PARIS HOME

In 1999, Peter’s mother Karen called Peter when we were living on Bainbridge Island. “We are buying an apartment in Paris” …………..Excuse me? replied Peter after a pregnant pause. Was she divorcing his father after forty years??? Had her French roots gotten the best of her?? Was she going through a mid life crisis and needed an adventure? Fortunately Peter was wrong on all accounts! It turned out that Peter’s brother Mike had a business partner, John Tiernan and wife Kim, who had lived in Paris and was looking for partners to share an apartment. Uninterested himself, Mike invited his parents to talk to them, and for more than a dozen years it became a dream come true for all of them. Karen and Stan would travel there for 3 weeks at a time, usually three times a year, for many years. They would go alone, but often hosted guests, family, or go on excursions. (My parents were their first guests!) Mostly though, they loved leaning into a Parisian lifestyle: Coffee and baguette from a local bakery, walking different neighborhoods all day long, stopping at a street side cafe for lunch and a bottle of wine. Wander past their local outdoor market for a roasted chicken and vegetables for a light dinner in, and repeat it all the next day. We were able to visit a few special times and they hosted almost all of their 12 grandchildren for incredibly special memorable trips. The apartment was special in that it was in a slim old building - with big bright windows and light on both sides. It was situated within a spacious private courtyard so was a peaceful little oasis on a bustling Rue des Ternes in the 17th Arrondissement just down from the Arc du Triumph. The courtyard smelled like a bottle of perfume from all of the old growth. What an incredibly special experience. Kim and John own the apartment still today.