Do I look more sophisticated?

Well, hello Bloggers.  I am back.  And you’ll never guess in a million years where I was this last week…

I was in PARIS! 

That’s right.  That was not a typo.  That’s were I was.  As a matter of fact, two days ago, I was sitting on the steps of the Musee de Orsy eating an excellent sandwich.  A light and crispy French baguette with jambon (ham), brie (delicious cheese) and burree avec demi-sel (salted butter).  And after that very nice lunch, Don and I went into the museum and visited every single scrap of art in the place.

What was I doing there?  Why did I up-and-go?  Especially given that it was the beginning of the school year and I never go anywhere at that time.

Well…IT WAS JENNY’S BIRTHDAY!!!! 

So, we went to celebrate with her.  AND BOY DID WE CELEBRATE!  And I had the best time ever!  I got to get to know her boyfriend, Phil better.  What a sweetie he is.  And I got to meet a bunch of her friends, who were fabulous!  We drank and ate and laughed and talked and worried about the market and then ate some more. 

We all stayed in this house in an old part of Paris.  And we went to this ornate, baroque restaurant for Jenny’s birthday lunch which had a garden in the middle.  And it used to be a brothel with all the windows facing in towards the courtyard.  And Jenny ordered champagne and fresh raspberries and strawberries and squeezed them up in my champagne flute with a glug of a red liquor of some kind that made the whole thing taste like a party.  And we ate and laughed and drank and then we walked for a while in a fancy shopping area until it was time to go home and get dressed for the birthday dinner. 

I felt like I had been dropped in the middle of a movie set or a dream about fabulous people, living fabulous lives, and I still couldn’t quite believe that Don and me were actually there, and that the gorgeous woman clad in a long elegant black velvet gown with a ridiculously beautiful period broach and siren red hair and glowing black eyes was my sister!  That we were there, in Paris, celebrating her birthday. 

And then after dinner, and more champagne, Paul sat us around the living room, that was lit by candlelight and a fire crackling in the hearth, and took pictures and normally, I don’t like getting my picture taken, but this was different, because these friends of Jenny’s were so fun.  So, even sitting and Paul saying, “Don’t move, don’t even breath,“ was part of what made the whole night special, because it wasn’t like snapshots, it was more like art. 

Yes, we went to Paris for Jenny’s birthday and I realized that I understood and spoke a little more French that I thought I knew, (still not much, but all the same, it was a happy surprise.)  And we saw beautiful buildings and gardens and paintings and sculptures, but not only that…

Kirk, (an incredibly sweet man) set it up so Jenny and her pack (Phil, me, Don, Kirk, Greg, Morton, John and Paul) got to go to the Louis Vuitton (hope I spelt that right) house for lunch and then they took up on a tour of the factory. 

The house was SO beautiful and everyone there was so nice.  And the lunch was delicious and there was champagne and wine.  And even the factory was beautiful, with wide open windows that looked out on green leafed trees that were gently rustling in the breeze.  And every single person there was so careful in how they did everything.  And they have a woman who checks things at the end to make sure that everything is exactly so.  And there was a briefcase that apparently had a slight flaw, and she was showing it to us, but honestly, for the life of me, I couldn’t see what this minuscule flaw was that she was talking about.  It looked amazing to me.

It was such a thoughtful, perfect gift for Kirk to have organized. 

Afterwards, we got dropped off at the Louis Vuitton store in Paris.  It was the first time I’d ever entered their store before.  And even though I would never, ever, spend that kind of money, I have to say, I looked at their product with an entirely new respect.  I would see a briefcase perched on a gleaming surface and I would think about the man in the factory with his little hammer and his containers of different kind of nails.  I would think about the man who punched out the leather and the women at the sewing machines, sewing slow and painstakingly careful.  I would remember the long dark haired man, with tattoos, who held himself like an artist, working on a special order trunk.  And I would remember the glowing faces of the rest of our company, their raptures over the pieces, and felt tremors of excitement course through me as well.  Not because I lusted after the pieces, I just felt really happy that this was such a big deal and Kirk had made it happen for Jenny.

Don and I had the best time ever, and I am so glad Jenny asked us to come.  And HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNY!  WE LOVE YOU!  xxxooo

Posted by Meg Tilly on Saturday, September 20, 2008 in

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