Haphazardly in French + Serendipitous Meeting with a Stranger, Part 1
Friday, January 18, 2019
Experience a Lavender & Vine painting tour! Discover the magical light of Van Gogh this summer (lavender season) or fall (wine harvest). Join our small group with professional instruction to paint in Provence. Rates and tour info here.
Today's Phrase: au petit bonheur
: haphazardly, randomly
Le bonheur, c'est de continuer à désirer ce qu'on possède. -Saint Augustin
Happiness is wanting what you already have.
January Book-A-Thon....
For two years now I have quietly read your blog, enjoying your triumphs and trials. Unable to sleep one night, I opened your email to find a request to buy your book. It was time for me to step out of the shadows and support your cause. What a delight! I have been unable to put it down. I wish you loads of success. --Jeanne
January book-a-thon: buy a book for a friend. Your purchase supports my writing and helps new readers find their way here. Merci! Available in ebook/Kindle or paperback.
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
Time! One minute more, one minute less and we'd never have met. Earlier at home, on our way to the car, Mom had said, Do you have any Kleenex? No? I'll go back and get some. Pockets stuffed with mouchoirs, and in town now, we were stalled another 5 minutes admiring the giant seed pods on a tree we could not name. Lolling about we approached le centre ville on our way to the art supply store, when a gothic church caught my eye. Let's go look!
Oh, pardon, Madame! Mom said. Apologizing, she motioned toward the historical buildings surrounding us.
Ah, oui! C'est magnifique, Madame smiled. At this point she might have nodded and walked off. But she stayed...
Je suis d'ici... she offered, her raspberry red lipstick drawing us in to such glamour: silver-white hair (I don't have a lot of it, she insisted) in a lovely twist, held up with a barrette. She wore wool pants, a jazzy, printed vest, black boots (they are hand-sewn, I got them at the farmers market!) a long foulard wrapped around her neck and big dark glasses. She reminded me of one of those characters in Advanced Style.
Mom could not help herself: Look at you! You are so beautiful! The three of us huddled closer, and a conversation ranging from hair loss to the horrors of war ensued.
Mom was getting cold feet--not from the war story--no, it was the frozen cobblestones beneath her Converse hightops that were making her antsy. But before we moved on, Jules really wanted a photo of Madame ...
The photo in the opening of this post, and this one, are from Beth. I have personally experienced her hospitality during one of her organized trips in Provence. Do check it out, it may be just the adventure you are looking for in 2019!
FRENCH VOCABULARY
le bonheur = happiness
par hasard = by accident
le mouchoir (en papier) = tissue, Kleenex
le centre ville = town center
le foulard = scarf, neckerchief
ouistiti! = cheese!
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For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety
Your Mom really is young! Born in 1946....and that part of the conversation amuses me as I have never had folks ask me my age here but they do ask me in what year I was born! Viva the baby-boomers! ...what about a blog with the vocabulary for the age groups....baby boomers, millennials, etc! Enjoy reading your blog posts. Keep writing.
Posted by: Muriel | Friday, January 18, 2019 at 02:12 PM
These spontaneous moments in life are sometimes the best. I sense the beginning of a wonderful friendship here. Can't wait to hear the rest! Bon weekend!
Posted by: Patricia Sands | Friday, January 18, 2019 at 02:56 PM
You've got me hooked, dear Kristi.
Posted by: julie camp | Friday, January 18, 2019 at 04:00 PM
Kristin, your story reminded me of a great movie -- "Run Lola Run." In the first scene, a woman in her apartment gets a call that her boyfriend needs help. She goes out of her apartment and the plot unfolds with man incidental encounters. Then, all of a sudden, you are back in her apartment and the phone is ringing -- same call from her boyfriend. but this time, she forgets something in her apartment which makes the story unfold just a few minutes later. all the same people are there, but the encounters are changed just a bit -- perhaps overhearing a part of a conversation that tweaks the story. And then you see the phone ring a THIRD time and the process starts all over with yet different results! Fascinating. And a reminder that we are all connected, and we are always affecting and are affected by each other. it's a nice thing to be reminded of.
Bon weekend à vous!
Posted by: Gwyn Ganjeau | Friday, January 18, 2019 at 04:05 PM
Hope this continues into a long friendship; too many times we don't follow-up on potential friends, but when we do, it's wonderful!
Posted by: Nancy | Friday, January 18, 2019 at 04:15 PM
Wonderful story, delightful writing. It reminded me of serendipitous encounters in my past. They are the best.
Posted by: Anne Umphrey | Friday, January 18, 2019 at 04:29 PM
Bonjour Kristi,
Une falaise-pendre. C’est très intéressant! Peut-être vous êtes une descendante de Scheherazade? Certainment l’inconnue deviendra moins mystérieuse dans votre blog prochain.
Posted by: Joanne | Friday, January 18, 2019 at 04:58 PM
You are so good at finding the inherent magic in any moment you focus on, and your mother is so good at drawing in strangers! It must be refreshing for French people to encounter her openness and charm. They are not allowed to say, "you are so beautiful!" But human beings love true affection and admiration. How could anyone resist a 70-year-old
Beauty wearing high top sneakers?
It's who I want to be. I love striking up conversations with strangers. It almost always is fascinating, or at least puts each of us in a better mood
Posted by: Leslie NYC | Friday, January 18, 2019 at 05:05 PM
I can't wait to see the photo of Madame. The encounter is fascinating! She sounds like a treasure. :)
Posted by: Gail in AZ | Friday, January 18, 2019 at 05:30 PM
Mais, ou est le photo de Madame?????????
Posted by: Suzanne Du | Friday, January 18, 2019 at 05:44 PM
Looking forward to Part 2... Bon weekend a tout le monde...
Posted by: Joan | Friday, January 18, 2019 at 06:45 PM
Gwyn, I remember that film and was also intrigued by the format. I thought it was a very successful movie.
Posted by: Andrea Hughes | Friday, January 18, 2019 at 07:07 PM
What a great experience and telling thereof, Kristi -- so wish that I (born in '45!) could've been there with you Three Graces for this wondrous encounter with unexpected magic-seeming recognition of each other;thanks so much for sharing it all. And please oh please do get Madame's permission to share that happy photo with us, as we embrace her too, clearly close to you and Jules in a previous lifetime or two!
Posted by: Kitty Wilson-Pote | Friday, January 18, 2019 at 08:05 PM
What a delightful encounter! Moments like this one make our lives richer. My best French friend was the first person I met when I got off the train in Grenoble for my junior year. I’ll see him again in a few short weeks! It was a God thing!
Posted by: Cheryl in STL | Friday, January 18, 2019 at 09:05 PM
Kristi, what a wonderful story! I have always admired Jules's -- I do feel as if I have met her and known her forever because of your stories -- joie de vivre, the love she radiates toward everything that and everyone. I am not surprised that being alongside Jules, you meet the most interesting people. I hope you will share the photo you took with the delightful chic lady. By the way, I also meant to say that I love the backpack from your previous post, as well as your strategy for keeping your work under a beautiful scarf. Like you, my office is in my bedroom and I have been seeking a way to cover my work at nighttime. I just might borrow your tip.
Posted by: Katia | Saturday, January 19, 2019 at 02:54 AM
Love the Advanced Style ladies! Hope you see your new friend again!
Posted by: Judy Feldman | Saturday, January 19, 2019 at 04:30 AM
Best story yet! I just love those “chance encounters.” It’s such a great feeling - I usually get shy at the end and afraid to ask for another “on purpose” meet-up. I still have a loving memory but wishing I had taken it a step further-maybe next time! Looking forward to the second half of the story!
Posted by: Judi | Saturday, January 19, 2019 at 04:12 PM
Quelle chance de faire la connaissance d' une nouvelle amie avec votre maman et maintenant me!
Posted by: Jan Hersh | Sunday, January 20, 2019 at 01:12 AM
Lovely as always. You transported me there.
Posted by: suzanne | Sunday, January 27, 2019 at 03:51 PM