November has never been my favorite month. Where I live, the weather turns colder, and as I write this, we’re experiencing an early snowfall—something many find delightful. But I’m not one of those people. I prefer long, sun-drenched days. Still, I’ll admit there’s a certain coziness to November, and time to sit and reflect. And as I do, I find myself thinking back to the many Novembers that were brightened by our “Petula Adventures”—journeys taken to see Petula perform, though I must admit, not all of them were to warm or sunny places.

There was a November concert in Toronto twenty years ago, in 2005. Then came two more in November 2010—one in Washington State, followed by another in Montreal. In 2011, we traveled to see Petula at the Casino de Paris, and in 2012, we found ourselves in Ostend, Belgium for yet another unforgettable performance. Fast forward to 2018, when we caught several of her concerts across the northeastern United States. And finally, our last Petula experience: seeing her in Mary Poppins in London, November 2019. So many November memories– some of these “Petula Adventures” are described in my earlier blog posts. For this post I am going to focus on November 2011 in Paris. .

The City of Light— I don’t know anyone who has experienced it and wasn’t delighted by it. My husband and I were fortunate to have visited Paris a few times over the years, though never in November. As I’ve mentioned, November tends to have a chilly connotation for us, so it was very lovely not to have to bundle up in heavy coats, scarves, or mittens because the the weather was quite mild by our standards in Paris in November 2011.

We flew directly from Toronto to Charles de Gaulle Airport. Although I’m not bilingual and can’t speak French fluently, I’ve found I can usually navigate the written language well enough to get by. So, somewhat confident in my linguistic ability we embarked on a marvelous week in Paris , visiting all of the tourist sites. I recall an especially beautiful night time tour of the city and boat ride on the Seine, and of course, a visit to the beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral before the fire, an ascent to the rooftop of Galleries Lafayette & Printemps, and a bit of window shopping as well; a stroll through the Tuileries Gardens and croissants and baguettes from so many of the cafes and bakeries–all still providing outdoor tables even in November. And what is a trip to Paris without the Eiffel Tower –though I was not brave enough to go to the top. We even managed a day trip to Versailles, still surprisingly busy with tourists even in November.

Although I believe my ability to understand written French is functionable, my sense of direction is not so good and during this trip to Paris I was remined of that shortcoming. Years earlier, I’d been eager to see the Musée d’Orsay, renowned for its Impressionist art . Confident in my grasp of written French, I insisted on navigating us there via the Paris subway which ended up being a half-day journey—because we were clearly lost, though I refused to admit it. When we finally arrived at the museum it was just about to close, and we never made it inside. So, on this return trip, the Musée d’Orsay was a top priority. This time, we took a cab—and discovered to my embarrassment that we’d been less than a mile away during our previous trip and had been unnecessarily aimlessly wandering around the underground. But this time, we spent a truly lovely half day at the museum and it was every bit as delightful as I had imagined.

Of course, the culmination of the trip was the Petula Clark concert at the Casino de Paris. We had been especially excited for this performance—it was our first time seeing Petula live in France. We’d read about her historic appearances at the Olympia and even purchased the DVD of her 2003 concert there. Having attended a bilingual Petula concert in Montreal the previous November, we felt we had a hint of what to expect.
So, with great anticipation, we arrived at the Casino de Paris that November night. We hadn’t expected an opening act, but a young duo preceded the “main event.” I’m sure they were fine entertainers—if I recall, their style leaned toward folk—but since we were there to see Petula, we were rather nonchalant about their performance.

After the intermission, the crowd erupted in applause as Petula appeared, opening with “Bonheur, Happiness.” I must say, I’ve sat in many Petula Clark audiences, and a few stand out for their palpable enthusiasm—this Paris audience was certainly one of them. I think I finally understood the deep fascination the French have had with Petula Clark since her early days at the Paris Olympia.It was a joy to witness. And as I’ve come to love many of Petula’s songs in French, it was a true delight to hear her perform “Chariot,” “La nuit n’en finit plus,” the amusing “Que fais-tu Petula,” “La Gadoue,” and the touching “Un enfant,” and others for a French audience.

The night could have gone on forever, but—as always—the familiar chords of “Downtown” signaled that the concert was nearing its end. Years later, we were fortunate to experience another bilingual concert in Montreal during the Montreal Franco festival , but November 7, 2011, in Paris still remains an indelible memory. Merci encore, Petula!

/ Petula made an appearance at the Olympia in Paris in 2010 which we did not see but it was a huge success and featured Petula singing “Tell Me It’s Not True” from Blood Brothers, and is simply stunning!

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=iPdMg5cKdFc

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tell+me+its+not+true+petula+clark