My friend Ali Zeitoun is Egyptian. He speaks Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish and English. When he is not traveling the globe he lives near Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has a friend he met in the forest lands of Brazil who moved to Paris about a year ago to marry a Parisian. Ayna speaks Portuguese. Ali arranged a meeting via Facebook between Ayna and her husband and me and Hugh by translating Portuguese to English and back again! When we met José, Ayna, and her son (also named José) we communicated in French! Fortunately for us José Sr. was very patient and able to explain carefully and slowly so that we could understand! Merci beaucoup José, Ayna and José for a wonderful day. They took us to the famous Rue Moufftarde and treated us to the best crèpe in Paris. Then we walked to the nearby Grande Mosquée de Paris, founded in 1926 as a token of gratitude to the Muslin tirailleurs, 100,000 of whom died in WWI defending against the Germans. Next we were taken to a tea room for hot sweet mint tea and delicious pastries. Our final destination was the famous Les Arènes de Lutèce, an ancient Roman arena where gladiators fought in the 1st century AD.
love Rue Muffetard!!