View From Your Table

Lyon, France

Writes the reader:

Quenelles et Camembert rôti.

That is, fish dumplings and baked Camembert. Ahhh, Lyon.

I have a treat for your readers. The guy who sent this in is an old and dear friend from New Orleans. In fact, he’s the friend who went with me last summer to Siena for the Palio. A fellow Francophile (was a French major at Tulane) and foodie, we stopped off in Lyon on the way back home, met James C. there, and ate and drank well. My friend loved it so much that he has taken his lovely bride there for the next couple of weeks, to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. That’s why they can’t come to Walker Percy Weekend this year. But, you and I will have a series of terrific VFYTs in the days to come.

Here’s something neat. I knew they were headed to France sometime this week, but wasn’t sure when. Yesterday, I was going up the escalator, away from the train platform, to Concourse D in the Atlanta airport. Lo, on the opposite side, there my friends were, headed down to catch the train to the international concourse, and their flight to France. As we passed, we high-fived each other. “Vive la France!” I said. So I will be living vicariously through them for the next two weeks.