Paris: one year ago at the Palais Royal

I woke up this morning with Paris on my mind and when I looked at the date I remembered with a smile that I had arrived in Paris on this day, exactly one year ago. It so happened that I had some photos in my files from that trip that I hadn't posted on the blog. The one above shows the mood at Le Nemours café, which is right by the Palais Royal in the 1st district. We didn't sit down to have coffee, as we had just enjoyed a lovely lunch and dessert at a restaurant on the Left Bank. But it was pouring down rain and the Palais Royal passages surrounding the gardens provided shelter.

At Café de Flore, Paris

Today I decided to take you to Paris, yet again, to a rainy afternoon in the 6th district. A wonderful Paris cliché is going to Café de Flore on the corner of Boulevard Saint-Germain and Rue Saint-Benoît. It seems as if for decades nothing has changed in there; as if you could expect to see Sartre and Beauvoir sitting there with their friends talking about philosophy. Or over at Les Deux Magots, only a few steps away.

Café de Flore was a haven in the pouring rain. We sat outside under the awning, completely sheltered, enjoying coffee and the tarte maison, which on that day was a lemon tart. The café was crowded and the streets were filled with people in a hurry carrying umbrellas. I think Café de Flore is one of those places that have become a second home to some Parisians. There were people sitting inside that looked so comfortable. It felt as if they had moved in. They were sitting alone at a table with all their stuff, quite oblivious to what was going on around them. I thought to myself, if I came back the next day would they still be sitting there?