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The French (Re-) Connection

Funny thing happens on the way to the trolley. I just miss a Blue Line heading south. Fifteen minutes till the next.

Notice the St. Tropez French eatery (600 W. Broadway, downtown, #130, 619-234-2560) still ablaze with lights, even now, past seven in the evening.

Huh. Just time for a quick French coffee.

So I mosey in up to the counter, order a coffee ($1.60), and sit down where I can see the trolley -- so I can hit the road fast.

But what I notice is this long, noisy table. Maybe 30 people all eatin’, sipping wine, and talking up a storm. In French. I have to go over to see what gives.

Barbara and compagnons

“We’re just enthusiasts,” says this happy lady at the end, Barbara Riggs. “We all love France and practicing our French. So we get together once a month. Third Wednesdays. It’s not expensive. But it is fun. Doesn’t matter how old you are. Just look down the table.”

She’s right. And you can tell, young, old, experts, tongue-tied newbies, even the ones struggling to get beyond “Oui” and “Non” are having fun.

The best news: it’s free. Just pay for what you eat. And the St. Tropez is cutting them a deal, treating their meal like it was happy hour (which normally goes from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday).

“I paid about $6 for my quiche aux épinards -- spinach quiche -- and $3 for the glass of wine,” Barbara says.

Turns out this happens through the San Diego French Language Meetup Group. They’ve been meeting like this since 2002. Man. I could have had my French down if I'd been coming all this time.

And sipping my café here in this atmosphere, surrounded by signs like “Opéra,” “Pigalle,” “Champs Élysées,” and “Metropolitain” on the walls, you feel like you could be right there in the City of Light, Meetup group or no Meetup group.

Talking of “Metropolitain,” I get yakking so much, two of the metros pass by. Guess I’ll have to stay another quarter hour before I say au revoir.

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Funny thing happens on the way to the trolley. I just miss a Blue Line heading south. Fifteen minutes till the next.

Notice the St. Tropez French eatery (600 W. Broadway, downtown, #130, 619-234-2560) still ablaze with lights, even now, past seven in the evening.

Huh. Just time for a quick French coffee.

So I mosey in up to the counter, order a coffee ($1.60), and sit down where I can see the trolley -- so I can hit the road fast.

But what I notice is this long, noisy table. Maybe 30 people all eatin’, sipping wine, and talking up a storm. In French. I have to go over to see what gives.

Barbara and compagnons

“We’re just enthusiasts,” says this happy lady at the end, Barbara Riggs. “We all love France and practicing our French. So we get together once a month. Third Wednesdays. It’s not expensive. But it is fun. Doesn’t matter how old you are. Just look down the table.”

She’s right. And you can tell, young, old, experts, tongue-tied newbies, even the ones struggling to get beyond “Oui” and “Non” are having fun.

The best news: it’s free. Just pay for what you eat. And the St. Tropez is cutting them a deal, treating their meal like it was happy hour (which normally goes from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday).

“I paid about $6 for my quiche aux épinards -- spinach quiche -- and $3 for the glass of wine,” Barbara says.

Turns out this happens through the San Diego French Language Meetup Group. They’ve been meeting like this since 2002. Man. I could have had my French down if I'd been coming all this time.

And sipping my café here in this atmosphere, surrounded by signs like “Opéra,” “Pigalle,” “Champs Élysées,” and “Metropolitain” on the walls, you feel like you could be right there in the City of Light, Meetup group or no Meetup group.

Talking of “Metropolitain,” I get yakking so much, two of the metros pass by. Guess I’ll have to stay another quarter hour before I say au revoir.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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