Four years ago, today, Georges and I met... and a new chapter of our lives began. Even now, we continue to be in awe of the way we met and how neither of us felt compelled to run the other way in fear, because it might well have been justified! But happily, we both just "knew" this was something very special and we both chose to roll with it and give it time to develop. And now, here we are!
To celebrate, we decided to go to dinner at the Vietnamese place we like on rue Véron (off rue Lepic near the "Amélie" Café des Deux Moulins) because (a) we love the food and (b) that is where Georges presented me with my engagement ring, with Paris' ugliest drag queen looking on at the next table (proving that no matter how much you try and plan something in life -- like the perfect romantic marriage proposal, for instance -- sometimes life just has a sense of humor and a plan of its own). We went there last night because they're closed Sundays, and were half-hoping the drag queen and his 1960s leisure-suit-wearing companion would be there again because THAT would have been the cherry on the cake.
Alas, we had to celebrate without them, but we did enjoy the same delicious bananas flambée for dessert:
And then as we walked toward Sacre Coeur and home, we realized we were just in time for the big fireworks spectacle for the Fête des Vendanges (Wine Harvest Festival), so we got to see this:
(Speaking of the wine festival, yesterday was also the big parade. I say it was a big parade because that's its official name, the Grande Défilé, but it was really a big disappointment this year, much smaller and much less interesting than in the past three years previously. And only ONE group was giving away free wine samples as they marched, what's up with that? They expect us to climb up that hill and buy their wine on a cold, rainy October afternoon without a little incentive? Oh well. But the fireworks last night? Absolutely first class!)
Today, we slept in, had a little brunch, then Georges wanted to go and vote in the presidential primary mid-afternoon. We were both hungry by that time, so we went back up to Sacre Coeur and cruised all the food and wine stalls. And how cool is it that around here, you can go to a street fair and get "take out" like a foie gras sandwich, escargots, cheese, wine AND churros for dessert? (We even bought some extra escargots and cheese to serve next weekend when we're having some family members come for lunch.)
So, we had a memorable, if a bit chilly, anniversary weekend, complete with fireworks. What's not to love?
And because I love this picture (and my husband) so much, here's how Georges and I looked four years ago. It was taken by our good friend Aimee about 4 or 5 weeks after we met, and remains one of our favorite photos of us ever taken.
The love we so clearly already felt for each other then has only quadrupled in four years, and grows daily. Je t'aime, mon coeur. Thank you for making EVERY day of the past four years the best day of my life.
