A Very American Weekend in Paris

On Friday, we met Nancy, an expat whom I know from the Slow Travel France Forum. She has lived here for 20 years. It's one of those great stories. She was planning on staying a year and voila! She met her husband here, and they make their home in the Montmartre Quarter. Anyway, she was delightful. She took us to a weekly market nearby, and we chatted for a bit at a cafe. Actually, we are going to see her tonight and get to meet her husband and some friends.

Here's a picture of some beautiful fish at the market.

We ended up buying some sausages and roasted potatoes that we reheated for dinner. At about 12 Euros for s dinner for two, it was delicious AND a bargain.

On Saturday, we went to a place called Hidden Kitchen. This is a private supper club run by a lovely, young, extremely talented couple from Seattle. It's a 10-course meal with 7 wines, and it was amazing. There were 16 of us – all American visitors – and we had a wonderful time. The food was truly out of this world.

Here's just one course, but it seemed to be the favorite of a lot of guests: pan-fried mackerel with glazed fennel barley and preserved lemon chutney.

On Sunday, we went to the Salon of Mr. Jim Haynes, an American who has been having Sunday dinners for over 30 years. Here's a pic that shows the set-up: small apartment (although we were able to spill outside), food cooked by a friend, LOTS of people. Jim is the guy in the lower left corner, gray hair, glasses. He's quite a character! We met travelers like us, expats, and some locals. It was a really fun time.