In January a few years ago I stayed in this same École Militaire neighborhood in Paris’ seventh arrondissement. Late one night I went to a café a couple blocks from my rue Cler apartment for a bite to eat. I was sitting in a glass-enclosed, glass-ceilinged area (very pleasant places to be in the daytime when it’s sunny but chilly), which gave me the perfect location to witness a very unusual phenomenon – a torrential thunder-and-lightning snowstorm (I’m sure there’s a proper meteorological term for it; maybe one of you know – thundersnow?!?). Huge wet flakes piled up on the round tables outside the restaurant. When the snow finally let up a bit and I decided to go back to the apartment, I stopped at one of the tables outside and used the snow on it to make a little snowman for a centerpiece. My slightly curmudgeonly waiter knocked on the window and motioned for me to clear off the other tables in the same manner, then smiled and waved goodbye.
Well, today I stopped at the same café, Le Bosquet, and I’m pretty sure that the same slightly grumpy grandfatherly gentleman waited on me! Immediate flashback to the thundersnow! But this time it was a gloriously sunny day, perfect for a glass of rosé, which came with a little dish of herbed olives. Yum! What a way to revive and restore!
The artisan bakery Pain d’Epis is just across the street in this photo – fabulous breads and pastries – it’s my favorite in the area. A great cheese shop, Marie-Anne Cantin, is just about a half-block down the street (a slab of her butter and three of her cheeses found their way home with me today), and a terrific condiments shop, L’Epicerie Fine, is just a few steps farther.
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