Our delightful guest from Paris, American expat Terrance Gelenter, came to Minneapolis this past weekend — or rather, I should say — came, saw and conquered. We had eight or more events in three weekend days, enthusiastic audiences at all events, loving to hear all about Terrance and his life in Paris. Appearances at Magers & Quinn bookstore, the Alliance Francaise, a pop-in at Espresso Royale’s French-speaking group and on and on. Standout events were Saturday morning at Temple Israel — a crowd of 75 asked many serious and cogent questions about Terrance’s Jewish life in Paris; and then we had another sell-out Mill City Commons crowd at Madeline B’s gorgeous condo atop the Towers overlooking the Mississippi on Sunday afternoon — about 45 enthusiasts showed up for the reading and chat, plus delicious wine and treats from Elite Epicurean caterers. Saturday evening’s reception at French boutique C’est Chic in the Warehouse District was elegant and fun. Many thanks to Pam S. for hosting — be sure and stop into her shop to pick up something divinely French!
Terrance on the Stone Arch Bridge in Mpls
Sunday night we had another enthusiastic crowd of 40 or so at the Nicollet Island Inn where Terrance charmed us with his romantic renditions — everything from “What Kind of Fool Am I” to “Over the Rainbow.” And folks followed us from event to event — showing up again and again.
The whole thing was ‘tres chic’ and fun for both Barbara Redmond and myself — we just decided to host Terrance, cobbled together all sorts of FF miles and other donations to bring him here. He and we truly loved every minute.
We are recovering, but we would do it again in a heartbeat.
Other links: paris-expat.com; Terrance’s wonderful online site and blog; awomansparis.com; Barbara Redmond’s singularly special blog about Paris.