Paris 2012
Reminiscing about Paris, is something I do often, remembering back on so many delicious details. Shortly after my divorce, a new friend and I decided to take our first trip together. Who knew we would become best friends! We’ve taken great trips since then.
Sophia had never been to Paris, and neither of us had been to Barcelona so we planned a trip to both cities. If you’re reading this blog, you probably have a travel bucket list. I have several. Mine are located in various places, one in my file cabinet, one in a notebook that I carry everywhere, one in the “notes” section on my iPhone. I went first to my file cabinet and retrieved all of my Paris-related pages.
I had read somewhere about Jim Haynes, an American who was known as an integral part of British counterculture in the 50s and 60s. Jim led a colorful and complicated life, and in the 1970s, he began hosting Sunday dinner parties for strangers in his 14th arrondissement Paris apartment. Jim didn’t do the cooking. Instead he asked each of his fifty or so registered guests to bring a dish to share. At the time of his death in 2001, over 140,000 guests had dined with Jim.
I shared this discovery with my friend. Sophia said, “Do you really need to do this, Deb?” I did. Following detailed instructions, I reserved spots for both of us, and waited for the day when Jim’s address would be shared with us. It was a long cab ride from the Latin Quarter to Jim’s home. I couldn’t wait to arrive, because despite my mother’s warnings, I have always loved talking to strangers. I was one of Jim Haynes’ guests on my 7th trip to Paris in July of 2012. Surrounded by dozens of people speaking a multitude of languages, I was in heaven. I am always reminiscing about Paris.
Enjoy my article, published in the United Airlines publication, “Hemispheres.”
https://s3.amazonaws.com/inklive-emags/emagStorage/hemi/2013/may/files/assets/basic-html/page19.html
