Café de Flore, Paris , France
If you walk near the cafes and the restaurants in Paris, the aroma in the air is so tempting that you want to go inside and try what is getting cooked. Inside these cafes, you may also rub shoulders with celebrities from films, theatre, literature, music, art, fashion and any other field.
Paris city is littered with historical landmarks. There’s the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Versailles Palace,the Tuilieries garden, the Sainte Chapple ,the Le Bon Marche (the world’s first high-end department store), the Pantheon ,the Notre Dame Cathedral —the list is endless. But none reflects the Parisian way of life as authentically as some old cafes, brasseries and restaurants amongst which , Café de Flore occupies a pivotal position. Situated on the corner of Boulevard Saint-German and Rue Saint-Benoît in the sixth arrondissement, the Flore, as it’s so fondly called by the patrons, is one of the oldest coffeehouses in Paris.
We visited St Germain des Pres today. We came by RA- D train going in Nord ( north ) from Alfortville. Alfortville is close to Paris city . Getting down at Chatelet ( pronounced as Chhetle ) , we walked to St Germain des Pres using google map and city mapper as our guides. We went via Louvre museum and crossed River Seine at Pont Neuf (9th bridge ). Constructed in 1578 (though it was not completed until 1607), this bridge joins the left bank with the Ile de la Cité in front of Place Dauphine. From Pont Neuf, it is just a walk-able distance of less than one km to arrive at Aux Deux Magots close to which lies Cafe de Flore. One can also go by Metro o train from Chatelet to Saint-Germain-des-Prés every 5 minutes. Tickets cost €2 and the journey takes 5 minutes . Alternatively, Bus RATP operates a bus from Châtelet to Saint-Germain-des-Prés every 30 minutes. Tickets cost €1 - €3 and the journey takes 10 min. In this area (Saint-Germain-des-Prés) are the three cafes that were the favorites of the literati of 20th century Paris. There is the Brasserie Lipp, Cafe Dr Flore and Aux Deux Magots.Camus is said to have preferred Brasserie Lipp. Jean Paul Sartre and Georges Sand liked Cafe de Flore. .
Just 10 yards away from Les Deux Magots ( cafe and restaurant ) , and occupying just as much space in France’s literary history, is the Café de Flore. Apollinaire and Salmon would come here to work on their arts review, “Les Soirées de Paris,” while André Breton spent entire days here and across the street at Les Deux Magots. French poet Jacques Prevert also set up shop at the café, bringing in groups of friends for the night.
The cafe derives its name from the sculpture of “Flora”, the goddess of flowers.One can find this sculpture on the other side of Boulevard Saint Germain.The café gained new fame in the 1940s and 50s when it became a hot spot for existentialism after Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre started spending a good part of their days over here, reportedly hashing out their philosophies from morning till night. Occasional visitors to Cafe de Flore included poet Guillaume Apollinaire ,Descartes , Trotsky, the Giacometti brothers, Zaskine , Albert Camus ,Pablo Picasso , Arthur Koestler, Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, Marcel Carne ( film director ), Serge Reggiani ( actor ) ,Jane Fonda ( actor ), Juliette Gréco ( singer ), Boris Vian( singer ) ,Georges Bataille, Robert Desnos, Léon-Paul Fargue, Raymond Queneau, Roman Polanski, Lawrence Durell,Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and many more. Jean Paul Sartre wrote this :-
“We settled down there completely: from nine in the morning until noon, we worked there, we went for lunch and came back at two o’clock and then we talked with friends we made until eight o’clock. After dinner, we met the people we had appointment with. This may sound strange for you, but we were at home in the Flore”. Another important detail, under the Occupation, we couldn’t find Germans in the Flore. The roads of the Flore were four years for me the 'Roads to Freedom' ."
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The Guardian archives (28 August 1983: A boiled egg and a slice of Sartre, s'il vous plait) has this to convey:-
“When Sartre moved from Montparnasse to a hotel in St Germain-des-Prés, he used the cafe to write in. He came from opening time until midday and from the afternoon until closing," Boubal said. "I didn't know him by name, and he usually came with a woman who sat at another table in the corner. The woman was de Beauvoir and during the afternoon the couple went to the room upstairs where "you would see them with huge files writing interminable articles".It was not until months later when Sartre had completed his 350,000-word philosophical study L'Etre et le Néant and de Beauvoir published her first novel L'invitée, that he discovered their names. Later in the war, Sartre became so well known that a special phone line was installed for him, but when his popularity surged in 1946 and the bar became full of literary tourists he worked only from his flat in the Place de St Germain. By then, Sartre and de Beauvoir were surrounded by friends who included Camus, then editor of the Combat newspaper, and Juliette Greco, who later became the best-known singer in St Germain-des-Prés's youth cult known as "existentialists" after Sartre's philosophy.”
Opened in 1880, Cafe de Flore has appeared in many Hollywood and French movies and music albums. During World War II, the café was untouched by German occupation, providing an escape and a sense of freedom during a tumultuous time.It’s here that at the turn of the 20th century, French author Charles Maurras set up camp on the first floor of the Flore to write his book. In 1913, poet Guillaume Apollinaire and André Salmon transformed the café into a publishing house, which became the birthplace of literary art magazine Les Soirées de Paris, and eventually, the catalyst for the Dadaism movement.
The café continues to be the face of the intellectual life of Paris. Politicians, artists, musicians, intellectuals, film personalities , fashion Icons, designers, writers still keep visiting and patronising the place. 5hey come to meet, relax and talk in its cosy ambiance . No music is played inside the cafe. Crowded with tourists and visitors , we had to stand in a que to go inside and seek a table. The air inside is a mixture of aroma of the dishes and the fragrant perfumes used by the visitors. Although afternoons are best for perching on a table outside and enjoying the pulse of Boulevard Saint-Germain, there's also a vibrant after-dark scene. In other words, there's no wrong time to visit. The cafe provides dine in facility till midnight and no carry away or home delivery facility exists. In Paris, the bill in bars and restaurants includes a service charge, so you do not have to leave a tip. However, if you have been satisfied with your meal and the service you are welcome to do so. A tip in general amounts to 5 to 10% of the bill.
Since 1984, Moroslav Siljegovic has been efficiently running the Flore. Maintaining the solid reputation and the old traditions of hospitality at the Flore , he also runs the “Closerie des Lilas” a restaurant known for serving its clientele with fine wines , coffee, desserts ,chocolates , oysters , lunch , dinner , breakfast specialties in an ambiance made pleasant by piano music .
Café de Flore does a very good service to the French literature through the ‘ Prix de Flore’ annual prize. It is awarded every year at the Café de Flore in the month of November to youthful authors. The award is judged by a panel of reputed journalists.
Cafe de Flore may appear a little expensive even if you order a cup of coffee or simply a croissant. But remember, you are not paying for a commodity but for the invaluable experience of being inside an institution that was patronised by great writers, artists and intellectuals of Paris. You are paying for sitting in a space that was shared by some Nobel laureates and legends of the world.I end this write-up with a poem, ‘ Jab Teri Samandhar Aankhon Mein’ that poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz wrote in Paris .He wrote the poem while sitting on the bank of River Seine .
(Jab Teri SamandarAankhon Mein
by
Faiz Ahmed Faiz)
“Yeh
dhoop kinaara sham dhale
Milte hain dono waqt yahaan
Jo raat na din jo aaj na kal
Pal bhar ko amar pal bhar mein dhuaan
Is dhoop kinaare pal do pal
Honton ki lapak
Baahon ki chanak
Yeh mel hamaara jhoot na sach
Kyon raaz karo kyon dosh dharo
Kis kaaran jhooti baat karo
Jab teri samandar aankhon mein
Is shaam ka sooraj doobega
Sukh soenge ghar dhar waale
Aur raahi apni raah lega”
(When, In Your Ocean Eyes
translated from Urdu by
Mustansir Dalvi)
(That
time of dusk,
when on the edge of light
two moments reconcile,
that instant
that is neither night nor day,
tomorrow nor today
that lives forever for a blink,
that vanishes in a wink
on this edge of light,
in brief respite
lips lunge for lips
arms flash in embrace
our union is beyond falsehoods and truth
why keep secrets,
why hold reproach
what reason to cling to deceit
when, in your ocean eyes
this evening sun should sink
householders will fall
into peaceful slumber
and the traveller
will make his way)
( Avtar Mota )
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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