Americans in Paris, Part II: French Like Me

The first American family we hung out with in Paris is one that we don't know well (I've met the dad a couple of times, state-side), but could shape up to become good friends of ours. T & T, and their sons T (11) & D (8), have returned home to the greater OKC area after about two years of living in Paris. Both parents speak good French and their kids, of course, are even better, thanks to their time in the French schools.

I knew we’d be in Paris together for about a week at the end of June, so was not completely surprised to receive an email inviting us to join in a picnic with them at Parc La Villette, which is happily not that far from us, and a vast, kid-friendly place. My kids were thrilled with the idea of a rather spontaneous night out (a Friday, when we would otherwise be out to dinner), and they do very much enjoy meeting new kids, so we picked up some sandwiches at the bakery across the street, packed up some other treats, and hopped on the métro. In due time, I received a “Nous sommes là!” text, which meant that Mr. T was there with a friend; his wife and kids had gotten caught up in the sales (the French have designated sale periods in July and January, more or less) and were to arrive a bit later.


But there was eating and drinking and merry-making, as the kids climbed up the Claus Oldenberg bicycle tire and got into some antics with locals over the vast quantity of fireworks they had with them. Once it got dark, we walked along the canal to a semi-secluded spot where their boys shot of fireworks out of an empty wine bottle, mainly over the canal. All the kids spoke French together and got along nicely, although we had to track down Thayer at one point as he had gone back to entertain himself at the playground area. Some random strangers even helped look for him!

A nearly French-only evening, conversation-wise (at least among the grown-ups), in spite of the Anglo native speakers! And a good time was had by all, although navigating through the Cité des Sciences after dark (and well after closing time) proved tricky and physically demanding. I had two cranky but happy children on the métro home. They will look forward to seeing this family again in the Fall; I will, too!