When Heidi and I ventured into St Michel in the Latin Quarter last night in search of a late-opening bar after a few celebratory birthday cocktails in the Odeon area, we thought the one called 'Latin Bar' looked like it had a good crowd and a fun vibe....not until we sat down with a beer outside and saw the sign 'sexy bar for crazy night' and, seconds later, were served by a (very chisled and muscular!) man wearing only his underwear did we think we might have stumbled into an altogether different sort of bar....
St Michel, on the Seine's left bank in the Latin Quarter, is one of the uber touristy parts of Paris that I'm really not a huge fan of. One minute you're admiring a beautiful statue in the square surrounded by the most parisien of buildings and with the Seine flowing gently behind you, the next you have turned off the main street and found yourself in neon sign mania...tons of greek restaurants complete with tacky broken plates at the doors and touters trying to force you inside with the promise of some sort of freebie...you could be anywhere in the world but for somehow it reminds me a lot of Athens - it definitely doesn't feel like the beautiful Paris that I know. The bars and clubs are expensive and tacky and there's not a french bistro or brassarie to be seen...but on a monday night when you're looking to stay out and celebrate a 30th, it's the only place to go...and go we did....we weren't home till 2.30am....!
We have spent Heidi's time here eating lots of cheese and drinking quite a few cocktails. We have found a little bar in St Germain that we like and have been back there a couple of times...not often enough to know the waiter just yet but enough to know the menu...We have ventured into the Marais and visited the Pompidou centre - a museum for contemporary art...we have been lost so often that we have lost count and we have eaten pizza on the street swigging beer from the bottle and people watching in Les Halles. We've caught a boat down the seine and listened intently to our english speaking headphones, reveling in the history of the iconic buildings...and we have drunk a bottle of champagne while eating birthday gatauex - one milk chocolate with merange and one white chocolate - sweet and delicious little cakes bought from the patisserie down the road...it is 30 in style. It is the way to kick off the next decade of adventure and new experience. It is a sexy bar for a crazy night. It is a birthday spent in Paris...
Happy birhday gorgeous Heidi!
Till next time...
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