Meeting up with Kathy Murnane in the City of Light

After months of knowing that our paths would overlap in Paris, Kathy and I got the opportunity to meet up today.

We’ve been texting since she arrived last Saturday. She’s on an amazing trip with four of her college besties. They are staying in a palatial apartment right across the street from the Tuileries Garden. They can see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night from their windows. They have prime real estate.

Josh and I met Kathy at Au Pied de Cochon (With a Pig’s Foot), a brasserie in the 1st arrondissement, Les Halles. The place is known for being open 24/7 and attracts Parisiennes and tourists alike.

 We sat outside on a lovely patio and ordered champagne, iced tea, and a Negroni. For lunch, we shared oysters, bread and butter, and a green bean salad. I had my first French Onion soup (ever), and Josh had a dish called Stuffed Pig’s Trotter, Perigord style, which is a deboned pig’s foot stuffed with regional specialties. He enjoyed it.

It’s been warm here, close to 74 F, so eating outside is still preferable. However, the interior of the restaurant was gorgeous, and if we had known ahead of time we might have opted to sit indoors. It had art deco decor with lamps and mirrors everywhere. There was a winding spiral staircase that went up four stories- all floors were dining rooms.

It was hard to say good-bye, but adventure beckoned.  She and her friends were off to the Rodin Museum. Josh and I walked a few blocks to 59 Rivoli, a building with 30 artists in residence, making and selling art and giving workshops.