Do you remember exactly what you were doing when the earthquake hit on Feb. 28, 2001, in Seattle? A few of us were planning our first meeting of a new Magnolia/Queen Anne book reading group.
Despite the major "shake-up," the group met, made introductions, discussed the earthquake, talked about our first book selection (How to Make an American Quilt by Whitney Otto) and chose a new novel and meeting place for the next month.
The book group was started by Pat Ranieri and Trish Nicola via a note posted at Magnolia's Bookstore. Those who gathered that evening were either friends, neighbors or friends of friends of Pat and Trish-half from Queen Anne and the other half from Magnolia; ages range from 40ish to 60ish.
Members take turns choosing a book for the month and hosting the gathering. We enjoy dessert and wine while discussing the selected book.
In our six years together we have had a steady group of between nine and 12 members. Two years ago Pat announced she was retiring as a real estate agent and moving to Paris. We were sorry to see her go but extremely envious.
Pat stays in touch with the group via email and yearly summer trips to Seattle. After months of us repeating, "Wouldn't it be fun to have book club in Paris?" we started making serious plans when Pat made her first visit back to Seattle.
In spring 2006, six of our eight Seattle members-Trish Nicola, Betty Lucas, Kay Kuhns, Terry Magruder, Ruth Leers and Cathy McDonald-realized their dream of "April in Paris."
Pat put us in contact with Parisian Home, a company that rents out furnished apartments. We would find places that looked good on the Internet, and then Pat would check out the neighborhoods for us. About a month before we were due to arrive in Paris, the apartment we had rented was sold.
Back to the drawing board we went, ending up with a three-bedroom apartment on rue d'Argout, near the Les Halles and Montorgueil area in the Second Arrondissement.
It was the perfect location, with a pedestrian area that has lots of restaurants, bakeries, butcheries and many other types of stores. Possibly one of the best kept secrets in Paris, it was fashionable, friendly, brimming with street-side cafes and local market stalls.
While preparing for the trip we read and discussed The Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway, Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik, Almost French by Sarah Turnbull and French Toast by Harriet Welty Rochefort.
Six women in Paris together for nine days-what an adventure! It was the first time in Paris for two members of the group. With Pat as our guide, interpreter and companion, we experienced the major and minor sights, walked miles all over the city (pedometers tallying up more than 20,000 steps some days), absorbed art and architecture in museums and on the street, the farmers markets, learned the Metro system, went shopping, enjoyed people-watching from the sidewalk cafes, strolled down the Avenue des Champs-Elysees and had lots of laughs.
We sent silly post cards to Sue Cartier and Cheryl Walczyk, our two Seattle members who could not make the trip.
We took turns going to nearby Rue Montorgueil for our morning croissants and baguettes. For some, there were "sleepless in Paris" nights (usually Terry), or aching knees after a day's walking, but we would all rally and provide support for each other.
Food and Paris go hand in hand. We had wonderful meals, some in our apartment): delicious food picked up from the nearby markets-cheese, wine, bread and crudités and lovely desserts.
Memorable food included moules (mussels, wine, terrine (pate), rabbit, smoked duck and crepes eaten in small cafes patronized by the locals.
There was the occasional misinterpretation of the menu, such as getting veal kidneys instead of veal loin or smoked hamhock instead of pork, but all was good.
In addition to enjoying the local and reasonable wine, Pat arranged for all of us to go to the city of Reims via the train. Once there, we toured the Pommery Champagne House with the extensive limestone caves, as well as seeing the Reims Cathedral with its famous stained glass windows by Marc Chagall.
Misadventures? Nothing major, but some turnstiles out of the Metro would refuse to let someone through, rescuing Kay who was about to be trapped in a closing train door, and Trish could not get a taxi from the train station to the hotel where Terry, Kay, Betty and Ruth stayed the first weekend, so she walked all the way up to Montmarte.
We were also flexible when city-wide demonstrations caused closings on the days we planned to go to the Musee d'Orsay or the Opera House. Pat's knowledge of the city came in handy for a quick change of plans.
Oh, yes, we are a book club, and we did have a book discussion of Madame Bovary by Flaubert.
Cathy stayed a few extra days and ran in the Paris Marathon with Pat and Giovanni cheering her on. We were all sad to say au revoir to Paris, but it was a wonderful trip.
This article was submitted by the Magnolia/Queen Anne Book Group.[[In-content Ad]]
