“Paris is always a good idea.” -Audrey Hepburn
I’m a sweet tea drinking southern gal, but my inner self—the private me responsible for the nudging of fingers across keyboard—longs for the opportunity to sip red wine at an outdoor café in the heart of Paris, France.
I’ve never been, but I took an extra-curricular French language class in the fifth grade, and I’ve been quietly longing to be kissed at the Eiffel Tower ever since.
My home is filled with French Country décor à la Charles Faudree. I have the National Geographic Fotopedia apps for Paris and France on my iPad. My favorite novel is Chocolat by Joanne Harris. (It’s one of the few fiction titles I’ve been able to read more than once, and my copy is autographed by the author herself.) My high school graduation gift was a framed and matted 8×10 photograph of the Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris, France; a photo captured before the 1990 fire and following renovation.
It hangs above my writing desk.
For various reasons, I’ve kept the degree of my “Francophilia” mostly private. For one, I’m a reluctant traveler—mainly due to my fear of flying—and explaining my Parisian desires to those who are well aware of my phobic tendencies isn’t something I care to do. The list goes on, but the main culprit for my previous lack of sharing remains my not wanting to hear that a future trip to Paris is unlikely to ever occur.
Needless to say, when I saw the @BookEndBabes tweet congratulating author Karen A. Chase for winning a Silver Medal for best non-fiction travel essay in the eLit Awards for her memoir Bonjour 40, well, I knew I had to read it… so I did. An armchair adventure delight, Bonjour 40 is a title I will revisit and relish until the day comes when I’m finally able to pen my own Paris travel journal.
Love, love, loved it!
If Karen A. Chase absolutely had to turn 40, she decided she could do it gracefully in Paris… for nearly 40 days. What began as a blog to communicate with friends and family became a travel journal filled with over a months’ worth of daily details of her Paris adventures, each of which could be read in about 40 seconds. Peppered with Karen’s own photographs, she also weaves in longer stories that reflect upon her experiences with Parisians, travel, food, photography, writing, and love in the City of Lights.
I know. I was a tad bit jealous since she went to Paris on her 40th birthday, but my new plan is go for my husband and my 20th wedding anniversary in 2 years.
I’m not going anywhere until the bar comes out of oldest’s chest, and by then I will have cars and college to fund. I need to win the lotto!
I’ll write you a check and you can bring me back something special.
Heather, what a doll you are to write about your armchair travel with my book, Bonjour 40! I can’t wait until you can “pen” your own travel journal, and I know that you will absolutely love every minute, book and binding in Shakespeare & Co. It is worth every hour of the plane ride (and any pill or hypnosis technique you may need to get to get across the ocean). It is a place where Francophiles and book lovers fall in love with Paris and writing all over again. Melena, what a magical place to be for your 20th. Sigh… How can we get Heather there sooner than later?
[...] received an oh-so-lovely review of Bonjour 40 from a fun blog called Book End Babes. In “Confessions of a Closet Francophile,” Heather Dearly admits her unending desire for Paris, and chats about her armchair review of [...]
I have always been an Anglophile. Dreamed of standing outside the Tower of London and gazing at the Traitor’s Gate, seeing Windsor Castle, and visiting the British Museum. (Which I was lucky enough to do as an adult.) My daughter, who is now 21, took an intercession course in her elementary’s continuous learning calendar about France. She was hooked. French lessons all the way through high school and college. When she was sixteen, we went to Paris. I have to say, visiting the Louvre was a transcendental experience. I loved Paris so much. We even took a side trip to see Versailles. I am now firmly a Francophile as well. Heather, even with travel issues, you should try to go someday. It will live up to your expectations. Honestly, a trip to Paris would probably exceed even your imagination–especially if you can get some handsome guy to kiss you under the Eiffel Tower.
Heather, I loved this. I share your fascination and love of France. This goes on my list.