Paris déjà vu

Ah, what a turn of events for tonight. I started out the evening snoozing by the pool thinking I would nurse a glass of wine by myself at a wine bar I saw (they have FIRE PITS!!!). And I ended my night with new friends and plans for a girls' trip to Vegas in December. What????

Once I got my arse up from the pool chaise at my hotel, I shuffled outside and called Phil to see how our softball game went. Alas, GCOWA II got a reverse can of whoop ass. Phil asked me what I was up to, and I told him I was trying to find the cool wine bar Mandi and I walked by Tuesday night (and she recommended). I finally let him go because I knew I walked too far, and told him I would ask for directions.

I stopped outside a residential tower and started Googling when a woman came out with a stroller. Turns out it wasn't a baby, but 16-year-old Sammy, an old chihuahua soul who needed a little pampering. I asked the woman, Michelle, where I could find a wine bar with cool fire pits outside, and she exclaimed that she was on her way there and I should join her. Weird, and yay!

It gets better. When we got there, Michelle introduced me to her Serbian friend Ivana and then explained that because she is a wine club member, the three of us could all enjoy flights of wine for free (yesssssssssssssss). So we started with a white wine flight of local and international wines, then nibbled on a cheese plate and moved on to reds. Our sommelier was great, as was my company, and I learned a lot.

I chatted for a few hours with the girls, and then we exchanged contact info and pledged to meet up in Vegas in December for a rendezvous. The evening very much reminded me of when I crashed a dinner party in Paris after randomly meeting someone on the train from London.

It also reminded me of when I lived across the street from a wine bar in Cleveland Heights and my only worry was not swaying too far outside of the crosswalk lines when I walked home after a mellow night with friends.

All the BIO show walking and wine is going to help me sleep well tonight before my long day of connecting flights tomorrow.

P.S. Enjoyed a delightful lunch at Cafe Chloe in the East Village. Lavender lemonade and gourmet mac n'cheese rocked.