Mendi
Kay and Leon. They were introduced to us by Wendi and Sassoune during Chef Luna's visit in November. Kay, originally from Salinas and an alumna of Norte Dame, pursued her university education in San Francisco. There, she met Leon, a Basque professional Jai Alai athlete. Soon after, Kay was moving to the Basque country. Leon made the long journey from Biarritz to Paris to pick her up, an eight-hour drive each way. Upon arrival, he had a furnished apartment waiting for her, setting a high bar. They have been together for over 50 years. Kay has been teaching English to adults at the Bayonne Chamber of Commerce for many years. However, she has decided to retire in June. It's a bit of a twist because she had this hopeful glimmer that I might step into her shoes. However, our plans have us packing up and heading back to Carmel on August 3. I guess in another life, that could've been a perfect fit.
Anyway, when we first met Kay, she was heading to the Monterey Peninsula to visit family. She already had plans to go to La Bicyclette, but now she knew the chef and Gabe. We made sure she was marked as a VIP.
The other day, we received a dinner invitation from Kay, and of course, Wendi and Sassoune were on the guest list too. Three decades of wisdom and laughter gathered around the table - Kay and Leon in their 70s, Wendi and Sassoune in their 60s, and Gabe and me holding down the 40s. My first thought? This will be fun. Second thought? How cool to be invited.
Before dinner, we had an apero over at Ashley and Luis’s with the whole crew before biking over to Kay and Leon’s, a good 20-minute ride. Of course, they live right next to the fronton - Jai Alai courts. Classic. The boys stayed at the Castros for pizza night, while later in the evening, Stacey escorted them back to the apartment.
We had a good time talking about all sorts of things throughout the night. At one point, I bring up the topic of pronouncing my name. Then the conversation jumped over to correctly pronouncing Leon's name. Wendi burst into laughter saying "Lee-ON," but in French, it's more like "lay-ohn". These two have been friends for a solid 40 years, and the banter between them was pure comedy. Then I chimed in and mentioned how introducing myself in French sounds funny. I didn’t realize until moving here how American my name is and how difficult it is to pronounce in French/with a French accent. At this moment, it was clear that Leon had no idea what my name was. In his defense, we were never formally introduced until tonight. It was a little bit awkward and super funny at the same time. But he quickly rebounded and with a twinkle in his eye and a thick Basque accent, said, “Madame Gabriel!" I couldn't stop laughing, cheeks hurting from ear to ear. But then Kay, with her linguistic expertise says, "Hold up. It's pronounced Men-dee." And suddenly, in stereo, Sassoune and Wendi say, "That means mountain in Basque!" And boom, just like that, I'm transformed into Mendi - the Basque Mountain Warrior Woman. Okay, maybe not quite, but Mendi? Now that's a name that rolls off the tongue much easier. Sidenote: Leon called me Madame Gabriel the rest of the night.
