Meeting Up at Après Midi

Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Paris, France

The spring and (soon) the summer is off to a roaring start. I can sense that we won’t have time to do much of anything except enjoy the City of Light like never before.

Yesterday at Parler Paris Après Midi we had a record-breaking attendance. The noise from the animated discussion must have rocked the ground level of the brasserie, but they didn’t complain and neither did we.

Lots of regulars showed up, but there was a large representation of visiting Anglophones. One extraordinary meeting was between friends who hadn’t seen each other since high school — more than 40 years! It was not a coincidental meeting, but a memorable one and a privilege that it took place at Après Midi!

Be sure to read the report on yesterday’s coffee gathering, complete with pictures, by clicking here: /parlerparis/apresmidi.html

Next Monday is Pentecost, another “jour ferier” (holiday) in France and most businesses will be closed. Parisians will “faire le pont” and make a long weekend of it, meaning Paris will be quiet while families gather at their country homes. In spite of the holiday weekend, the Parler Parlor French-English conversation group will be open for conversation on Saturday the 14th. We all agree that Saturday at Eurocentres in Passage Dauphine is the best session of the week — with several groups formed (made up of six part Anglophone, part Francophone) and it’s not unusual to have an unofficial lunch together at a nearby café. It starts at 11 a.m. and you need only show up a few minutes ahead with no reservation. Don’t forget, the first time you come is free, so if you have nothing but an hour-and-a-half of your time to lose if for some reason you don’t enjoy it as much as we do. For the details, visit http://www.parlerparlor.com/

This coming Friday, Parler Paris Conference Coordinator, Schuyler Hoffman, arrives from Seattle to gear up along with me and the staff for the Working and Living in France Conference May 20 – 22. It’s the 9th conference of its kind we’ve done together, in cooperation with John Howell, attorney, a specialist in European property based in London. It’s sure to be enlightening for attendees to learn how to move to France and particularly how to purchase property and make a smart investment here.

Property Manager, Yolanda Robins, has (miraculously) arranged for a small group from the conference to visit some properties in and around the Marais, the Monday following the conference, with one of our best real estate agents. Three days at the conference plus the extra day of property visits is worth at least three months of research! That means a savings of time and money.

There are still a few seats left, so if you want to register before it’s too late, visit /frenchproperty/conference/WLIF_PARIS_2005/WLIF_PARIS_2005_home.html or email Schuyler at [email protected]

If you’re not attending the conference, and want a real taste of life in Paris, take your friends with your packed picnic lunch and spread your blanket or open your folding table and chairs at the Canal Saint-Martin on Sunday the 22nd for the annual “CANAL SE MET À TABLE” (Giant Picnic) between the bridges of La Grange aux Belles and Eugène Varlin. It’s a community blast! For more information, visit http://www.canal-paris10.org

On May 31st, the entire city celebrates “La Fête des Voisins”– when communities unite to get to know one another. One of the most enjoyable and memorable afternoons I’ve spent in Paris was a summer party in the courtyard of my building with my neighbors who we pass daily, but rarely get to know. A pot luck fare was spread on long tables and three-combo musicians playing music softly in the background. I brought a huge bowl of spicy American chicken wings, chuckled as I watched my French “voisin” eat with their fingers and then to actually lick them! They were a big hit. For more information, visit the site (in French) at http://www.immeublesenfete.com and maybe you can organize something on your own, if it isn’t already planned.

When you scroll down, you’ll find lots to do…and this is just a tip of the iceberg of events for Anglophones coming up soon. (If you have a community message you’d like to share with Parler Paris readers, don’t hesitate to send it to [email protected]m)

In the past few days, it’s come up in several conversations, that the city is so alive that it’s impossible to feel lonely or depressed. Of course, this is a broad generalization and I’m not suggesting that everyone is walking on air with an overabundance of glee every minute of their lives in Paris…but with so much to do and so many people to get to know, who has time to feel anything, but thankful to be so lucky to be a part of it all?

I pinch myself every day I’m here.

A la prochaine…

< Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
Email [email protected]

P.S. Coming soon, the May 15th issue of the Parismarais.com Newsletter (monthly and free!), written by yours truly, with all that’s going on in Le Marais. Be sure to subscribe now by visiting http://www.parismarais.com/parismarais-newsletter.htm