A Bit of Parisian Advice

On one of our last days in Paris, we made the long walk back to our favorite little cheese shop, Fromagerie Quatrehomme, to pick up some goodies for the next few days.  As we walked home towards our apartment, we conveniently passed by Le Bon Marché (both a department store and culinary wonderland), and so I suggested to Ryan that we stop in for one last look around.

In typical fashion, we spent way too much time perusing all of the foodie areas – and so by the time we made it downstairs to the wine department, we only had a few minutes before we needed to head home and change for our dinner reservation.

le bon marché was already completely decked out for the holidays

Unfortunately we would have loved to have had the extra time, because the wine department was hosting a beautiful (and free) tasting event.  But even with only a few minutes, we decided to make the most of our time and taste what we could.

Just as our first taste was being poured, the French couple next to us (who also happened to speak perfect English) started chatting with us about our work and travels.  But after a few minutes, Ryan and I both gave each other looks, suggesting, “it’s probably time for us to go.”

So we explained to the couple that we needed to politely excuse ourselves in order to make our dinner reservation, but that we had a wonderful time talking with them.  To our surprise, the gentleman looked over at us with a perplexed expression, and then very kindly said, “If you do not have time to enjoy wine, you do not have time to enjoy life.”  We both looked at each other and chuckled – he was spot on. 

It was just two days later that we were enjoying our final picnic along the Seine River, when I turned to Ryan and asked him, “Would you like any more wine before we leave?”  And very fittingly, he smiled and responded, “Of course.  If I don’t have time to enjoy wine, then I don’t have time to enjoy life.”