Tomorrow Afternoon and Many More Après-Midi to Come!
Paris became quite cool and rainy, so it was a delight to get on the TGV yesterday, headed to Nice, where there was sure to be warmth and sun. Not everyone enjoys the heat as much as I do, but having grown up in New Orleans where the weather is “sultry,” I’d always prefer to be warm than cold. In all the years of living in Paris, the summers have never really felt like “summer.” As I have always said, “Paris—you don’t come here for the weather.”
The morning after returning from Symi, Rhodes and Athens, there were news reports about the fires which have led to an evacuation of about 19,000 people over the weekend on Rhodes, with coastal resorts in the southeast of the island facing an inferno. It’s amazing that we managed to miss it entirely, even though there was no shortage of heat in Athens!
Friday, in Paris, I stopped in at Le Café de la Mairie, where we hold our (free) monthly coffee gatherings, Après-Midi, to inquire about their plans to renovate in November and December and how that would affect our upcoming events. It was then that we learned that sadly, Gaston Trousselier, the owner, died on July 14th at the age of 79. His son, Greg, runs the café, but Gaston was almost always there and always sweet and lovely.
Our events have taken place there since 2003 (!!), even long before Gaston and Greg owned it, but they happily took us on and were always generous in allowing us to have the space and do whatever we needed to do there. Today’s newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Gaston and with condolences to his family, and in addition, we ordered an oak tree to be planted in his honor:
L’Arbre Sagesse – le Chêne – 1 oak tree in memory of Gaston TROUSSELIER
GPS coordinates of plantation plot: 45°43’39.41 “N 3°40’48.67 “E.
These are planted by NGOs fighting against deforestation, on private agricultural plantation plots, which it is unfortunately not possible to visit.
It was the least we could do.
Meanwhile, Le Café de la Mairie will be doing some renovation in November and December. That puts our events “out in the cold,” except, thanks to our wonderful neighborhood café owners, we found another venue nearby in which to hold them.
For November and December (we hope no longer than that), Après-Midi in Paris will be held at Le Progrès at #1 rue de Bretagne, at the corner of rue Vieille du Temple—upstairs. Their space is a bit more limited than at Café de la Mairie, so we must limit attendance to 40 people. (If you intend on attending either month, be sure to reserve your spot asap! Just email us.
In November, Lori Zimmer and Maria Krasinski, author and illustrator of the book Art Hiding in Paris: An Illustrated Guide to the City of Light (Running Press, November 2022), will be presenting. They are childhood friends originally from Buffalo, New York, with a passion for art, art history, and finding the magic in the cities they live in. The pair’s first book, Art Hiding in New York (Running Press, September 2020), was received with acclaim, and centers around the abundance of murals, public art, master paintings, sculptures, artists’ homes and hidden installations that are hiding in plain sight in an ever-changing Manhattan.
Their second collaborative book focuses on the already art-abundant City of Light, inviting readers to explore its wonders and fascinating narratives more deeply, both historical and modern. Art Hiding in Paris can be found at the gift shops in the Louvre and Centre Pompidou, as well as The Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore, Fluctuart, and Smith and Sons.
Zimmer and Krasinski will discuss the journey from old friends to book partners, their love of New York (where Zimmer is based) and Paris (where Krasinski is based), and their hope that their books will inspire readers to find magic in art and art history wherever they are. Their third book together, Not Your Muse, will be published by Running Press in 2024.
One of the main reasons I came to Nice was for our bi-monthly Après-Midi in the Riviera city. Tomorrow, Craig Carlson, best-selling author and restaurateur will be speaking at La Brasserie Le Félix Faure, 12 avenue Félix Faure, Nice, 06000 France.
Craig Carlson first came to France as an exchange student in 1984 and instantly fell in love with the country. He never could have imagined that some forty years later he’d be the founder of two American diners in Paris (Breakfast in American) and be nicknamed “Le Pancake Kid” by the French.
With a background in journalism, Craig studied cinema at the prestigious USC School of Cinematic Arts, using his experience as a screenwriter to pen his debut memoir, Pancakes in Paris: Living the American Dream in France. His follow-up book, Let Them Eat Pancakes, delves deeper into the joys and challenges of working, eating, and loving in France. Craig will recount some of the humorous adventures he experienced opening the first American diner in Paris, Breakfast in America. With no previous restaurant or business experience, Craig had to learn the hard way how to navigate France’s Draconian labor laws, find “exotic ingredients” for his breakfast dishes, and even survive a scene of Emily in Paris shot at his diner. But somehow Craig managed to beat the odds, with Breakfast in America having just celebrated its 20th anniversary in business.
Craig speaking at Après-Midi in Nice is fitting since this past year his life has taken an expected turn, with Nice playing a central role in ways he never could have imagined. We hope to see you there tomorrow. No reservation is necessary.
Coming up are some very exciting events at Après-Midi in both cities, including a Thanksgiving Dinner in Nice! Visit our website for more information about all of our upcoming events. If you have speakers you’d like to recommend, be sure to send us an email with your suggestion and their contact information.
A la prochaine…
Adrian Leeds
The Adrian Leeds Group®
P.S. Here’s your chance to learn how to write your memoir with James Navé in Paris!
Paris—The Manageable Memoir Workshop—Unfold your stories
Thursday, September 21, 2023 1:00 PM
Saturday, September 23, 2023 5:00 PM
Poet and manuscript coach, James Navé, of “An Imaginative Storm” will be hosting and teaching Paris—The Manageable Memoir Workshop—Unfold your stories, sponsored by LKB Coaching. Registration is limited to 10, so sign up now!
Visit his website for more information…and BE SURE TO TELL JAMES I SENT YOU!
To read more, click the links below.