And So It Begins....

We have had a trickle of visitors over the course of this year so far--each has been a real treat, as we get to reconnect with friends and relatives and show them the parts of Paris that we love.  In the past two weeks, the trickle has turned to a steady stream, may increase to a torrent at some point, and will take us through the next two months or so.  It will be a whirlwind, but one that we are looking forward to.

Last week, Glenn's mother flew in from California for five days.  She is just a few months shy of 90, so it was a bit miraculous that she made it.  We were able to take her to the Louvre, the Rodin Museum, l'Orangerie, two fancy lunches, a dinner party on a spectacular roof-deck, the opera Don Quichotte, and a wonderful concert by jazz pianist Fred Hersch.  (One of the lunches was at l'Instinct in the Marais, and the food was spectacular.  We had never been there before.)  Mobility was a challenge--Paris is not nearly as accessible as US cities are--but we navigated all of it, and I think she enjoyed herself a lot.  I imagine, too, that she slept very well on the flight back.  We really managed to pack a lot into her visit.

A couple of days ago, two groups of dear friends arrived, a couple who are former Newton neighbors of ours and a group including two tennis coaches of mine (plus a brother of one of them).  And I saw all of them yesterday for a glorious, fun-filled, action-packed day.  (Unfortunately, Glenn is at a conference now and missed the fun, but he will be back and take part in more adventures this weekend.)

I had made plans to meet the tennis group at Roland Garros in the early afternoon to watch practices and qualifying matches.  It was a bit past noon and I was running a little late to meet them, so I cut through Luxembourg Gardens on my way to the Metro to try to make up some time.  As I was dashing through, I glanced to the right and saw a familiar face.  It was, in fact, one of my coaches--certainly no need to hurry now!  We all had a good laugh about the funny coincidence, but it actually worked out beautifully.  I gave them a bit of a history lesson on the Luxembourg Gardens as we walked around at a leisurely pace, enjoying the bright sunshine and gentle breezes.  We made our way past the Theatre Odeon, our apartment from six years ago, a few of our favorite restaurants, and up to the Odeon Metro stop, with my running commentary as our soundtrack.  We stopped at a favorite cheese shop, specializing in Alpine cheese such as Beaufort, and a bakery to pick up supplies.  Once on the Metro, it was a straight shot to Roland Garros.  

Here is Iga Swiatek warming up.

Doug has an encyclopedic knowledge of professional tennis players:  their junior and college careers, their coaches, their injuries, the time series of their national ranks, their most impressive wins, their strengths and weaknesses, the velocity and RPS of their serves, and on and on.  And let me emphasize that his knowledge extends far beyond just the big names.  So, as soon as we arrived at RG, I passed the running commentary baton to him.  It was fascinating to hear his take on all of the players as we moved from court to court, and Spritely, Victor, and I just tried to keep up and take it all in.  

When I went to RG six years ago, it was during the main part of the French Open, so crowds were large and serious, and everything happening on the courts was high-stakes.  I really enjoyed the more laid-back vibe of the preliminary session that we attended.  Perhaps I would even say I preferred it.  We happily wandered between practice sessions and mock matches for a few hours, at which point we noticed a freshening wind and ominous clouds.  It was past 6pm at that point, so we decided to call it a day before we got entirely soaked by an approaching storm.

And I had also made plans to have dinner with our former neighbors at a casual restaurant, La Ferrandaise, that I've been to several times and enjoyed.  Once home from RG, I had time for a quick shower and to feed Sandy, and then it was off to meet Steve and Laurie.  (I took pity on Sandy for leaving him home most of the day, so he came along, too.  He loves that.) 

We all opted for the prix fixe menu of three courses and we added a lovely bottle of wine.  Combining that with service rendered at a leisurely pace (which was entirely fine with us) resulted in a 3+ hour dinner with plenty of time for warm conversation, reminiscences, catching up, a dog sound asleep on the banquette, and hearing about imminent grandchildren, kitchen renovations, and summer travel plans.  And the food was wonderful as well:  celery remoulade, white and green asparagus, magret de canard, filet de boeuf, roasted vegetables, ....  I think, though, that the hazelnut mousse and the profiterole with warm chocolate sauce were the real show-stoppers.    

It's hard to imagine an evening so joyfully spent.  Or an entire day, for that matter.  We're ready for more visitors!