Sharing the passion: francophiles & French at elegant Paris soirée 26 July 2012 – MyFrenchLife.org

We loved the chic, modern with a touch of belle époque ambiance of L’Étage. Ranked by Le Figaro as No. 2 cocktail bar in Paris – located upstairs at Les Jalles restaurant in the 2ème, L’Étage was the perfect setting for our soirée.

We spoke with Ma Vie Française™ member Janet Hulstrand who was born and raised in Minnesota (USA), and has lived in New York and France. We interviewed Janet for our magazine a while ago; she has a special relationship with Paris, and meeting other francophiles is always a pleasure for her.

“I had the chance to meet so many other wonderful people in the room,” Janet said. “People who have a variety of different interests, professions, and nationalities, and who speak at least two different languages, but who all share a love of France and all things French.”

An adopted Parisian since 1974, originally from Sweden, Peter Olson was glad to share his blogging adventures other guests.

Mary Kay is always looking for new restaurants, exhibitions, and events to attend, so when she heard about our Paris soirée she was excited. She was keen to meet new people and share tips and advice with people from all around the globe.

“Isn’t it an amazing world? If you would have told me three years ago that I would be spending evenings with people I met online, I would have laughed,” she joked. Mary Kay is American by birth, Swiss by marriage and a current resident of Paris. On Mary Kay’s blog you will find an article about our soirée where you will get to meet a few more of our guests.

We also had a chat with New Zealander and photographer extraordinaire Steve Wells. We’re always happy to see Steve; he’s a ‘regular’ at our events in Paris and we interviewed him for our magazine some time back.

Longtime resident of Paris, Australian Expat, blogger and regular writer for Ma Vie Française™ magazine Rosemary Kneipp,  is already looking forward to our autumn Paris soirée . She was thrilled to catch up with fondatrice Judy MacMahon, and meet other members.

Jacqueline Edwards comes from the Alliance Française in Palmerston, North, New Zealand and just happened to be travelling through Paris at the time of our event. Jacqueline said “It was so nice to meet such lovely people here in Paris” … “Great ambiance, music, drinks: magnifique!”

Between chatting and sipping on ‘Ma Vie Française™ cocktails’, made especially for the evening, guests were enchanted by the performance of member and internationally acclaimed French chanteuse Caroline Nin. Following her reputation as a ‘modern day Dietrich‘, Caroline surprised our guests with a unique showcase of 1920’s jazz, cabaret and French chanson.

Mary Kay loved it, as did we all, and she expressed it best when she said “Her beautiful voice provided the entertainment for the evening … I had one of those ‘pinch me; I can’t believe I’m really here’ moments when she sang Edith Piaf’s ‘Padam’.

Our Parisienne hosts, Sylvie Veal and Marianne Lescure delighted in welcoming guests in French and English and making lots of introductions, as guests discovered the ‘French thread’ which connects them all.

The team at L’Étage was warm, friendly and professional. Owner Magali Marian as well as Franz and Théodore did everything possible to ensure we were all having a great time on a very warm, humid evening. We’ll be back for sure!

We’d love to see you at our autumn Paris soirée and invite you to join Ma Vie Francaise™ community to ensure you receive an invitation!

À la prochaine!