Fin.

A day of possibilities, many of them unfulfilled, others overflowing with unexpected delight. We could have gotten up early and done another circuit on the hop-on-hop-off bus, but instead enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the hotel with 2 other travelers. After that, we walked to the Moulin Rouge, which was really quite close, so we know where to go next time. (We'd tentatively planned to go there the night before, but were having such a nice time with David and Fatimata that we skipped it.) Just up the street -- I mean, really, within a block or so -- was Cafe des Doux Moulins: one of the holy grails of Amélie fan sites. The inside was a bit different -- no tobacconist stand, for example -- but it was still magical!

We met Pierre and his friend, Noreen, there. I'd discovered a posting of Pierre's online and arranged to meet up for coffee and chat. Noreen is Irish and, with Armelle having lived in Ireland for 7-1/2 years, we figured there would be something to chat about. ;) Turns out Pierre is a professional tour guide, so next time I go I know just who to ask for tips! (And David works at one of the train stations, so he can tell me how to get around, woo!) Sadly, we both forgot to take pictures of Pierre and Noreen. Armelle did manage to snap some good interior shots of the cafe, however.

Later we planned to meet Fred and his wife (remember Fred, the evil robot from Mt. Etna last summer?) for lunch and coffee -- so much coffee! -- at one of Jean-Paul Hévin's chocolate shops (http://www.jphevin.com/content.php?lang=en&id_article=13). We checked the website, got directions, made our way down there and... it was closed! We utterly failed to notice that the site said closed on Sundays, drat!

We quickly called Fred and let him know we'd be next door at a fancy, schmancy restaurant eating fancy, schmancy French food. The place, however, had an Italian name, and ended up being quite international. I asked Armelle to check the menu for anything really, truly FRENCH so all was not lost!

As previously agreed, we had escargot, to compare it to the fare at Café Claude in San Francisco. It came prepared differently (for some odd reason it was engulfed in pastry in San Fran) but with a similar set of seasonings. A bit salty, as Armelle pointed out, and a bit heavy on the basil. But still quite good and lots of fun to eat, lol.

We ate a LOT and had some good Bordeaux wine, then had more coffee when Fred arrived. Alas, he was sans wife, as she was not feeling well. The good news, however, is that the reason she is not feeling well is that Fred is going to be a daddy! (Oh, no! It's like Battlestar Galactica -- the Cylons can breed with the humans now!)

It was so very, very good to see Fred again. There is a slight possibility that he and his wife will come to Florence in February. If so, I hope to go see them!

Yay for Paris! Yay for food! Yay for amazingly sweet people! :D