Rendezvous

I said I would update more frequently, so here it is. Recently, my wife Elena and I went to the cozy French café I mentioned on the previous post. Since I'm learning French on my own, finding this café was quite an amazing discovery and I plan to practice what I learn with them. Yes, the owners, a husband and wife, are the real deal.

The last time we went, we were there for a wine tasting. The ambiance was welcoming, as always. The sound of melodic French music playing, the final lights of the day dissipating outside the door, the display of tasty delicacies and the usual, "Bonjour!" when entering. The café is owned by Loic (sounds like Louie) and Dorothée, husband and wife, but she was not there. Instead, there was a younger guy, who I'm assuming is family or a close friend. I will eventually find out.

Elena and I were seated in a long communal table, with four bottles of wine next to us. There was also a wine glass that showed evidence of being used recently. Apparently, our host had a wine tasting party of his own. We were there early, so we just sat there by ourselves, savoring the moment and exchanging small talk and big smiles. My wife looked beautiful, she looked radiant. I didn't mind waiting in such great company. After nearly a half hour, some people came in, two ladies. But they weren't there for the tasting. Elena and I had never been to a wine tasting before, at least not this private, so we were hoping for other people to show up to establish some rapport.

Not long after that, an elderly couple walked in. They were browsing the shelves, which are filled with all kinds of French products and art. I heard them speak Spanish and immediately told Elena, "those are my people," meaning that they were Cuban. They sat in front of us and slowly but surely, we sparked a conversation about Cuba, about how Elena and I met and all kinds of things. Funny thing is, turns out that this lady happens to know my boss! What a small world!

More "Bonjours," were said, when another couple came in. They were young. We briefly talked to them as well and discovered that they too had randomly found the café and that it had become a favorite place of theirs. They said they usually go once a week, which is what Elena and I decided to do. At this moment, the wine tasting commenced. There were four kinds of wines. One white, a Chardonnay and the rest were red, with the Bordeaux being the best. The elderly couple agreed with this assessment. Elena and I bought a lovely bottle of Chardonnay at the end of the evening. But before that happened, more people came in. First, two young girls came in and cordially greeted the owner, but decided to have their own private table. However, after our elderly friends left, these two girls joined the communal table. Later, a young guy came in, but he stood next to girls the whole time, declining to sit down. I found that a bit strange.

The atmosphere was jovial, but it got a bit louder not long after. A whole French family came in, or so I thought. A husband and wife, another lady, and two beautiful children, boy and girl. The little girl kept going about underneath the table, while the older boy, maybe 4, sat at the table listening to the different conversations that took place at the same time.  It turns out that the man that came in, speaking fluent French, was actually Cuban. When I asked where from, he said, "Marianao," in a very, very Cuban accent. It was awesome (Marianao is suburb of Havana).

I wanted to find out more about them, but I didn't want to look rude. I did find out that they met in a school near Paris when they were teenagers, but their families moved and they never saw each other until four years ago. Now, they are married and have a lovely family. Although Elena and I weren't sure if the children were from their union, they didn't look like them much.

We also had some delicious quiche as the night went on. It was a huge plate, but I felt like I ate most of it. It was very good and I was very hungry. Elena was really hungry too, so we decided to buy that bottle of Bordeaux and find a restaurant in the beautiful Miracle Mile area. It was a wonderful night and a great wine tasting experience.

As we walked out the door, I couldn't resist and I said, "Au revoir!" causing my beautiful wife to laugh, and then hand in hand, we strolled down the beautifully and irresistible streets of Coral Gables.