Paper Children: An Immigrant's Legacy by Marcia Fine

$16.95

Paperback

My passion for Paris started when I was a kid. My parents, bohemians who sported berets in humid Coconut Grove, Florida, loved everything French--the food, the language, the music, the writers. I grew up with a desire to visit an exotic place where every corner restaurant served quality food, the waiters hummed "La Vie en Rose" under their breath and the patrons discussed books or politics. It took until I was married to get my first glimpse of the specatcular landscape of the City of Light. In recent years I decided I needed more of the architecture, the attention to detail, the stimulation of a society that treasures the mind as well as the body, a place where book stores are ubiquitous, concerts sing into the night and philosophers stand as national treasures.

I rented an apartment through a friend on a tiny street with three bookstores--business, military, ancient--across from Notre Dame. With no knowledge of the mellifluous language because I studied Spanish, I bungled my way through most situations. The French are exceedingly polite. I went by myself for a month at a time a few years in a row, grateful to be near a landmark that was tall enough to guide me home when I got off at the wrong metro stop. I was never lonely. I stopped for a warm chocolate croissant every morning greeted by the proprietor, found a new museum most days, including spectacular Jacquemart Andre, and attended concerts in the oldest church in Paris, Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, almost every night. I had so much fun my husband insisted on coming with me on subsequent trips.

In the midst of my love affair with a city, our son in his thirties brought home a young woman for us to meet --the lovely Iris from Paris. My passion for a culture led the Universe (Isn't all love fated?) to send him someone special. This week a wedding will take place with all her relatives coming from France. He has fallen in love with all things French, too. Finally, I'm getting a Parisian family!