Do you remember exactly what you were doing when the earthquake hit on Feb. 28, 2001 in Seattle? A few of us were planning our first meeting of a new Magnolia/Queen Anne book reading group. Despite the major "shake-up," the group met, made introductions, discussed the earthquake and our first book selection ("How to Make an American Quilt" by Whitney Otto) and chose a book and meeting place for the next month.
The book group was started by Pat Ranieri and Trish Nicola via a note posted at the Magnolia Bookstore. Those who gathered that evening were either friends, neighbors or friends of friends of Pat and Trish - half from Queen Anne and the other half from Magnolia; ages range from 40ish to 60ish. Members take turns choosing a book for the month and hosting the gathering. We enjoy dessert and wine while discussing the selected book.
In our six years together we have had a steady group of between nine and 12 members. Two years ago Pat announced she was retiring as a real-estate agent and moving to Paris. We were sorry to see her go but extremely envious. She stays in touch with the group via e-mail and yearly summer trips to Seattle. After months of us repeating, "Wouldn't it be fun to have book club in Paris?" we started making serious plans when Pat made her first visit back to Seattle. In spring 2006, six of our eight Seattle members - Trish Nicola, Betty Lucas, Kay Kuhns, Terry Magruder, Ruth Leers and Cathy McDonald - realized their dream of "April in Paris."
Pat put us in contact with Parisian Home, a company that rents out furnished apartments. We would find places that looked good on the Internet; then Pat would check out the neighborhoods for us. About a month before we were due to arrive in Paris, the apartment we had rented was sold. Back to the drawing board we went, ending up with a three-bedroom apartment on rue d'Argout near the Les Halles and Montorgueil area in the 2nd arrondissement. It was the perfect location, with a pedestrian area that has lots of restaurants, bakeries, butchers and many other types of stores. Possibly one of the best-kept secrets in Paris, it was fashionable, friendly, brimming with streetside cafes and local market stalls.
While preparing for the trip we read and discussed "The Moveable Feast" by Ernest Hemingway, "Paris to the Moon" by Adam Gopnik, "Almost French" by Sarah Turnbull and "French Toast" by Harriet Welty Rochefort.
Six women in Paris together for nine days - what an adventure! It was the first time in Paris for two of us. With Pat as our guide, interpreter and companion, we experienced the major and minor sights, walked miles all over the city (pedometers tallying up more than 20,000 steps some days), absorbed art and architecture in museums and on the street, relished the farmers markets, learned the Metro system, went shopping, enjoyed people-watching from the sidewalk cafés, strolled down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and had lots of laughs. We sent silly postcards to Sue Cartier and Cheryl Walczyk, our two Seattle members who could not make the trip.
We took turns going to nearby Rue Montorgueil for our morning croissants and baguettes. For some there were "sleepless in Paris" nights (usually Terry), or aching knees after a day's walking, but we would all rally and provide support for one another.
Food and Paris go hand in hand, and we had wonderful meals, some in our apartment: delicious food picked up from the nearby markets - cheese, wine, bread and crudités and lovely desserts. Memorable food included moules (mussels), campagne terrine (paté), rabbit, smoked duck and crêpes eaten in small cafés patronized by the locals. There was the occasional misinterpretation of the menu, such as getting veal kidneys instead of veal loin, or smoked hamhock instead of pork, but all was good.
In addition to enjoying the local and reasonable wine, Pat arranged for all of us to go via train to the city of Reims, where we toured the Pommery Champagne House, with the extensive limestone caves, as well as seeing the Reims Cathedral with its famous stained-glass windows by Marc Chagall.
Misadventures? Nothing major, but there was the matter of some turnstiles out of the Metro that refused to let someone through (see you later, Ruth); rescuing Kay, who was about to be trapped in a closing train door; and Trish being unable get a taxi from the train station to the hotel where Terry, Kay, Betty and Ruth stayed the first weekend - so she walked all the way up to Montmarte (an easy trek for a Seattle walker). We were also flexible when citywide demonstrations caused closings on the days we planned to go to the Musée d'Orsay or the Opera House. Pat's knowledge of the city came in handy for a quick change of plans. Oh, yes, we are a book club, and we did have a book discussion of "Madame Bovary" by Flaubert, graciously hosted by Pat at her home in the Paris suburbs. Cathy stayed a few extra days and ran in the Paris Marathon with Pat and Giovanni cheering her on. We were all sad to say au revoir to Paris, but it was a wonderful trip! As we celebrate our sixth anniversary we can hardly wait to begin planning our next big adventure.
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