Dark Night Rises

Great evening with great friends in the City, of London, not to be confused with the city of Westminster, you know, Central London, which used to be the suburbs. The City, where I rarely go, is full of lads, investment bankers. I'm too old for it. Or tired of it. But tonight it was great. I walked by runners who were part of a City race after work. Then after dinner, I walked by professionals by day who morphed into revellers by night. I took a cab home because that's what I do. I can't be bothered with the tube or a bus even though it's not so late. Thanks to my Hailo (best app in the world), I was in a taxi within minutes and rode towards the west, passed the halls of justice and the amazing new Blackfriars station still donning its Olympic signage. We drove by the river on the Embankment - it's an absolutely lovely evening with the OXO tower across the water and the purple glow of the London Eye. Oh, the Buddha Bar has closed but Somerset House was hopping with London Fashion Week in full swing. Took the turn around Parliament and passed the Tate Gallery being renovated. What a beautiful night with a clear, midnight blue sky. It never seems very dark here with all the lights of the city on all the time. Pretty bridges. Chelsea. Albert. Almost home. I remembered what a horrible day it was at work today. But it didn't matter anymore. At lunch I saw Michael Caine buying a sandwich. So funny because I just saw the latest Batman film last weekend. Only in London. What a lovely night it turned out to be.

Parisian 101

On a rare spontaneous moment, we decide to spend a day in Paris. We take the 7.00am Eurostar from St Pancras to the Gare du Nord. Arriving at 10.30am, we are in great need of coffee and take a taxi straight to Cafe Marly. What better view than the Louvre Pyramid and the Tuileries? Once we have refueled, we stroll along the Seine and take in the whole city. Such a beautiful city. We head for Avenue Montaigne and some serious shopping.

We walk into an iconic hotel and admire the decor, wander towards the interior courtyard to scope the restaurant crowd and menu....a bit stuffy and intimidating so we walk back towards the more posh & trendy terrace restaurant. A lovely hostess takes us from the hotel lobby to the terrace and hands us over to her colleague. 

Me: Deux personnes, s'il vous plait.
Hostess: Avez-vous une reservation?
Me: Non.
Hostess: D'accord (and motions for us to follow her).

We are seated at a cute table for two under the beautiful red awnings. It's quite sunny and warm and there is mist occasionally showering the hedges and the air around us for soothing comfort. We order amazing pink champagne and nice salads which fill us up for an afternoon of more shopping.

About 10 minutes later, many people arrive...a gorgeous couple, a beautiful family of 3, a large group of fashionistas, and an individual man sits in the corner table eating, drinking and smoking like it was going out of style. Is he a designer whom I should know?

All the tables fill up except one behind us. A young couple walk up and the woman, dressed in a baby blue playsuit, smiles but says nothing to the hostess. Her boyfriend or husband, dressed in shorts and a golf shirt, stands behind her for support. 

Hostess: Would you like a table for two?
Baby blue playsuit: (nods) Yes.
Hostess: Do you have a room in the hotel?
Baby blue playsuit: (shakes her head) No. 
Hostess: Oh, I am so sorry...but we only have guests from the hotel. 

The young couple turn around quickly and walk off the terrace in shame, denied a lovely lunch in the glorious sunshine beneath the red awnings. More mist is sprayed on us and we drink our pink champagne, quietly smiling, basking in our small but meaningful achievement...life is good.