Our small group of 5-6 fluent French speakers is always warmly welcomed chez Toast & Co. by the “patronne” and her mother. A corner table is reserved for us and a word or two of welcome written in French, while a group of “senior” gentlemen regularly greet us with “Bonjour, comment ça va?”
We generally purchase some of the cafe’s delicious home made cakes or biscuits to accompany our tea or coffee but the week before Christmas we were surprised and delighted to be offered a plate of croissants and cookies as well. In January we enjoyed a few pieces of galette du roi – Miam miam!
In November we extended one of our Monday meetings to visit Lune Croissanterie in Sydney as well as Abbey’s Language Bookshop and the Alliance Française offices. On our next visit we hope to be able to tour their médiathèque and maybe lunch at a crêperie or at the Alliance cafe.
In March we plan to take the train to Newcastle and join forces with an AF Newcastle group for conversation.