Sunday, May 29, 2011

Satuday Night in Paris

 Bill and I sat found a street side table at Au Petit Fer a Cheval (At the Little Horseshoe) yesterday evening. We'd noticed the tiny horseshoe-shaped bar and been attracted to the general ambiance of the place and it's denizens during previous wanders through the neighbourhood but it was always packed
It's across the street from a sister bar, La Belle Hortense. From where we sat we had a lovely view of Hortense and her goings on.
The lovely lady on the left is Hortense's bartender. We met her later in the evening. La Belle Hortense is a mixed bookstore, bar, gallery and music venue.
It's Saturday night in Paris where the people-watching is some of the best on Earth.
Especially here in the Marais at the corner of Rues Vieille du Temple and Croix de la Bretonnerie.
Many couples stopped to have one partner's picture taken in front of our bar. When we sat down, Bill and I didn't realize we were sitting somewhere famous. We just thought it looked very cool.
But judging from the faces of the people checking it out, everybody seemed to know about it but us.
We drank their reasonably-priced drinks and enjoyed the flow.
At one point our waiter straightened up some of the bicycles parked outside and then plopped himself down in one of the seats.
As the bills for each new drink piled up under the ashtray our waiter brought us a tasty snack of anchovies on paste. Lovely!
We fell in love with Paris all over again.

6 comments:

  1. it looks like you guys are having a delightful time. Thanks for letting us enjoy it vicariously.

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  2. So glad to have you along, Ms. Q! Thanks for commenting. We're safely home now, but have many more illustrated stories to tell! Always nice to hear from you!

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  3. These two places are just around the corner from where we'll be staying at Rue de Rivoli and Malher. Will be sure to check it out. Thanks!

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  4. You won't be disappointed. The staff are great. And do check out the WC. It is "a la Turk" but ultramodern and lined with stainless steel. Photo to come soon.

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  5. for several months in '95, I lived in the Marais....I came upon your blog by chance and have so enjoyed the memories!
    Petunia

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  6. Au Petit Fer a Cheval (At the Little Horseshoe) is over 100 years old so you get that real retro Paris vibe.

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