This post is dedicated to the memory of Didier (1942-2025), my friend’s beloved father, whom I’m glad I got to know. I will remember him as a kind, cordial, and friendly person, who extended a warm welcome to me while I stayed in a spare room in his home during my visit to France in 2018.

Place des Vosges: one of Didier’s favorites spots in Paris (photo taken in 2018)

While we were eating a delicious dinner he made one evening, he had mentioned how he liked to make his own jam. This led to us talking about fruits, specifically blueberries. He called them “myrtilles” and I referred to them as “bleuets” (as I had seen on the bilingual English-French labels of blueberry containers sold in California, where I live.)

Hilarity ensued as a French person and an overconfident American speaking French as a second language tried to convince the other they were correct. This playful exchange even inspired my post, “How Do You Say Blueberry in French? It Depends on the Region.” Good times.

I’m grateful we were able to gather around a table, chat, and enjoy good food once again in Paris this past June.

Merci, cher Didier, pour ces bons souvenirs ! 💐

[This post is based on my trip to Paris in June 2025]

On our second full day in Paris, my daughter and I took the Métro to Gare Montparnasse in the 14e arrondissement. There, we met up with our friends, their twin boys, and my friend’s father, Didier. We’d all kept in touch over the years, but hadn’t seen each other since 2018.

As if time had stood still, Didier was the same as I remembered: a soft-spoken yet strong figure, and quite a strider! (I thought I was a fast walker, but it was hard to match his pace at times!)

We all had lunch together at Café Bohème, a charming restaurant located in the Edgar Quinet theatre district. It had a lovely terrace and cozy indoor seating.

Everyone said they enjoyed their meals, which included steak tartare, salmon Caesar salad, fish and chips, and a chicken sandwich. Didier and I happened to order the same salad. The avocado salade niçoise tasted fresh and flavorful. The mesclun (young tender greens), avocado, cherry tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, hard boiled egg slices, tuna, anchovies, and black olives were beautifully arranged on the plate.

cherry tomatoes, black olives, green beans, sardines, sliced hard boiled eggs, tuna, potatoes, avocado slices on a bed of green lettuce
delicious avocado salade niçoise from Café Bohème

After lunch, we walked over to Gare Montparnasse, where Didier caught a train home while the rest of us explored Paris.

Gare Montparnasse
view of the Louvre from Palais-Royal Métro station
Palais-Royal
Colonnes de Buren
Les Sphérades sculpture by Pol Bury
fountain in the Jardin du Palais-Royal
French playwright, Molière lived here on 40 rue de Richelieu
statue of Molière at the Palais-Royal Theater
Café du Louvre terrace
Ministère de la Culture (Ministry of Culture)
Café Saint-Honoré – giant teddy bears caught my eye
customary Louvre Pyramid picking photo

It was nearly 80°F/ 27°C when we started to get thirsty and tired, so we sat down at the terrace of Café du Louvre in the 1er arrondissement and enjoyed some cold soft drinks and refreshing boules of ice cream.

une boule de glace vanille (a scoop of vanilla ice cream) from Café du Louvre

Alas, this brief ice cream break was bittersweet as our friends and their twin boys had to catch a flight home to southwestern France. I’m glad we were able to hang out that day in Paris and in Versailles the day before.

Related posts about my trip to Paris and Amsterdam (June 2025):

Wednesday Postcard: My Visit to Disneyland Paris

Where is the “Emily in Paris” Apartment?

Exploring the Van Gogh Museum During a Layover in Amsterdam

Thanks for reading Bonjour: A Francophile Blog!