Katie in Paris
Katie over oysters, Tuesday, in Paris. Katie is a special gal and her women's Op-Ed foundation has taken off - she is excited, boy.
My favorite things about Paris:
1. Seasonal change. Spring or fall, this is the only place to be. Paris does not have the greenery of London yet seeing the trees and parks blossom or die-off while fashions change gives me the sense of moving on. This time of year unsettling yet I love the feeling.
2. Food. Of course. It is impossible to have a bad meal and children not invited. Paris takes its gustacian seriously.
3. Eurostar from London. Unfortunately the London terminus moved from Waterloo to St Pancras this year making the train less convenient to Southwest London. Oh well. Arriving at du Nord always thrilling+Terminus restaurant a favorite, similar to the Grand Central Station Oyster Bar in NY. I have the same thing every time: smoked fish+onion soup or oysters.
4. rue Faubourg Saint-Honoree. This is where Astorg is located and nearby l'Église de la Madeleine and Place de la Concorde. I have a favorite hotel, Le Faubourg, which is not ostentatious and perfectly located in the 8th next to the Crillon. This is where Sarkozy and Carla Bruni live in the Presidential Palace next to the British Embassy. The shops are chic and outside my league except Hermès where I buy my ties.
5. Le Dome in Montparnasse - and not because it is one of the best seafood restaurants in Paris, which it is. Rather - Sonnet, Christian and I had dinner during Blake's wedding in '00 (Sonnet six months pregnant) and I looked over my shoulder to see Alan Greenspan no more than six inches from my nose. He was huddled outside, on his mobile, opposite the window. Since it was Sunday evening presumably he was dialing in an interest-rate change - and indeed, rates came down a quarter-point the next day. At Greenspan's table was Felix Rohatyn (US Ambassador to France and Chairman of Lehman Bros. RIP)+Arthur Schlesinger Jr (RIP)+their wives in cool glasses and B-52 hairstyles.
6. Hôtel Costes, which has the best martini in Paris and the highest concentration of beautiful people anywhere.
7. Astorg Partners and Rothschild, who have given me a reason, as though I needed one, to visit frequently since '03.
8. French. OK, my language often fails me but I make the effort and the Parisians (most of them anyway) appreciate my efforts. My problem, you see, is my accent which is pretty good and sets an expectation for competency. I still struggle with vocabulary and verb-tenses, oh well. But at least I am unafraid which is half the battle.
9. Lacoste. As a rule I buy three new alligators a year in spring. It adds colour and what could be more cool for a middle-aged dad?
