My Men and Me

Okay, so technically I traveled to Paris a couple of weeks ago completely alone.  But that doesn't mean I didn't meet up with some men along the way.

Hem was my dinner companion at the Café du Commerce where we enjoyed an excellent steak-frites and a Côtes du Rhône rouge.

Okay, sure, he was in the book I was reading, but he was still with me, you know.

Depardieu was my traveling companion on the TGV.

I've admired his movies for years.  But I just cannot talk any sense into him.  Revoke his French card?  Become a Russian citizen?  Seriously, Gerard, think this through.

"Jean-Pierre" was at my table for dinner on the Seine River cruise.  (He is real, BTW, and a great sport.)

He was traveling with his girlfriend and ate at a table with all women and kept us laughing.  He could be on a magazine cover, though.  This is his GQ pose.  Pas mal du tout.  I will think of him each time I buy magazines at snacks at a Hudson News airport shop.

I had apéritifs with my favorite Parisian!  The one and only best guide in the world.  Here he is talking to my new French teacher friends from Georgia.

He also treated me to lunch.  OMG.  What a meal.
Foie gras

Duck with risotto

And his finger in the dessert crumble we shared.

We did work during lunch.  Really, we did.  We went over my itinerary for the Kiddie Trip next month.  He let me in on a few secrets that I am keeping to myself.  And then the next day he took off for Singapore.

I  met up with my darling Vincent in Arles.

He is a little camera shy, non?  It was a chilly day so I don't blame him for hiding behind the glass of a shop window.

I also had a chance to catch up with my friend, Fred.

M. Mistral to you since you haven't been properly introduced.  Or maybe you have been to Place du Forum in Arles and made his acquaintance.  Je ne sais pas.  He's been standing there patiently waiting for me since I saw him in July.  I whispered to him that I would return as soon as possible.

Brad was waiting for me in the airport.

See him gazing my way?  We sampled a few perfumes, ate a couple of Ladurée macarons, and then parted ways when my flight was called.  Au revoir, mon bel ami!

And to think that the Ex-Ex was worried about me traveling alone.  But I must say, none of them were an ounce of help as I was dragging those suitcases through the snow...

C'est la vie.

Bon appétit, les mecs.  Thanks for a great trip!