Around my Paris kitchen

A little room with a big view

Bonjour! Bonjour!

I’ve waited a long time to be able to greet friends this way. It was exactly 500 days between the time my husband, Michael, and I closed the door to our Paris apartment, thinking we’d be back in a few weeks, and the time we finally turned the key in the door again. And yes, I cried when I did. But then, I cried when the plane took off from New York, when it landed in Paris and when the taxi into town made a turn and I saw my neighborhood café, Les Editeurs, the one I’m writing to you from now.

I’m still feeling my way around the city, seeing friends and finding out what a just reopened Paris looks like. Mostly it looks joyous! The outdoor terraces that Paris is known for are full and in full swing. Pass by and you hear the clink of ice in glasses, the sound of forks and knives tapping against plates and the lively music of a French conversation. You see couples leaning across the table to whisper and people sitting back, enjoying the sun, friendship and their freedom –…