When Americans and French put their spirit and spirits together to celebrate the best of our countries' long-entwined friendship, the results are formidable. Tonight the American Chamber of Commerce, the French-American Foundation and the American Club in Paris combined forces -- and guest lists -- to fête Independence Day à l'américaine at the Marriott Rive Gauche in the 14e arrondissement.Champagne flowed. Très français.
Mini-"Big Macs" were a touching nod to American culture,
as were the other all-American dishes such as ribs and Southern barbecue served up in tiny hors-d'oeuvre-sized portions. Forgive my gushing, but they were just plain cute!
U.S. Ambassador Craig Stapleton gave a brief but encouraging talk. As I was holding a champagne flute instead of a pen, I don't have notes or (ahem) a good enough bubbly-induced memory to quote the specifics. So sue me because I was having fun. Suffice it to say that his speech was very upbeat, and we can look forward to continually strengthening relations -- especially business relations -- between France and the U.S.
And that's good news for everyone, in my world.
No comments:
Post a Comment