NBC, Pastries and Wine, oh My!
When you wake up in Paris, you don't expect your old job to meet you in the morning in your favorite patisserie, but that's exactly what happened as we started this day before the last day of 2025. John and I got to the corner bakery and there was some unusual activity going on inside. We figured, since the place has been remodeled, it must be corporate filming a video. Then I heard a voice I recognized and I was unexpectedaly brought back to my days at 30 Rock. It was Kier Simmons, the English journalist who is the chief international correspondent for Today! I said hello and when he found out we were from the States he asked if he could interview us. He was doing a story on our particular patisserie's remodel and the changes of attitude towards Paris bakeries in the age of Ozempic.
"You're fit young men," he said. "How do you feel about this? What brings you back to Paris?"
"We don't pay any attention to calories," John said. "We eat, we walk and then we eat some more."
Overall, we had about a ten minute conversation with him and we were so caught up with the attention that we forgot to get a selfie. It was a good lesson in always looking your best in Paris - one never knows who you'll meet in your local patisserie over a pane au chocolate.
Nothing really topped that exciting start to the day, except for the fact that it was thrilling to be spending another morning in Paris. Again, with no agenda, we wandered our favorite parts of the city - on a simple quest to get John a panini and myself a crepe. Mission accomplished for me, but unfortunately, John was not thrilled with his food. Maybe it looked too much like a wheat pancake for him? I didn't ask and just finished his for him. Strike one.
Strike two happened a few hours later when we looked for a charming street that we had dinner with our friend Sue and her husband this summer. After I led him in the right direction - (you're welcome) - the restaurant we were going to enter had too many people in line so we turned to leave and went inside the restaurant we had dinner this summer. Since one of the restaurants on the street is featured in Emily in Paris, watching the tourist group armed with a guidebook prominently displaying the show was hysterical. It helped lighten the mood, since there was - in my mind - one strike left to round out the culinary adventures of the day.
There was really no ah-had moments today. It was one of the most low-key days we've spent. If anything, I had my moments where I had to stop and take in my surroundings. As we walked back to our hotel to get ready for the ballet tonight, we noticed that the city has become more crowded. It seems people are arriving for the New Year's celebrations. We don't really know what to expect tomorrow, but for sure, we'll stick close to our part of town.
Overall, the musings for today are very slim. With a performance of the Paris ballet an awe-inspiring event, we finished the night at a wine bar near the Louvre and then a late night pizza (and more wine) in
The Marais. We've traversed the city up and down, on foot and underground and we still have so much to see and do. Tomorrow is the last day of the year, and one thing for sure is that there won't be anything NBC related happens But for sure there will be pastries and wine and oh my - who knows what else to go along with the musings of a married man.