To my surprise, I have been meeting people in Paris.
It started when my new Istanbul friend Z suggested I go to a Sunday dinner party. For more than 30 years, Louisiana-born Jim Haynes has been hosting strangers to dinner at his Paris flat; you call/email Jim to get on the list, then show up and pay what you can (suggested 30โฌ/person). I contacted him on the day of our arrival, was placed on a waitlist, and then heard on Sunday afternoon that there was space for us. That night, we walked the 1.5km to his apartment in the 14th arrondissement, feeling a bit odd when we got to the locked gate and saw/heard no one else there. We hung around a few minutes until we saw another couple go in, then followed them. It was a good party: a bit crowded for Erik’s taste, and definitely requiring as much extroversion as possible, but I met a lot of interesting people and fellow travelers (mostly Americans, and strangely enough, many of them writers). I was so busy talking that I skipped the main course! When we left three hours later, I was very happy. I’ve read some online reviews complaining that the dinners are a ripoff and not worthwhile; I suspect attendees’ mileage varies greatly depending on expectations, personality, and who shows up that night. I have been to at least two other “underground” dinners — both in California — and enjoyed Jim’s the most, probably because everyone was circulating (read: standing up) rather than seated at a table. This didn’t make for very restful dining, but it did help with conversation, and I think that’s what such parties are for.ย I discovered later that Jim’s Sunday dinners are even mentioned in my guidebook — they’re an institution indeed!
After the dinner party, I received an invitation from Edith (the first person I’d met at Jim’s) to her Meetup group’s outing to the Musรฉe d’Art Moderne. Erik had a phone meeting, so I headed out alone on the bus — a fine way to people-watch, especially in traffic! The group was visiting the massive exhibitย L’Art en guerre, a collection of nearly 400 works created 1938-1947 by artists like Picasso, Matisse, and Kandinsky. I wandered the galleries for a couple of hours, mostly on my own, but occasionally chatting with some of the other members of the Meetup, whom I hope to meet again. It was a good mix of meditative viewing and social time. If you’d like to see some of the pieces, I pinned a dozen of my favorites on Pinterest.
And, to my very great pleasure, I found the Tour Eiffel while making my way to the museum. Of course I had to stop and take pictures.
And here’s one more, from after I left the museum.
By the way, when I finally got home around 10 PM, I steamed the fish I’d bought that morning at the outdoor market. It turned out extremely well.
I love these pics — especially the one of you. Yay for French-girl hair! ๐
And how cool is that streak of light shooting through the Tour Eiffel in that last photo of it?!
So, tour is tower in French? Got to remember that. French is the language I’ve most wanted to learn. ๐ (Squealing again at the fact that you’re there. ๐ )
Merci beaucoup, Rรฉ! Tour is apparently quite a lot of words in French, tower among them (also trick, turn, run/lap, and others). I’ve been thinking of the tower as the Tour Eiffel — pronounced “ee-fell” rather than “eyeful” — for years though, just because it came up a lot more often in French class than it ever did in normal conversation. I just got used to thinking of it in the French pronunciation, along with a bunch of other words that I heard more in that class than anywhere else. ๐ It certainly is a beautiful language… if you want to get it into your ear, you could always do as I did years ago, and listen to the French soundtrack of Les Misรฉrables on repeat. ๐ (Some of it’s on YouTube!)
The light comes from some kind of beam on top of the tower — I got a few photos of it at different angles, but this was the prettiest!
I’m with Rรฉ, the pic of you is great. You look fabulous!
Thank you, Stacie! ๐ I have a haircut appointment tomorrow… can’t wait to find out whether it improves or reduces the fabulousness. ๐
Actually I just double-checked on the pronunciation of “Eiffel” in French. I told you it was “ee-fell,” and Erik thought it was “ey-fell,” but it seems it’s more like “F L.” That seems easy enough to remember! ๐
I like Matisse’s The Dancer. What do you think? http://www.segmation.wordpress.com
I haven’t seen it! But Matisse is cool — and I’m becoming quite a fan of Dufy as well. ๐
How bold of you guys to go to that party!
Loved all the pics, and that sunset was indeed gorgeous. ๐
I was definitely more excited about it than Erik was, but I think he had fun too. ๐ Paris is ridiculously photogenic — like Edinburgh, but even more romantic. ๐
I find it odd to think of having a dinner with nothing but strangers. But then I think I’m too private. Probably why I hibernate in the woods! I loved your Eiffel photos. I’ve seen the traditional views found in postcards, etc., but your photos surprised me with the size. It looks much bigger than I imagined.
Erik is totally with you on the privacy — we have sometimes dueling needs for quiet and vivacity. You know, though, it helped a lot that almost everyone at the party was a stranger to everyone else. That doesn’t scare me; what gets me nervous are the parties where everyone knows everyone else, except me.
I was surprised how big the tower is too!
[…] Z is a Turkish American living in Istanbul. She’s my dad’s boss’s daughter. We were introduced via email, met up in Istanbul, and friended each other on Facebook. After we arrived in Paris, she wrote on my FB wall, with a link to Jim Haynes‘s dinner parties. After emailing Jim, we received an invitation to dinner. […]
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