridge the distance. I am thankful for these advances in technology (When I was in the Peace Corps twelve years ago, I was lucky if I could email once a month). But it really is not the same.
It was a nice feeling to have old friends in our new life in Paris even if only for a few hours over dinner. It reminded me that as our lives evolve, we don't have to forget about the past, as much as we just add to it with new experiences. Just like the city of Paris.
There are many facets of Paris. There is the old, historic part where tourist flock in droves. And there is the modern, urban Paris where Parisians flock to experience something different. It's all one Paris. With each visitor, we had the opportunity to visit the different parts of Paris.
Last Saturday, Thomas and I had dinner with some American friends who are currently living in Germany. We met them at Cafe Panis - our usual place to take visiting friends. Across the Seine from Notre Dame, the location gives visitors a chance to do some sight seeing before having dinner. This cafe is on the edge of the Latin quarter (where all the student's live since it's so close to the Sorbonne). It's also near the Shakespeare and Company English language bookstore- a fixture on the Left Bank of Paris for half a century.
Friday, I had dinner in a trendy wine bar tucked away in a quiet street of the second arrondissement. It had four pages of wine as well as simple but creative selection of small plates. The wine options were mostly ordered by the bottle, but they had two varieties of by the glass red. That evening, I chose the 2009 Cadette from Les Milles Vignes of the Fitou AOC. It was a dark, full-bodied delight that helped eased me into that "ah it's finally the weekend" feeling after a hard work week. It was wonderful with our evening ending pot au chocolat (think small ramkin of chocolate mousse) with olive oil and sea salt. Three great tastes that melded beautiful with each delicate spoonful. It was a conversation stopper. After each taste we both paused for a moment of silence to relish the dark chocolate and velvety olive oil made more savory by the salt. Sweet-Salty; Old-New-- spice up our life here in France.
