{"id":88,"date":"2013-04-28T17:24:29","date_gmt":"2013-04-28T17:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/harrietweltyrochefort.com\/wordpress\/?p=88"},"modified":"2013-04-28T17:24:29","modified_gmt":"2013-04-28T17:24:29","slug":"a-love-affair-with-paris-cafes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harrietweltyrochefort.com\/?p=88","title":{"rendered":"A love affair with Paris caf\u00e9s"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the things I love most about Paris is that anytime I get restless chez moi<\/em> I can run out the door, cross the street, and go sit in a nearby caf\u00e9. \u00a0This is definitely something I did not do when growing up in a small town in Iowa (not exactly a caf\u00e9 culture, although we did, believe it or not, have a real French restaurant run by real French people but that’s another story). \u00a0Just watching other people, imagining their lives, gets my mind off my own preoccupations. \u00a0But of course I don’t go to caf\u00e9s solely for negative reasons: I go to meet friends, do some writing, see new faces, get new ideas.<\/p>\n

People are always asking me what my favorite caf\u00e9 is. \u00a0 I invariably answer their question with another question: \u00a0What time of day are you talking about? \u00a0Some caf\u00e9s are perfect for early morning coffee and writing, others for afternoon tea with a friend, yet others for a relaxing end of the day drink. \u00a0So many caf\u00e9s (40,000 now down from 200,000 in the 60s but still…), so little time! \u00a0One of my favorite caf\u00e9s is right at the entrance to Les Jardins du Palais Royal near that unusual metro station entrance that looks like colorful glass balls (some people hate it, I like it). \u00a0But strange phenomenon: \u00a0I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve arranged to meet people there and can’t remember the name….ah, yes, it’s Le Nemours. Don’t say I didn’t tell you.<\/p>\n

I don’t go to Le Flore or Les Deux Magots simply because I’m a reverse snob and avoid going where everyone else does. \u00a0 I admit, though, that it’s easier to meet people in a landmark caf\u00e9 simply because you can remember the name and everyone knows where it is (the Caf\u00e9 Marly at the Louvre is a case in point – I mean, how can anyone not find the Louvre?).<\/p>\n

We’re gifted with a plethora of caf\u00e9s near our apartment in the 20th. \u00a0On the rue des Pyrenees there’s a popular one called “Les Ours” (The Bears). Very appropriate for the Pyrenees! \u00a0There’s the Rendez-vous des Amis which I frequented assiduously until its charming owners retired and a new guy came in, installed a TV set, and kept it on all day. \u00a0Au revoir, Rendez-Vous. I headed down the street to the Ramus (named after a sixteenth century French philosopher, no less) which doesn’t have a TV set, or at least one that’s turned on, for the good reason that it is located at the upper entrance to the P\u00e8re Lachaise cemetery and is often the spot families and friends choose to repair to before or after funeral services. \u00a0You know they’ve come from, or are going to, a funeral because they’re generally in large groups and dressed in black. \u00a0Sometimes the people are very sad and silent, sometimes, like the other day, they’re drinking wine and exchanging banter and jokes (maybe they think the dear departed would not have appreciated long faces?).<\/p>\n

Caf\u00e9s are good for glad and sad and great for romance as well. \u00a0 The real reason I love caf\u00e9s? \u00a0 I met Philippe in one – and yes, I can easily remember its<\/em> name – Le Select on the Boulevard Montparnasse, the gathering place of writers and artists like Picasso and Hemingway. Tr\u00e8s romantique<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Recently while having a drink there, we watched as a dark-haired young fellow made a play for an attractive sophisticated blond sitting alone. \u00a0They chatted a few minutes before her boyfriend walked in the door. The disappointed suitor immediately returned to his seat and left shortly afterwards. So why do I think that wasn’t the end of the story?<\/p>\n

Because that’s what Paris caf\u00e9s are all about – the “what might happen” factor. \u00a0Romance is in the air – and you never know. \u00a0You might just meet your<\/em> future partner in a Paris caf\u00e9….\u00a0
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One of the things I love most about Paris is that anytime I get restless chez moi I can run out the door, cross the street, and go sit in a nearby caf\u00e9. \u00a0This is definitely something I did not do when growing up in a small town in Iowa (not exactly a caf\u00e9 culture, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":783,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harrietweltyrochefort.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harrietweltyrochefort.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harrietweltyrochefort.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harrietweltyrochefort.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/783"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harrietweltyrochefort.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/harrietweltyrochefort.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91,"href":"https:\/\/harrietweltyrochefort.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions\/91"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harrietweltyrochefort.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harrietweltyrochefort.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harrietweltyrochefort.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}