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Spending Time in the Latin Quarter
by James Lipscomb
When my wife and I decided to go to Paris,
we knew little of the city, other than what we had seen on television
and movies. We knew the Left Bank was the traditional haunt of noted
writers and philosophers so, being booklovers, we looked for an
inexpensive hotel in the 6th district, the famed St. Germain des Prés.
To our delight, St. Germain des Prés
was everything we expected, and more. A quaint warren of side streets
and alleyways, enclosed within the bustling boulevards of the city. We
wandered through the winding streets, window-shopping, people watching
and occasionally stopping at a picturesque café for cappuccino
and pastries, until we were totally lost. Then, when we tried to
extricate ourselves from the maze, we discovered even more of the
intriguing city, around every turn.
Late, one warm May evening we set out on one
of our rambles into the bustle of St. Germain. We dined on the sidewalk
in front of a medieval church, bought some Cuban cigars and a beautiful
print of the Eiffel Tower, then eventually found ourselves in front of
the fountain at the St. Michel Square.
Taking the last unoccupied table at a busy
sidewalk café we were swooning over the splendor and vibrance of
the city. The fountain directly in front of us, the River Seine and the
beautifully illuminated Notre Dame cathedral to our right, it was
intoxicating. We couldn't believe we had been so fortunate as to choose
this location for our stay in Paris.
We marveled at the antics of the taxi
drivers as they jockeyed for the lead in an automobile race that only
they knew about, and we watched pedestrians, young and old, in every
manner of dress as they paraded around the Place St. Michel for our
entertainment.
After spending quite some time taking in the
wonder of the city, my wife asked me the time. We were sure it must
have been getting close to the café's closing time. We were both
astonished to learn it was 3:00am. Had it not been dark, the activity
on the street might have led me to believe it was 3:00 in the afternoon.
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