Breakfast at Oscar's

"How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being."

--- Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 - 1900)

It wasn't until I came to Paris that I ever bothered to appreciate the wisdom, frankness, and humor of Oscar Wilde's take on things.  Last week my friends and I re-watched the film "Paris, je t'aime," which has short films telling love stories set in various parts of Paris. For those of you who haven't seen it, the 5-minute film set in Père Lachaise cemetary, which talks about Oscar Wilde, can be viewed here (although I'd highly recommend watching the whole film if you haven't).  After watching it, I was inspired to take a closer look at some of what Oscar had to say, and was surprised I'd so thoroughly overlooked him until now.  To think that someone who lived over a century ago could describe so accurately my own thoughts and feelings is pretty amazing...and really worth reflecting on.

Everything he said is still so relevant! One of his famous quotations, for example, describes perfectly the theme of the classic film When Harry Met Sally: "Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship."  Even in instances when I do disagree with him, I can definitely still see where he's coming from.

In admiration of Oscar Wilde, Sydney and I decided to take a leaf out of Breakfast at Tiffany's, the famous quotation that gives the movie it's name: "Well, when I get it [that feeling] the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!"

Saturday morning, we woke up early and bought churros (a type of Spanish donut we'd been introduced to in Barcelona), and headed to Père Lachaise cemetary, which is within easy walking distance from our foyer. We strolled through the cemetary, soaking up the serene atmposhere, and holding our churros, which wafted a sweet, sugary scent that brought back fond memories of Barcelona, until we came to Oscar Wilde's grave.  There, we took a seat just behind it, and ate our churros while pondering various Oscar Wilde quotes, telling stories and catching up from the week, listening to birds announcing spring's arrival, and enjoying a rare moment of quiet that's hard to find in Paris. It was the most peaceful breakfast I'd had in months.
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That afternoon, on what ended up being the perfect Saturday, Sydney and Dan and I all went for a picnic by the Eiffel Tower. Sunny, in the 70s, great friends, baguette, wine and cheese...what more could you ask for?