Front Page News: A Small-Town Teen Travels to France
In 1983, at the age of 15, I traveled alone to Paris, France, to visit a friend. It was a trip of many firsts that had a huge impact on my life. My first meal cooked by a famous chef, my first time at a topless beach, my first champagne. Only one of these things did I talk about with my neighbor, a columnist for the Morgan Hill Times Gladys Silman, who interviewed me when I got home.
I found the old newspaper clipping recently and it made me laugh—again. It also brought back so many fond memories. I fell in love with Paris and France and the very posh lifestyle I lived while there for the summer. A few days after I got home, my mom asked me to unload the dishwasher, and I chose that moment, in a 15-year-old-who-was-in-the-newspaper way, to inform her that in France, the maid did the dishes and also washed and ironed my t-shirts and my underwear for me. She looked at me for a long moment and said, "I don't know who you are, but you need to bring my daughter back."
Yes I certainly deserved that correction. Geesh.
In revisiting the article, I tried to remember what I could of Gladys, the columnist, and neighbor and went down a really interesting rabbit hole that gave me some new insights. I asked my parents about her and did some online digging. Gladys never had the opportunity to travel to Paris and go to a topless beach and have her t-shirts ironed. I have a new respect for the gentle roasts and the quote at the end of the article. Well done, Gladys! Erma Bombeck would have been proud. More on Gladys, my childhood neighbor, soon. Her life is more interesting than the article about my trip, but here is the article for your entertainment.
by Gladys Silman
Ah to be 15 years old and see Paris and the Riviera. That was the pleasurable experience of Amber McClain this summer when she visited Anne-Sophie Fredegue in France.
“Sofie,” as Amber calls her, was a houseguest of the McClains last year. She was part of a group of French nationals who stayed in Morgan Hill as part of their month-long visit to the United States of America last summer. One purpose of the visit was to learn English, and Sofie and Amber became fast friends.
“I loved it – just loved it,” reports Amber. “It was really great. We took a bateaux-mouche – a tour of the Seine. I saw the Arch de Triumph, and the Eiffel Tower, all the things a tourist would want to see. The shopping was lovely – all the fancy jewelry shops, and there are really nice perfume shops. The clothes were very interesting – all the latest styles. Not everyone was stylish, you know how it is, but most dress somewhat with the fashions. I saw all the latest styles.
“The people I stayed with were very, very friendly. The young people especially were interested in America and Americans. When they found out I was from California, I was a celebrity. Everyone knows about California. They have the impression that California is the ultimate paradise – really great.”
After a week in Paris, the Fredgue family spent ten days on the Riviera, in the south of France, at a villa with huge gardens.
“It was very nice. Not like Hawaii, or even California. The beaches are small and very crowded, especially in August, when all the French take their holiday. But it was very nice. Everywhere I went, people I met asked me lots of questions.”
After the Riviera, the family returned to Paris where Amber spent another week.
“One thing which impressed me in Paris was the night life. Everyone dresses up fancy and they go out to night clubs. There is no age limit on drinking, but most parents try to keep their children away from wine until they’re about 14, and then you just have a glass of wine with dinner. Young people are not allowed to have a driver’s license until they are 18 years old, and it is an extremely serious offense to drink and drive.”
“One night we went out to dinner at Le Moulin De Mougins. The chef is all important in a French restaurant, and they had his name on the menu. His name was Roger Verge. For four of us, the bill came to $300. I had foie gras, which was a house specialty, lobster with a pink sauce, champagne and a frozen fruit dessert — very fancy, something like a sundae. I guess the price was worth it, especially because I didn’t pay for it. I was so full. I didn’t eat the whole next day.”
Unlike the view of some American tourists in France, Amber found the French people to be open and friendly. The people she talked to seemed very aware of internal politics, and not particularly enamored of the Socialist government. She met with no anti-American sentiment, anywhere.
“I am glad to get home, although I had a marvelous time. I missed my water bed.”