Saturday April 9 was mainly sunny (finally!) with a high of 11C. A much nicer day than Friday. We decided that Saturday would be a walking day on the Left Bank. We had a few places we wanted to visit but it was time to be flâneurs (strollers with a large amount of leisure time, taking in the sights, wandering without restrictions, observing life).
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| Alain getting ready to head out |
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Lots of election signs for Sunday's vote
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After getting some of my favourite hand cream and tea towels at Maison Brémond 1830, we stopped at Pierre Marcolini on Rue de Seine, where I got a package of my favourite chocolate covered marshmallows. Their Easter window was great--- featuring Bird Bunny!
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| Outside of Pierre Marcolini on Rue de Seine |
When Paris was liberated in August 1944, the hotel was abandoned by German troops. From then until after the end of the war, it was used as a repatriation centre for prisoners of war, displaced persons, and returnees from Nazi concentration camps. After the war, the hotel was returned to its previous state as a luxury hotel. In April 2014 it was closed for extensive renovations. It reopened in July 2018.
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| Hotel Lutetia |
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| Plaque outlining that between April and August 1945, the Hotel Lutetia was a repatriation centre for people that escaped Nazi concentration camps |
We stopped briefly at La Grande Épicerie de Paris to pick up a sandwich (tuna on a baguette) and wander around the store. In 1923, Le Bon Marché, the department store, opened a gourmet food emporium on its ground floor. Today the gourmet store is found in an adjacent building with over 30,000 items. Of course, there was a large pre-Easter chocolate display. Very busy on a Saturday as well.
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| Chocolate display at La Grande Épicerie Paris |
We then checked out Le Bon Marché, the department store founded in 1838. In 1869, a building was constructed on its present site. It has been expanded over time. The architecture of the store was innovative for its time. The firm of Gustave Eiffel was consulted for parts of its structure. There are always great windows at the store and usually the store has a section devoted to an artist or designer. This year, it was a display by Philippe Katerine (a French singer and artist) called La Mignonisme X Philippe Katerine.
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| Window displays |
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| Another window |
Le mignonisme means "cute-ism". There are over a hundred creative items by Katerine displayed in the store ranging from paintings to sculpture and photography.
There were a number of giant installations depicting the adventures of Monsieur Rose (Mr. Pink). There was also a room filled with drawings, photos and small installations. Not really our style.
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| So cute...Monsieur Rose (Mr. Pink) |
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| He's flying |
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| They're everywhere |
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| Building near Le Bon Marché- orange transparent balconies |
We walked a few blocks from Le Bon Marché and had a coffee at Coutume Café.
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| One of the first "third wave" coffee stores in Paris |
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| Everyone was out in the cafés on a Saturday |
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| Parisians love roses and the flower stores are awesome |
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Everyone seemed to have trees on their balconies at this building
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We walked down to the Seine and along the Quais from the 7th to the 6th arrondissement.
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| Les bouquinistes beside the Seine -- fewer each year |
Our next destination was the Hôtel d'Aubusson and its Café Laurent, recommended by Toronto friends. The hotel was originally a townhouse dating back to the 17th century. It still has a monumental fireplace and a Aubusson tapestry. Café Laurent first opened in 1690 with Robespierre, Rousseau and Voltaire among its customers. In 1947, after the war, it was renamed "Le Tabou" and it used to stay open for the night. After Le Flore or Les Deux Margots had closed for the night, it was the haunt of the existentialists, intellectuals and musicians of Saint Germain and Montparnasee including Miles David, Juliette Gréco, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir. In 1948, Le Tabou became a closed Jazz club, still very popular, but no longer a hangout of the intellectuals. The club was originally located in the cellar which is now a seminar room at the Hotel. The club is now on the main floor in a lounge and has reverted to its original name, Café Laurent, and hosts regular jazz evenings.
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Outside the Hotel
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| We saw the quartet listed for April 9 |
We arrived at the Café at around 7:45 p.m. The first set was not until 9:00 p.m., but the piano player was playing jazz standards until just after 8:00 p.m. We decided to wait and hear the band and nursed our drinks. I had a lovely pear and champagne cocktail and Alain had a glass of red wine. The place was packed by the time the band started.
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| Piano player when we arrived |
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| Relaxin' before the concert |
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The beautiful bar-- all filled by the time the set started
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The room with the huge fireplace behind the bar- beautifully renovated
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| The band |
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| Great crowd-- a lot of locals- no cover, everyone orders one pricey cocktail for the hour set |
We left the Hotel at 10:00 p.m. and walked back to the apartment. We had a very light late dinner and followed the last innings of the Blue Jays game. A great day of being flâneurs in Paris.
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