Le Zinc!

Here is another typical Paris scene! We often call the bar that can be found in cafés, "Le zinc", after the name of the metallic chemical element (even though, and I'm sure it will be a surprise to all my French readers, I found out that no bars have ever been made out of Zinc!). The little red and white napkin under the glasses is also very French: the red and white motive (which can also be green or blue) is called "Le Vichy" because it was originally made in Vichy (in the South center of France) - It was Brigitte Bardot who made it famous when she got married in a Vichy style dress in 1959!

G'day mate!

You're looking at a little piece of Australia in Paris! No, this is not the Australian embassy, but one of the famous Café Oz's in France, true Aussie bars, where they sell Australian beer, show rugby matches and speak with a funny accent! Why am I dealing with Australia today? Well simply because after Cheltenham and London, the Benauts are in town and I just had a wonderful dinner with them (for those of you not familiar with the Benauts (Ian and Andrea), let's simply say, they are regular visitors and commenters to PDP, true francophiles and genuinely nice people.

If the shoe fits

I met up with some friends the other night to catch up after vacations and drown a few sorrows for the upcoming rentrée, and discovered this bar called La Cordonnerie. Located at 142 rue St Denis, this former shoemaker's shop now boasts some of the cheapest beer and happy hour in town, along with what I'd consider to be the aged clientele where those points are extremely important!