*Disclaimer:  Apologies in advance for the following post.  Not my usual sort of story but fairly amusing nonetheless.  Se distraire! (To amuse oneself)

A while back when I was living in NY, a friend of mine and I were at brunch and over eggs and bloody marys, she told me about her new cat.

Me: What’s her name?

Her: Well, I didn’t really know what to call her so I looked online and decided to call her Minou.

Me: That sounds cute, what does it mean?

Her: Well, that’s the thing.  A friend of mine from France was over and he laughed when I told him her name.  Apparently, not only is it the french word for “cat,” it also means “pussy.”  So basically, I’ve named my cat after female anatomy.

Me: Hahaha.

So, now, cut to me at breakfast in France on Day 2 of my trip ~ Sitting at a lovely little garden cafe, devouring crusty bread, a delectable buttery croissant, and traditionally rich coffee with steamed milk. The adorable older French woman brought a glass of orange juice for me (she had asked if I wanted something but I couldn’t quite understand her so I just said “oui!” out of reflex as it sounds much better than “non!” so…apparently she had offered me orange juice.  Thank goodness she hadn’t offered me a snail omelette or something tragic…) and while she was setting the juice on my table all of a sudden she yells out “Minou!  Minou!  Minou!”

And while I may wear pearls, I also seem to have a completely elementary/gutter-worthy sense of humor so I of course laughed. And assuming that I was not entirely understanding her properly (as with the orange juice), she pointed to the little black cat that had meandered into the garden, presumably looking for a handout of French pastry (smart cat), and repeated “Minou! Minou! Minou!” She smiled.  “Jardin de Minou!”

First breakfast in France and I find myself in the Garden of Pussy.  Terrific.

Jardin de Minou