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This started out as a joke when someone said "let's visit Maroussia and cheer her up". Maroussia lives in Paris; think of her torture - all those wonderful Highlander locations on an almost daily basis, yet no Highlander on tv!
The idea was Sharon's at first. She and her husband Jami planned to be in Paris the weekend of 20th March, with their four year old daughter Niki. She suggested I join her. Maroussia thought this was a wonderful idea - and decided this was a 'mini-comvention' and announced it as such to the world, inviting anyone who wanted who could make it to join us.
Next to sign up was Helga from Berlin and my friend Margaret.
Helga, Margaret and I arrived in Paris on 17th March. Just before we left Scotland I was contacted by some US friends who were planning to be in Paris - completely coincidentialy - arriving 23rd March. Little did they know that when Maroussia says "Paris Mini-Con" she means Paris Mini-Con!!!!
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This is our hotel, the Hotel Mont Blanc, which is in the small but busy Rue de la Huchette, near Place Saint Michel.
We had the time of our lives. The weather was mostly kind to us, though the river had risen the week before and the quai-side was still flooded.
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Margaret and I arrived on Wednesday afternoon. Coming from the UK to France, Customs and Immigration was brief and easy - I think it took us about 5 minutes. Our luggage also arrived safely (I had hoped that my small bag would have qualified as cabin baggage, but had to check it into the hold after all.). Margaret had to be restrained from claiming the wrong suitcase - she says her cat sees her case more often than she does, so she didn't realise that it was green not blue ). :-) Finding our way into the city from the airport was a little more tricky. Maroussia had told us to take the RER (light railway that connects with the Paris Metro). It took us a while to work out that we had to get a shuttle bus (free) from the terminal we arrived in to the other terminal where the railway station was. However once we were there we found that the RER went all the way to Saint Michel near our hotel.
Helga Abendroth from Berlin (and alt.tv.highlander) had arrived earlier that day. That evening Maroussia met us and we went out to dinner in a lovely Tex-Mex restaurant that Marousia knows. (Chi-Chi's). Food was good, waiters rather attractive (big grin) and the cocktails strong enough to suit me.
For the next two days Helga, Margaret and I explored Paris. We visited the Highlander locations in and around the Latin Quarter - and I went SHOPPING! (note - Jette LIKES shopping. Jette likes shopping in Paris. Jette likes clothes shopping in Paris, which is not as expensive as one fears, if one goes with Maroussia).
On Saturday Sharon, her husband Jami and their daughter Niki arrived from the USA. Unlike Margaret and I, they found Customs and Immigration to be long, slow and tedious. (there are some advantages to a single market! *g*). Sharon does not like shopping. She was pleased to hear that I had already had this lust satisfied. (I still got some more shopping done when I was with her *g*)
Helga, Margaret and I had one or two 'Highlander moments' on our explorations. We had a 'Duncan' moment near the Louvre - one abandoned black glove on the roadway. (Helga brought it to our attention that Duncan seems to have a habit of collectng single gloves from people he has fought and friends he has lost) (including Richie Ryan)
Near the Louvre we also found what just HAD to be the 'convention T-shirt'. We spotted it in a gift shop near the river, a black t-shirt with the Eiffel Tower, surrounded by lightening. It was not meant to be a Highlander t-shirt, but we found it rather appropriate. So appropriate that we got a fit of the giggles. Our giggles attracted the attention of a lone American tourist, who wondered what was so funny about the t-shirt. After trying to explain it to him, we giggled some more - and bought three of the t-shirts. (I'm planning to get some fabric paint and put the date of our trip on it).
Before we left Scotland, some more US friends had contacted me, because they were due (by total chance) to be in Paris on Tuesday 23rd March (the day before Margaret and I were due to leave and the day Maroussia had designated as our 'convention'). These were internet friends - we had never met. We made arrangements to meet at Shakespeare and Company that afternoon and exchanged descriptions. So a little after 4pm Margaret and I met Foxy and Mimi from the Rysher Forum who had arrived in France earlier that day. (it turned out later that they were both rather jetlagged and lacking in sleep - but I think they enjoyed themselves anyway)
This had been intended just to be a gathering of fans, including the various Paris locals, but we had joked about it being a 'mini-convention'. Maroussia took this as a cue - and announced that the 'con' would take place in 'Le Galway', a lovely little Irish pub she had I had found on my first trip to Paris 18 months before. (Le Galway, 13 Quai des Grands Augustins, near Place Saint Michel). The bar had supplied us with a TV, VCR (which played SECAM, PAL, and even NTSC), a selection of chips and other nibbles and the entire upstairs room was at our disposal for the afternoon. Maroussia had even managed to get Guests of Honour!
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It was quite something when I walked into the bar, accompanied by Margaret, Mimi and Foxy, to find Maroussia seated there with a rather dishy gentleman, who was introduced to me as "Darius". He turned out to be Daniel Beretta, who dubs Darius's voice in the French versions of the show. When he later came up to join the gang in the upstairs room, he greeted the assembly with the announcement "I'm Darius - and I'm NOT dead!" :-)
Later we were joined by Pierre Dourlens, who dubs Duncan's voice in the French versions of the show. On an earlier visit to Paris I'd heard this and declared "Oh, I MUCH prefer that voice to Adrian's" (don't ask what I thought of Joe's - but Maroussia had the good sense not to invite him *g*). It was a pleasure to meet Pierre. He is charming and his English is good (though it is always useful to have someone as fluent in both languages as Maroussia to translate in moments of 'oh, where did my brain go?' *g*). We were just trying to work out who it was that Pierre reminded us of - and we had just decided on 'Jean Luc Picard', when Pierre informed us that he has dubbed Patrick Stewart's voice for some movies (but not ST - in that, he dubs Benjamin Cisco).
Also present was Pierre Foury. Pierre is one of the special effects people responsible for the Quickenings in the Paris episodes of Highlander and Highlander:The Raven. He was a little surprised to be invited to this, and a little shy and unsure at first, since his job is not usually regarded as *important* (yeah? in HL? *g*). Pierre doesn't speak much English, but Maroussia did her 'simultanious translation' bit for him. (I hate that woman - she's TOO talented!)
Later that evening we all trooped along to Le Paradis du Fruits, a restuarant near the pub which serves excellent food based on fruit and vegetables (ideal for vegetarians if you're in Paris and looking, though they do serve some meat too)- salads, fruit juices, cocktails, desserts. (fruit juice? request the fruit of your choice and they juice it for you there and then. strawberry and banana makes an excellent combination)
And that was the end of the evening (more or less). Just a few more pictures, added at random below.
