Winter wedding in Paris

The happy couple
Originally uploaded by joellaflickr.

The bride was radiant in cherry red, and the groom wore grass green. What cool friends I have.

Other highlights of the weekend included following F (leader of Team Bellybutton, which constituted us, him and his small children) from the Eurostar to the hotel via the Centre Pompidou and the Restaurant Chartier; walking from E&W's flat to the Mairie in the 14th Arondissement with the wedding party (in fact we were one big wedding party); profiteroles and champagne for lunch while discussing Chinese neocolonialism in Africa with the splendidly elegant V; eating takeaway quiche (how v French) in the late afternoon stretched across a hotel bed with A drinking plonk out of toothglasses; listening to E&W's gorgeous opera singer friend singing songs of Lurve late at night in their flat with a tiny view of the Eiffel Tower if you stand on the right bit of the balcony... and walking back to the hotel in the early hours singing Billy Bragg songs for the non-delectation of the neighbours.

Sunday was quite grim thanks to all the above, with the exception of finding a bus to take us to the Gare du Nord so we could a) avoid the Metro with hangovers and b) see the Seine and other splendid sights in the beautiful benign winter sunshine. We also got a lovely bowl of buttery pasta and glass of vin rouge from C&F on return to Oxford.

I feel like a hungover fat dobber (carrying on last weekend's theme), but what a great way to end up with that feeling. What swell parties they both were.

joella