Une journée à Paris — May 29, 2019

Bonsoir et Good Evening

Got started very early to take tube to London’s St. Pancras Station and Eurostar through the Chunnel to Paris. Arrived in Paris at Gare du Nord station at about 1:00 pm (including time change between London and Paris) and returned to London on the 9:15 pm train tonight. Probably equal time traveling as actually being in Paris. But we really weren’t going to Paris for the city (much as I love Paris); we were headed to visit with old friends.

We had decided at the last minute to meet up with old friends from graduate school days who have an apartment in the 6^th ar (St. Germaine). They actually live on the upper west side of Manhattan and also in Connecticut which I think is probably their official residence. We had lost complete contact for several decades and frankly I didn’t even know what they were up to. When we last saw each other, Dorie was ABD at Columbia University where she was specializing in gerontology. Mike, her husband, was an engineer from Stanford who at the time was rethinking his career and took a try at working for a developer – and that didn’t go well. So last I knew he was with Bell Labs. I think we lost contact because we moved to St. Louis and then to California. Anyway…about three months ago I saw a poster at a gourmet grocery in Oakland announcing a book signing by Dorie Greenspan for her most recent cookbook “Everyday Dorie.” In all these intervening years Dorie had written 14 award winning cookbooks.. many about baking. I laughed because I never knew her to cook anything.

Well I went to the book signing and waited to see if she’d recognize me… and she did. I was in Manhattan about two weeks ago and we met up for dinner and tried to get caught up. They had  a son, who’s now married. Mike apparently founded an electronics company and recently sold it. Dorie started baking when she had a child and decided she was good at it and she enjoyed it more than researching her dissertation. She began to write articles about cooking and children’s food and then they went to live in Paris for two years where she worked with Julia Child. She is the NY Times columnist for “On Dessert;” she’s been on The New York Times Bestseller List twice (for “Around My French Table” and for “Baking Chez Moi”). Anyway we felt rekindling the friendship made all sorts of sense – and we have deep history. Indeed we also discovered that we are related — sort of. Dorie’s grandmother’s sister (her great-aunt?) was married to my grandfather (his second marriage after my grandmother died).

So, when in NY (at dinner, naturally), they said they would be at their Paris place late May and their first day there coincided with our next to the last day in London. I said.. “Let’s meet up. We’ll take the Chunnel.” And so we did. It was a good day and lots of fun. We started at their place which is small (one bedroom on the very top floor of a classic building right on Boulevard Saint Germaine practically at the Odeon metro stop. Saw the apartment and their amazing views from two tiny balconies (big enough for a chair—maybe two). They’ve lived – part time — in this neighborhood for more than 20 years and it shows, since they run into all sorts of people they know as we walk.

After a bit we walked for lunch to Le Comptoir du Relais (I had actually had dinner there a few years ago and was most pleased to return); sat outside (weather was perfect unlike London where it has been overcast and chilly since we arrived); lunch lasted about three hours as we talked and caught up. They are truly part of the neighborhood which includes a lot of foodies, restaurants, and wonderful markets. Several times people came up to chat with them and they were clearly known by the shopkeepers at all the stalls in the market (and also by the staff at Le Comptoir – not a bad thing; the previous time I went I waited about nearly two hours for a table). Oh for the foodies – Mike and I shared a fantastic steak tartare, a wonderful aubergine salad, and a squid and chorizo dish. Mike and Dorie also had the squid and they had the asparagus and also foie gras. Everything was accompanied by a very nice red wine. And of course we shared desserts.

We then strolled their neighborhood and stopped at various shops since they wanted to feed us before we caught our return train (but we were way too stuffed to even think about any more food). We continued the conversation back at the apartment and then hustled to the metro to get back to Gare du Nord and on to the train and through the tunnel… And then 2.5 hours later we were back in London at St Pancras station and onto the tube back to Bank St and our hotel. Got some work done on the train, but not as much as I had hoped.

So, now I’ve experienced every class of service on Eurostar. But, frankly for 2.5 hours it really doesn’t matter that much. We wound up on first class on one trip because it was last minute and the train was booked. I took the business class another time; we took premier on the outbound today and coach (standard) on our return tonight. Obviously first and premier are more cushy with a good deal more room between seats; on those classes you also get a meal. When I went first class it was very very early in the morning and I heard the breakfast was great, but I totally slept through it!

Back in our room at the Threadneedles.

Tomorrow is our last full day in London and it’s pretty booked, including meals at two new restaurants in the burgeoning London eating scene.

Cheers –

Fern

PS – Someone asked if Finn was a boy or a girl… Boy!