Saturday night, I had planned to throw myself a going away party/birthday celebration at none other than the Piano Bar. After a little more flâneur and a stop into a Scottish pub to watch the Champions League Football Final (soccer for you Americans), which Alasdair could not go without seeing, we headed back to my apartment to shower and change for the soiree.
Alasdair had not yet seen the Latin Quarter all lit up at night. Though it's touristy, it's still one of my favorite sights. It's so alive and filled with people and interesting things to do. What's not to like? So we headed down Rue de la Huchette to the Piano Bar. Takis, the bartender, had already promised me a table. Unfortunately, Chris the Pianoman would not be in attendance because he was out of town. When I found that out, I almost canceled my party, I was so upset. However, Takis promised me that the backup pianoman was fantastic. And, to his credit, he was.
So Alasdair and I settled into a table and waited for my Parisien friends to arrive. One by one, the cast of characters from my blogs and my Parisien life streamed through the door: Brittany, Anne, Anne-Sophie, Andrew, Rachel, Sebastien, and the Finn. Unfortunately, Suzanne and Stephanie had already returned to the States, and Mirko and Alessandro were in Italy, so the cast wasn't quite complete. But I didn't let it bother me as I was reveling in the life I had made for myself in the short time I lived abroad. I met these amazing people, who had become a part of my life, as if they had always been there. Sure the city played its part in my journey of living in Paris, but it was the people I met along the way, the friendships I acquired, that made the experience a positive, memorable one. Without Brittany and Suzanne, I would have never seen the wonders of Istanbul or spent the night roaming Prague. Without Rachel, I would have left Paris thinking Parisien men had no redeeming qualities; but she and La Palette showed me otherwise. Each of those people added to my experience in a way that the Seine River or the Eiffel Tower could not match. And for that, I will be forever grateful.
So, we drank our Kir, opened presents (I have to say, the French give fabulous, thoughtful presents that come from the heart), sang along with the pianoman, and I said a final goodbye to my Paris friends. The tears, surprisingly, didn't come at that time. The occasion was too joyous, and I felt full and complete surrounded by smiles, laughter and, most of all, love.
About Me
- Michelle Hershman
- Washington, D.C., United States
- Michelle Hershman has always been enthusiastic about eating, but it took her a little longer to become passionate about cooking because she wasn’t allowed to use the oven unsupervised as a child. Her first cooking experience involved baking a cake in the microwave. But, Michelle persevered. She attended Virginia Tech, where she received a Communications degree and mastered the quesadilla. Then, she headed to University of Richmond Law School, and when she wasn’t hitting the law books, she devoured cookbooks and food magazines. In 2007, she began a job as a Presidential Management Fellow with the Federal government. Her love of food reached an all-time high when she was sent to Paris for work. She spent four months eating creamy cheeses and crusty baguettes and frequenting farmer’s markets for fresh produce. She ate pasta in Italy, Hagis in Scotland and street food in Istanbul. She vowed never to eat a frozen dinner again. Now, she works as an attorney during the day and experiments with recipes for her food blog, Healthy Recipe Ecstasy, at night. In her spare time, she’s planning a wedding with her wonderful patient fiancé, Alasdair Cain.
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