cork creatures
Today’s choice of my afternoon beer is definitely not as comfortable as yesterdays leather lounge! I am at a little bistro where the tourist busy Le Marais meets Place de la Bastille. I am sitting at one of those little outdoor cafes (the epitome of french eateries) on a woven cane chair with a small round table that holds my beer and a pen and paper.
metro tickets in paper exhibit
It’s busy and there is much traffic with people hurrying around me many have those wheeled shopping carts and many more have fancy paper bags stamped with expensive store labels.
I suck in the air and see a man opposite me I think he’s filming me. This is awkward I summon Oriane and give him a stare that’s deathly and tells him no. He puts the phone down and I smile a little to myself... I’m getting the hang of this! He leaves shortly after. There is a table of girls that have just sat in the opposite corner of the terrasse they order coffee and chat, smoke and photograph themselves. I am the only person drinking beire at this time of day but I guess the fact that this is a heavily touristy area gives me a license to make such a mistake.
I’m starting to calm and settle as a couple more women join the tables. One is frantically typing as her cigarette ash falls over her keyboard she is facing into the restaurant and not wavered by the onslaught of people walking past. The second sits behind her she is jammed between the typist and the teenagers. She has the classic black bob of Paris, parted in the middle, an umber turtle neck with a camel scarf that she takes off and folds neatly on the table, her ears have small gold loops that shimmy as she too reaches for a computer. Her tech may be a prop as she’s interested in the passers by and is perhaps like me taking notes of the happenings around her.
The beer seems strong and I decide to leave it at one which is a good thing at 7.50 a pop I walk past the supermarket and by a six pack for its equal.
The atmosphere holds excitement and a nervousness that is everywhere, there is an uncertainty what the coming weeks will hold. The protests continue. Ive walked a lot over the last few days and seen many fancy commercial galleries tucked away in all corners of Le Marais. Im a little trapped with the transport down but I continue to search for streets, courtyards and ornate gardens that Ive missed. My body aches and I think if the trains stay closed I will need to perfect my bistro ordering and people watching skills!