This past July I received an email from a writer
friend in Australia announcing that she will be
coming to Paris next month. So I arranged a
luncheon meeting with two other friends for her at
a brasserie in Montmarte. We have had a good
lunch, as we spent nearly three hours talking and
reminding ourselves of our first meeting--it was a
year and a half ago at Bercy Village in the
12th arrondissement. And after that
lunch, we took a walk down the streets and visited
some shops before heading towards the windmill on
the hill at the end of the road. There we found an
upscale restaurant attached to the windmill and
recalled it as a place where high-society Parisians
used to organize dinners and dances.
Next we visited the plaza
at Sacre Coeur, where artists exhibit their
wears while musicians and performers entertain. The
small streets were crowded with tourists, artists,
gift shops and restaurants. The atmosphere was
artistic and colorful and we took several photos
before heading back down the hill to assorted
discount for fabric and interior shops below. We
ended our adventure at the "Anvers" metro
station, where after a few well-placed kisses; I
was on my way home. I smiled the whole ride as I
thought about how we had all met each other quite
casually and quite sincerely…on the
internet.
Another significant internet friendship is Marina, who I met two
years ago through this website. She had contacted
me after living in Paris for six months and asked
if we meet for lunch. (Lunch is the great
equalizer in Paris, in case you haven't
noticed.) We met at a lovely restaurant in the Marais, where I learned that Marina was a Russian freshly married to a Frenchman.
Their love story started in Moscow. She met
her husband through a contact at work who asked
Marina to show the visiting Frenchman around the
city. It was like a "coup de foudre" Marina says
and they both fell in love. Soon afterwards, she
moved to Paris. "No regrets, we are happy!"
she assured me at the time and she was right. We
have since become close friends. Our families often
eat dinner together, and we enjoy each other's
company tremendously.
The internet is not a myth. People can meet and forge genuine
relationships, if their initial contact is genuine. At Paris Woman Journal we stress this in our
forums section, where we urge people to make
contact with one another and see what happens. Traffic in the forum is slow. Our readers
are primarily women with very busy lives. We have
careers, children and husbands. That doesn't leave
much time for emailing. But if the connection is
made, it can lead to some very satisfying
results.
Take my friend Margaret, for instance. (All my friend's names start with
"M". Is it a Paris thing? Hmmm). I also met
Margaret through this website. She's done an
extensive search on the internet for websites about
Paris and through continual correspondence, we have
become friends. Margaret is a writer and has a book
coming out in February 2005 about her life. She
writes extensively about the phenomenon of internet
relationships.
Love Me Paris...
