(^88) – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 everythingzoomer.com
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to show a talented young writer and fashion collector
Paris – my Paris. Maybe he would have the same life-
altering experiences I had had. I will never forget see-
ing the excitement and joy on the face of my travel com-
panion as he took in the Tuileries, Place de la Concorde,
the Eiffel Tower and the Seine for the first time. The
hours of walking seemed like seconds.
The historic Le Grand Véfour was on the list of places I
wanted him to experience. On the day we went, I had the
Jean Cocteau table – the corner banquette I love – and
from it, you can see the whole dining room. It proved to
be a good spot that day, as François Hollande, the presi-
dent of the French Republic, arrived for lunch. His en-
trance was understated but his exit, quite a bit more
buoyant and interactive! Seeing a city I knew so well
through someone else's eyes – what joyful moments.
P
aris has a way of unfolding itself, when you
give it time. When you don’t rush. For four
months last fall, I lived adjacent to one of
the world’s greatest shopping streets, the
Faubourg Saint-Honoré, so it was easy to see how fash-
ion remains one of the main draws to Paris. It is what
first brought me to France and to this magical city but,
for me, the real Paris is now found in the small back
streets, the hidden cafés and tiny stores. A walk is never
the same view twice – getting lost is an aim, for you can
always be found.
I often found small one-of-a-kind boutiques. One
stands out. Located in the Palais Royal, there is no store
name, its window display is ever-changing and min-
imal. An elegant elderly woman presides over her small
atelier. She makes exquisite découpage boxes and pen-
cil holders in all shapes and sizes. She includes the his-
tory of the pattern or image that is on each item. She
wraps your purchase with such care that you must not
let your patience get the better of you. She opens one day
a week from noon to five during the months of October
to March. She is an artisan operating on her own terms,
something that, for me, remains very Parisian.
The exact answer as to why some of us return time and
again to a specific place will likely remain elusive and
very personal but, in my experience, it has to do with a
sense of belonging and understanding, of familiarity
and adventure, of personal history, relationships forged
and relationships lost, memories and maybe most im-
portantly, inexplicable joy.
Over those four months, every Sunday, I would sit at
the same table at Brasserie Vaudeville. Greetings were
exchanged with other longer term regulars and a wel-
coming staff. Usually I had a guest but I felt equally com-
fortable on my own. It may have been that fact and that
table that closed a circle for me. I was home again. I had
made the right decision to return and forge another life
for myself, to follow the path of this love affair. Jusqu’à
la prochaine fois.
Barman Colin
Field at the
reopening of
the Hotel Ritz
Paris, June 2016
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