"Lunch in Paris" by Elizabeth Bard

What a great book this is, but I am biased as I love reading about people living in places that I dream of living in. I was engrossed in Elizabeth’s story from start to end. I laughed, I was sad, I got lost in her descriptions of the places, the people, and particularly the food of her Paris, the one that the tourist rarely sees. To complement the story, the recipes of some of the dishes that Elizabeth talks about, are scattered throughout. You can see by the picture opposite that I’ve already made the delicious “Chicken and Sweet Pepper Stew” featured on page 51.

Like any good love story, it starts with the meeting of two people, Elizabeth, an American living in London, meets a good looking Frenchman, Gwendal, on the stairs at an academic conference in London. As someone who has conducted a long distance relationship with my husband in the early days of our relationship, I could relate to Elizabeth’s descriptions of her weekends with Gwendal, where she saw Paris through the eyes of someone just visiting without the challenges of actually living there. The fact that Elizabeth doesn’t speak very much French is not a problem when the only person she talks to is Gwendal and his English is fine, the student flat that Gwendal lives in is quaint rather than freezing, and when they venture out, there are museums and galleries to visit, the food markets, boutiques and tearooms in the Passage Vivienne to explore. But after moving in with Gwendal five months later, the realities of living in a country where you don’t speak the language, where the social norms are so different, and there is no job on the horizon sink in.

I appreciated the honesty that Elizabeth brings to her story. I could feel her spirits, high on the euphoria of love, slowing slipping with each passing chapter as she deals with the challenges of everyday living in a strange city. Social situations are headache inducing when you don’t know the language and everyone else has known each other from childhood. In monetary matters, Gwendel and Elizabeth’s differing attitudes to debt become apparent when they want to buy an apartment. As Elizabeth writes – “debt, it turns out, is not universal. As hard as this is for Americans to believe, most of the world does not live life off of borrowed money. Most French people do not possess a credit card as we know it”.

Writers at the Convent - #1 Paris

I had a lovely afternoon on Saturday listening to a range of people talk about the books they had written.  I realised how much I like knowing what was in the author's head when they were writing the book or getting a feel for the type of person the author is.  It was the first time I had been to Melbourne's Abbotsford Convent and the surroundings are beautiful.  There are a few places to eat with umbrellas and tables outside and I was greatly tempted at 5 p.m. to sit down and order a glass of wine, open up one of the books I had bought and take in the view - but my husband and I are having an alcohol free month for February after the excesses of Christmas holiday period. Never mind, maybe next time.

My first session was with Shannon Bennett and Elizabeth Bard featuring food and Paris.  Shannon's book, "Shannon Bennett's Paris" is a mine of information about dining, accommodation, and foodie places to go in Paris, with a focus on Michelin starred restaurants, luxury accommodation, markets, bistros, and patisseries for the sweet treat.  For those of us not contemplating a trip in the near future, there are Parisian recipes to try at home.  Now you might think that you will never dine at a Michelin starred restaurant, but many of the empty nesters in the audience had not only dined at Shannon's Vue de Monde restaurant in Melbourne, but were looking for tips as to where to go in Paris for a similar experience.  Shannon made the comment that with the advent of celebrity chefs and sophisticated cooking shows on TV, we have become more aware of fine dining as a source of entertainment, not just food and thus are prepared to spend more when we go out.  He impressed the audience to think of going to a restaurant in Paris as going to the theatre, where the surroundings and the presentation of the meal at the table are as important as the food.

Writers at the Convent

On Friday I gave myself an early Valentine's Day present - I booked myself some sessions at the "Writer's at the Convent Festival" which is put on by Readers Feast, a bookshop in Melbourne city.  I'm sure my lovely husband would have done it for me if he knew about it, but as he didn't, I decided to take the initiative and do it for him!  This is an annual event, which runs from the evening of Friday 12th February this year until Sunday 14th.  From the media press release:

This year’s Reader’s Feast ◊ Writers at the Convent, Melbourne’s summer celebration of reading, writing, books and ideas will feature the now traditional diverse range of topics, including a look at when Melbourne was Australia's capital, the passion of football supporters, parenting, Jewish emancipation, parlour games, Weary Dunlop, Paris, sex, food, fire, crime and economics. Writers from the US, UK and New Zealand will join local luminaries.

I'll hear from Shannon Bennett and Elizabeth Bard on Paris, the subject of their books Shannon Bennett's Paris, and Lunch in Paris respectively.  Paris is a place I have visited twice under different circumstances, the first time with my husband as a young married couple where we did all those adult things such as sitting at an outside table in a cafe in Montmartre with a glass of beer watching the artists in the square, and dining at a small restaurant and laughing over trying to understand the menu with my limited french.  The second time with children, the the highlights were the Eiffel Tower, the merry go round at the base of the hill to the Sacre Coeur, the children's science museum, and, of course, Euro Disney.  I think I will enjoy hearing Shannon and Elizabeth's views of this legendary city.