Paris Memories

One of the perks of blogging is finding French connections, seeing what goes on in daily life, especially in the arts, in France. I was thinking about this, which could be the reason I dreamed of Paris last night.

Christmasses in a small town called Pavillon-sous-Bois, about 20 minutes by train from the Gare de l'Est in Paris, where my aunt lived. "An American in Paris" was shown on TV every Christmas, and we watched it every time!

Shopping at le Printemps, Les Trois Quartiers, and les Galeries LaFayette. Window shopping on the rue Saint-Honoré, lunch at Le Mastroquet, not far from Place Colette; the sight of Salvador Dali at the Hôtel Meurisse where he resided, with his pet leopard on a leash, flunkeys surrounding him (in case they had to clean up after the leopard??).

Sneaking off from school, on rue de la Pompe, with my friend Brigitte to the corner café and acting all grown-up with our espresso coffees and cigarettes....ah, the joys of being 16!

My mother hauling me off to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa because she was in residence and the both of us taken aback to see this little painting ensconced behind bullet-proof plexiglass.

Breaking my wrist in the Métro on Bastille Day and having to spend a good chunk of it at the Marmottan Hospital. Writing my homework with my left hand for the few weeks it took to heal.

So many delicious Paris memories, too many to write down here....It's one place that doesn't have one bad memory for me.

JOYEUX NOËL !!