Day 17 - Montesson, France

After Deanna taxied to Charles de Gaulle Airport, I hopped on the metro and spent the day with Vicki and Joseph and family. Joseph and Vicki prepared Beef Wellington which was quite spectacular along with delicious hors d'oeuvres and dessert. The wine was extra special--I spotted a wooden box on the kitchen table and asked Joseph if the wine came in that box. Yes it did! The wines here are taken pretty seriously and selected precisely for the occasion. There were several other guests today (all English speaking) and we ladies decided to look into a wine tasting class. Sounds like a great idea while in France, oui?

The afternoon surprise was a visit by a friend who I haven't seen in 25 years--Andre de Bausset. Andre lived with me for the summer at my condo in Glendale. His father was one of my international visitors when I worked as a Program Officer for the Los Angeles Council for International Visitors. After returning to France, the father called and asked if I might know of an internship for his son. And I did! Vicki was working at Southern California Edison at the time and she told me about the internships available there. So between the two of us, we helped Andre get his foot in the door at Southern California Edison and with his outstanding schooling and dual citizenship, he landed the job.

I am spending at night at Vicki and Joseph's home. We are going to the airport early tomorrow to pick up Marti and Darlene, my two girlfriends from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. They were willing to carry some items that Vicki ordered in the States so Vicki wanted to return the kindness by greeting them at the airport and driving them to the apartment. This is a real treat, believe me!

Tonight I'm hoping that Vicki and I can watch This Is It, the Michael Jackson DVD that I brought with me.

I'll add pictures tomorrow and also tell you about my cooking class at Ritz Paris and my visit to the Pompidou Center.

With warm and tender thoughts of all of you who are reading this blog!

Judy