Friday was mine and Vincent’s third anniversary of moving to Paris, but for some reason I was not in a celebratory mood and in the August pre-vacances doldrums. A new friend, Soloman Lam, who I met through my blog, made plans to go to a restaurant that had live entertainment in the 9th arr. near the Grands Boulevards. Soloman, a law student from Toronto, was living here for three months and working as an intern at the Carnavalet Museum. It was his second to last night in Paris and he wanted to do something festive so we thought this was a good place to celebrate my staying and his going.
Au Limonaire, billed as a bistro of wine and songs, is located in the Cite Bergere, a hidden passage in the 9th arr. off rue Faubourg Montmartre. We arrived at 8:30PM so we could have a leisurely dinner before the entertainment started at 10PM. The bistro was typically Parisian with a dark red façade and beat-up tables and chairs outside with lively people having drinks. We sat inside and had a suitable two -course dinner for 25 euros a person including an excellent red wine. The show started at 10:30PM and the first act was a trio, two female singers/musicians and a male musician. Their catchy name was Juja Lula and their smooth, modern, but definitely French style matched their name. Next up was the gorgeous Romain, a crooner who strummed the guitar, killing me very softly with his sexy, smoldering looks. He had the rare soft but also strong sound of the old-fashioned French pop singers even though his music was totally contemporary. His melodic and haunting voice swept me away. We all swooned over him and when he recited a poem he had written, we almost melted on the spot.
Romantic Romain
Yannick Delaunay, more of a folk/pop singer, closed the show and did a few sing along with the audience songs. Although he had a pleasant voice, he was no match for our sweetheart Romaine.
We left at about 12:30PM and we showed Vincent the Follies Begere theater. We stared at the art deco palace in all its old glory and imagined a bygone era of showy but tasteful showgirls, classy singers, and of course Josephine Baker swinging her then scandalous bananas.
The evening lifted my spirits and I thank Soloman for getting me out of my doldrums.
Au Limonaire
18 cite Bergere, 9th arr.
Metro: Grands Boulevards or Cadet
Tel 01.45.23.33.33
Open 8PM
www.limonaire.free.fr
I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour
includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.
I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com
Congrats. to you and Vincent on a successful transition, 3 glorious years and counting.....we only hope that the next 3 will be even more fulfilling! Love, Michael and Gale
Posted by: Michael Byron | August 20, 2008 at 07:29 PM