Saturday, September 16, 2006
The Left Bank
When you suddenly realise how hungry you are, there’s nothing you can think of then except of how to dispel those hunger pangs.The growl in the tummy became especially audible as we were walking along bd. St-Germain, a long street in what is known to be Paris’ “literary” section, the Saint-Germain-des-Prés. No, it’s not because it houses countless bookstores and libraries. Countless literary types - writers, publishers and intellectuals lived in this part of the Left Bank and congregated in its many cafes as a respite from their cold flats. There are also numerous marchés with their dazzling displays of fresh seafood (so fresh I could break out in hives just looking at them!).
The Left Bank
When you suddenly realise how hungry you are, there’s nothing you can think of then except of how to dispel those hunger pangs.The growl in the tummy became especially audible as we were walking along bd. St-Germain, a long street in what is known to be Paris’ “literary” section, the Saint-Germain-des-Prés. No, it’s not because it houses countless bookstores and libraries. Countless literary types - writers, publishers and intellectuals lived in this part of the Left Bank and congregated in its many cafes as a respite from their cold flats. There are also numerous marchés with their dazzling displays of fresh seafood (so fresh I could break out in hives just looking at them!).
We passed by (and looked in) several cafes on our search for breakfast, but only settled on Café de Flore after walking for about ten minutes, which had a large chalkboard sitting outside its main entrance advertising its breakfast fare. We had the continental and English breakfasts, and a deliciously aromatic cup of coffee (which kept us awake till evening).
At that time, we were not to know that the Café de Flore was an arty favourite and venue of the scribblings of Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), French existentialist philosopher, dramatist and screenwriter, novelist and critic. This humble cafe was also popular with actors, designers, politicians and ‘the anonymous faithful’. It began sometime around 1887 and probably has seen more celebrated times, but these days the extent of the Café’s literary character is probably only evident in the weekly play readings and philosophy discussions hosted on the premises. After a satisfying (though a tad expensive) breakfast, we left the payment on the table (as it appears was the practice) and left.
0 comments:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)