TRAVEL
BIRTHDAY IN PARIS (III): Meeting Plato for Breakfast...
by Sabah el Fizazi
June 26th, 2024
It was a June morning in PARIS. I opened the curtains and looked OUT of the rectangular window. Some days in June CAN BE described as sunny, warm, and INVITING for outdoor adventures. This day was GREY, cloudy, RAINY, and uninviting. I knew straightaway that “Plan Versailles” (or Plan V, as I liked to call it) was going to be NO FUN. When I planned the cycle trip to VERSAILLES, I imagined the sun shining and me in a FLOWERY dress having a picnic in the GARDENS of Versailles. THE WEATHER ruined my FANTASY. Luckily, I always have a plan B!
So I decided to have a BIRTHDAY breakfast at Mokonuts, a little place that is always FULLY BOOKED for lunch and dinner. The only time you didn’t have to book was for breakfast. So, with the rain keeping the Parisians AWAY, I found myself the ONLY customer when I arrived early in the MORNING. I grabbed a table in the CORNER by the window and admired the room with its WOODEN tables, matching chairs, white STONE walls, and an earthy-tone mosaic-tiled FLOOR that reminded me of GAUDI’S designs.
“LUCKILY, I ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN B!”
The owner, Moko, brought me my CAPPUCINO, and I ordered toast with a fried egg and a PESTO salad. As I enjoyed this YUMMIE food, another customer sat at a table opposite me. We SMILED politely at each other. I overheard him telling Moko that he wanted to come because he had read about Mokonuts in an American magazine. Moko is SO down-to-earth that she didn’t even know she had been FEATURED in an American magazine. So the guy went on to tell Moko that he had almost canceled his breakfast because of THE RAIN.
It was like hearing MY OWN STORY. And when I told him that I had had the same morning as he had, we began to chat like OLD friends. As he ate the focacia with zaatar, we talked about our roots, home countries, and PALESTINE. We were both from AFRICA, lived in an urban environment, and had Palestinian FRIENDS.
“WE WERE BOTH FROM AFRICA, LIVED IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT, AND HAD PALESTINIAN FRIENDS.”
We came full circle when he told me he was FROM New York, was coming to Paris for Fashion Week, and worked in marketing. I almost screamed that MY SISTER had just moved to New York to fulfill her DREAM and that she might need MARKETING advice. I took a last BITE of my pesto toast and sent my sister a message. She was recovering from JET LAG and responded QUICKLY and positively to my idea of meeting this guy when HE returned to New York. We talked about food in the United States compared to Parisian food. He told me that his French FRIENDS teased him because he was used to eating FAST. His friends taught him that lunch was a two-hour affair. I loved this early morning WORD PORN.
“HIS FRIENDS TAUGHT HIM THAT LUNCH WAS A TWO-HOUR AFFAIR.”
Finally, we shared our WORLDVIEWS and I told him that I considered everyone to be my extended FAMILY. And then he said the next phrase that I will carry with me into the NEW year: “The world is like a family. If you want to stay away, that’s fine, but I will always be here with OPEN ARMS.”
I thanked him for this MORNING; I forgot about Versailles; I had the most delicious breakfast with an AFRICAN PLATO as my company.