Misc - Hope Café

This one's for Barack. Good luck next week :)

 [You can find it here.]

Misc - Plumbing

This week's theme is Miscellaneous. These are photos that don't quite fit any theme I can think of, but that I love because they remind me so much of Paris. Each is, in it's own way, "typically Parisian."

This is a sink my friends. Yes, a sink. In a restaurant no less. For patrons. It is small, it is dirty, is it makeshift, and yet, somehow completely charming. (This one is from Le Pure Café in the 11th arrondissement.)

Les Cafés - Le Pure Café

Saving the best for last - Le Pure Café. One of my favorite cafés in Paris.

Fans of Before Sunset will remember this as the place where Celine and Jesse order "un café et un citron pressé" and continue their decades-long conversation. A great place to have coffee btw....it is off the beaten path (14 rue Jean Macé) and almost half the price of anything you will find near most of the tourist destinations.

More Before Sunset spots next week....

Les Cafés - Les Deux Magots

One of the most famous cafés in all of Paris, Les Deux Magots, was once the meeting place of the literary and cultural élite of the city. Famous people known to have frequented Les Deux Magots include Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Albert Camus, and Pablo Picasso. The café got it's name from the novelty store that originally occupied the same storefront.

Les Cafés - La Terrasse

La Terrasse (144 rue de Clignancourt) with it's round tables, sway back wicker chairs and deep red awning looks like the quintessential Parisian café. The perfect place to take a rest after a long day of playing the tourist.

Les Cafés - Les Arts & Metiers

Cafe des Arts & Metiers was our "local" bistro, just down the street from our appartement in the Marais. It was a great place to sit outside and people watch or have a delicious meal inside. And it looks wicked cool at night.

Les Cafés - Le Café Maure de la Mosquée

This week: Les Cafés! What would a trip to Paris be without some time spent sipping espresso in some of the world's finest cafés?

Following on from last week, we start at Le Café Maure de la Mosquée, a North African café and tea room located within La Grande Mosquée de Paris. It serves wonderful traditional pastries and delicious mint tea.

Le Métro - Lamarck-Caulaincourt

Another variation on the Métro sign. This station is called Lamarck-Caulaincourt and was featured in the movie Amélie. (You can see it here.) The bar you see in the background is called Bar-Tabac Le Lamarck and is a lovely spot to stop and rest over a café au lait. 

Manger et Boire - Infusion de Menthe

In Paris herbal tea is served not in a cup - that's for coffee - but in a small decorative glass, with plenty of sugar. This one was from our local brasserie, Brasserie Les Arts et Métiers, in the Marais.

Manger et Boire - Le Petit Dejeuner

This was our breakfast one morning: croissants, baguette (avec confiture de fraises), café crème and jus d'orange. Isn't it lovely?

Manger et Boire - Un café crème, s'il vous plait

 

The business of eating and drinking takes on special importance in Paris. There are so many wonderful tastes to explore. The first order of business upon arriving in Paris? Order a café crème (coffee in a large cup with hot cream), bien sûr!