Jillian’s 2009 birthday is a decennial milestone. To respect the tradition of age discussion avoidance regarding the fairer sex, I will leave the calculations to the reader. My only tidbit is that she was born in the ’60s.
Jillian is a renown hater of surprises, so I entered into planning with her sister, Holly, feeling trepidatious. The plan…to have a surprise meeting in Paris with her sister.
Befitting a John le Carre novel, we agreed to rendezvous near the statue of Charlemagne just SW of Notre Dame’s West Facade at 1630.
Statue of Charlemagne
We exited the Metro station and made our way to the Notre Dame courtyard. As I made small talk about the King of the Franks, Holly surprised her from behind. It was a grand moment!
They had rented an apartment in the Les Halles district of 1er Arrondissement.
We feasted at a very interesting restaurant, La Taverne du Sergent Recruteur. History has it that this was a location where many young French men had a bit too much vin and awoke in Napolean’s army.
Appetizers were 3 baskets about a half bushel each. One full of freshly picked and vine ripened whole vegetables (make it yourself salad). The other two were filled with crusty french bread and a large assortment of hard sausages, respectively. We settled on beef and pork for dinner. The cheese plate was next with 6 or so variations from mild to pungent. Finally, mousse and creme de caramel for dessert. Three hours of great company and great food.
Followed by a walk down the Seine and through the streets of Paris.
After a wonderful evening we hit the hay. Fresh pain de chocolat for breakfast and a train ride home departing from Paris’ Gare du Nord.
Some colorful French countryside at somewhere between 200-300 km/hr.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JILLIAN!
