The kindness of strangers

We are thoroughly enjoying our time in Paris, but yesterday had 2 particularly special moments.  I have been known to get into pretty heated discussions at home when I hear people talk about how rude French people (especially Parisians), and yesterday I had 2 instances that proved my point.  We had a photoshoot yesterday morning in Paris, and then we had 1pm tickets to the highly touted Dior exhibit.  As we were meandering between the 2 activities, we made a few stops.  At some point around 12:30 I realized I had made a mis-calculation in my navigation to the Dior exhibit (I'm a dummy and didn't notice that my GPS had autocorrected Rue Francoise to Rue Francaise).  We hailed a cab as we were not going to make it to the correct address by our 1pm ticket time.  At some point in our cab ride, Gary realized that he did not have his bag (man-purse) that he carries while traveling.  In other words he no longer had his passport or wallet.  The cab driver was very concerned about this and asked where he had last had it.  In thinking back, Gary was sure that he had left it at Mariage Freres tea shop when he set the bag down to put his jacket on.  The driver changed course and was ready to head to the tea store, but he needed an address.  As we had meandered so much before getting into the cab, we did not know the address.  We looked Mariage Freres up online only to find several addresses.  From our description of our meandering, the cabbie was able to determine which shop we had been at and he zipped across town (as quickly as one can  "zip" in Paris traffic).  Gary hopped out to run into the tea shop and the cabbie followed him, saying "you will need me because I speak French!".  This astounded me...he left John, Babette and me in his cab (engine still running) as he ran in to help Gary.  The bag was retrieved (all contents intact) and we headed off to the Dior exhibit for an amazing experience.  So don't tell me Parisians are rude or unfriendly!!

Later that evening, we dined at a restaurant we had enjoyed on our first night in Paris.  La Marine in the Canal St. Martin area was a lovely (and lively) brasserie right on the bank of the canal just a few blocks from our apartment.  A French couple a bit younger than us was was seated (along with their little white dog) at a table beside me.  The restaurants and shops have all been full of dogs (with their owners).  I have marveled at how well behaved the French dogs are...they just know how to act in public!!  Well, except for this little white dog!  He barked a few times, was a bit restless under his table, put his paws up on his owners' table a few times, and at one point he wandered over to me.  I reached down to pet him and his owner apologized for him bothering me.  I said I missed my 2 dogs....and we started a conversation.  He asked where we were from.  When I said "California", he asked where...I said "San Francisco" (my standard answer, because who in France has heard of Walnut Creek?!).  He told me he knows the area well as he was a foreign exchange student in Vacaville 36 years ago!  He has remained in touch with his host family and they see each other once a year, either in Paris or the Bay Area!!  He told me he has lived for 22 years in the Canal St. Martin neighborhood where the restaurant was and talked about the changes it has gone through (all good).  Upon finishing our meal, I went to use the restroom, the couple with the dog left, Gary and John paid the bill, and as we were walking out, the bar-tender called us over to tell us that the other couple had paid for the wine on our bill.  Wow...what an unexpected surprise!  We then had a delightful conversation with the bar manager who told us he was born on that street, his parents live at one end of it, he lives at the other end...this is his home...and on and on about the importance of being part of where you live!  These 2 wonderful interactions truly made such a perfect ending for our lovely stay in Paris.  So don't tell me Parisians are rude or unfriendly!!  (like anything...you get back what you put out).