May 26, 2009

• I’m on Zee Top of Zee Woold

  It’s been great having Daniel & David here with their parents.  Since they’re Korean and German it’s the best of both worlds.  Every morning, Mom & Dad head to the bakery for fresh bread.  At 7:30 we have a traditional European breakfast with meat, cheese, vegetables, bread & fruit.  Then I start my work day and they head out to see the sites, but not before their Mom makes my lunch.  In the evening, she cooks the most amazing Korean food.  I’m telling you, I could really get used to this. 

  

  

  The other night we went to a great little Korean Barbecue in Koreatown called Tofu Village.  Have you ever noticed how a lot Korean & Chinese restaurants play cheesy American 70′s music?  When David and I went to the bathroom to wash our hands, I heard an old Captain and Tennille song I hadn’t heard in years and it reminded me of a story that I relayed to my guests about the first time I went to Paris 15 years ago.  Obviously this was pre Xanga and pre Internet, so when we got home, I pulled out my old diary to re-read the story and refresh my memory:

  

  Since I know you can’t read that (I can barely read my own writing…thank goodness for Xanga), I’ll paraphrase:

  December 31, 1994 – I arrived in Paris at 7:30 AM on the train from Barcelona.  It was New Year’s Eve Day and all of the banks were closed so I was having a hard time exchanging my currency.  (This was well before the Euro!)  I only had about 23 francs and I was very hungry.  I tried eating at a few places but inevitably didn’t like the food and kept giving it away to stray dogs.  Finally I found an ATM machine that worked.  I phoned Claudio, who would be arriving the next day and coordinated our meeting place (again pre cell phones).  By now I was starving, and it was about 8 PM on New Year’s Eve.  I had planned to go to the Champs Elysees for the midnight festivities, but I had to find something to eat first.  Just then I spied a Chinese restaurant with a buffet in the window.  I was elated!  A Chinese buffet is the same world wide!  I quickly went in and discovered that it was also a karaoke bar, “that was playing American 70′s music on 3 television monitors.  If the proprietor of the restaurant saw someone mouthing the words to a song, he would run over and give them a microphone.”  The place was crowded with pre New Year’s revelers dressed to the nines.  At the table next to me there was a group black French women, with glitter in their hair and fancy dresses speaking with thick French accents and the same gesticulations of African American women.  It was really interesting to watch and listen to them, though I didn’t understand a word they were saying.  Suddenly, one of them was handed the microphone, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget the scene.  Paris…New Year’s Eve…Chinese Restaurant…and a black French woman singing The Carpenters hit, “I’m on the Top of the World” in a heavy french accent.  It sounded like this:

  “I’m on zee tope of zee woold, lookine down on cweeashoe und zee only expleynashone I can find, ees zee loave zat I found aver seence you’ve bean awound, your love poots me at zee tope of zee woold.”

  She actually had an amazing voice and the whole place applauded.  It was a surreal moment!

  Fast forward 15 years.  I’m telling this story to Daniel, David and their parents at the Korean restaurant.  Guess what song started playing??  You guessed it.  The Carpenters, “I’m on the Top of the World“.  I probably hadn’t even heard that song in 15 years.  I kid you not!  We all couldn’t believe it!!  It was one of the craziest coincidences of my life.  To make it even crazier, Claudio called my cell phone later as I was reading his name from the diary above.  Cue the Twilight Zone music, on second thought, cue The Carpenters:

  Here are a few more photos from our week:

   

  
  Chazz & Daniel

   
  Daniel ready for the beach with his “Hotel Careyfornia” towel, and the family in Koreatown.

  
  Outside the world famous Hotel Careyfornia (note the sign).  We rebuilt fast, huh!?

  
  Best of the rest…
  

  P.S. Thanks for all of the nice comments about the American Idol photos.  That post has already been viewed more than 4000 times.  I appreciate the kind words.

  • 2:30 am
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