June 13, 2003 – Friday

The Bar Gang

Today we got up to go to the fancy lunch with Mr. Martinelli. The restaurant was called La Garenne, which means “The Wild Rabbit.” My mom, Coco, Kelsey, and myself all rode with Mr. Martinelli in his Mercedes. He insisted that my mother ride up front next to him. I swear she’s gonna have a sugar-daddy by the end of the trip.

My dad and Jean-Paul followed behind us in Jean-Paul’s truck. He showed us all the damage it had sustained from a bad hailstorm earlier in the week, on Tuesday. The hail had been huge, and left numerous dents the size of golfballs, even in the reinforced areas of the body. Apparently, hail that large can kill a person if it hits them on the head.

The worst part about this storm is the affect it was going to have on the champagne production that year. Many of the vineyards in Reims were destroyed by the hail, and the city is the largest producer of champagne. So this could potentially hurt their economy.

Lunch ended up being very tasty, and outrageously expensive. There was so much food, and even more alcohol. We started out with this “amuse-bouche”, which was this soupy melon thing mixed with pepper, and a glass of rose champagne. Next was an artichoke salad with apples and some kind of meat covered in a raspberry vinaigrette, served with a very light white wine.

My main course was a beef filet with pesto, peppers, and vegetables, paired with a rich red wine. They brought out the cheese course after this, and Mr. Martinelli insisted that I try another glass of wine, a very special one that was very dark and full. The wine itself was heavy enough to feel like a meal.

When everyone had finished, he ordered a bottle of champagne to “hold everyone over” until dessert. At this point, I was starting to get pretty tipsy. Dessert was a chocolate soufflé with vanilla bean ice cream drowned in chocolate and caramel sauce, which was paired with a special dessert wine.

The waitress brought over coffee after this, along with a special treat, courtesy of the chef. (Mr. Martinelli is their best customer, and one of the richest and most influential people in the region, according to Jean-Paul.) It was a plate of caramel-almond cakes, and dough cups filled with raspberries and cream, along with a little after-dinner drink.

I’m sure at this point my coherence was suffering, but I was having a great time. I kept staring at Coco’s hair, and I mentioned to her that I loved the cut, and always wished I was brave enough to do something like that with my hair. It was very cute, short pixie cut.

She told me it was her cousin that did the cut, and offered to make me an appointment. I was nervous about it, because I had never cut my hair so short before, and I did not want to look like a boy. But the alcohol made me a little braver, so I told her to go ahead and make the appointment.

Mom and Coco left then, taking the truck back to the Bar in order to open it back up to start making the pizzas. Usually, they only make the pizza once a week on Saturday nights, but since everyone was going to be out of town the next night for a wedding, they changed it to Friday instead.

The rest of us piled back into the Mercedes to head to this champagne and wine store that Jean-Paul is co-owner of, along with Coco’s uncle Michel. When we got there, they had a tasting for us, pulling out various bottles of expensive champagne and making us try them. Jean-Paul gave Kelsey a gift to take back home with her, a box with bottles of champagne from his uncle’s vineyard to share with her parents.

At this point, we decided to drive back to the bar. Mr. Martinelli was as drunk as I was, so he had Jean-Paul drive the Mercedes. But I guess maybe he was still driving a little funnily because we get pulled over by the police. And although Jean-Paul wasn’t drunk, he had forgotten his license back at the Bar, which is kinda bad.

It turned out to not be a problem. The cop comes up to the car, and when he leans over to look in, his demeanor instantly changes, because he notices Mr. Martinelli. This guy is so important, the cops probably wouldn’t have busted us for anything. My dad says the French are really strict about driving, and not having your license on you can face a pretty nasty penalty, so we ended up being lucky. The cop even provided himself as a police escort back to the Bar. I can’t believe I’ve actually had a police escort!

When we got back to the Bar, I passed out, being a little light-headed from the alcohol and everything. I woke up just in time for the pizza though. They have a little place in the back where they serve, and all the pizza is made in a wood-burning oven, and tastes incredible!

At the dinner, I was able to meet Michel, Coco’s uncle, who co-owns the store. His oldest daughter was with him, named Karen. When I first saw her, I thought she was gorgeous. When he introduces me, she tells me that she is the one who will be cutting my hair tomorrow, so I’m really looking forward to it now.

They served us more champagne and wine with dinner, and I think I hit my limit. Kelsey had to help me into bed that night, and I just completely passed out.