Simone de Beauvoir.. An Enigma

I will always be seduced by Paris and its most famous French writer, intellectual, existentialist “philosophe”, feminist icon, Simone de Beauvoir.

It would have been thrilling to have existed in the dazzling decade of the 1940’s, when Paris reclaimed its status as the capital of philosophy, art and joie de vivre, after enduring a debilitating humiliating Second World War.

Having lived and loved in Paris for many years, particularly in its most artistic, literary “quartier” of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, I’ve been delighted to have become an habitué of the legendary Parisian café frequented and made famous by de Beauvoir and her lover, the writer and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre”…

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Le Hibou.. à l’Odéon…

Drenched… soaking wet…

With…unreasonable…

Insane…

Lashings… of torrential…

Wind… rain…

Furiously… relentlessly…

Targeting… us…

We were delighted to take refuge… in the conveniently located… overhauled café bistro…

Le… Hibou…

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Homage to Paris.. Café de Flore…

À Paris… aujourd’hui…

We… celebrated…

Life… at…

Café… de Flore…

“Toujours”… reminiscent of “les grands philosophes”.. artists.. poets…

Proust… Sartre…

Voltaire… Balzac…

Matisse… Camus…

Oh… and Coco Chanel… among the many that represent and embody the great civilisation that is…

La.. France…

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Maison.. de la Chantilly…

Maison de la Chantilly…

“A ouvert… ses portes…

Il y a… quelques semaines”….

Opened… its doors…

A few… weeks ago…

We literally stumbled.. on this “petite boutique”…

With its lovely eclectic.. light blue and white façade…

Cosily ensconced on the charming rue Cler.. dans le 7ème arrondissement…

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Le Petit Poucet.. Place de Clichy…

In… search…

Of… yet another…

Parisian… brasserie…

We… discovered…

Le… Petit Poucet…

“Le grand café-brasserie… de la Place de Clichy”….

Yet… another…

Brilliant… establishment…

Added… to the already before-mentioned sister brasseries… Le Dôme… Le Hibou… among many others mushrooming “à Paris” by the same ingenious “proprietaire”…

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