Vincent and I were in Saint Germain des Pres last week shooting a new video- more info on that soon- and stopped by Café de Flore to have a coffee, bringing back fond memories.
Our first trip to Paris together was in the summer of 1978. At that time, Saint Germain was the hip and happening area before it moved to the Marais in the early 2000s.
We stayed at the Crystal Hotel just a few doors down from Café de Flore on Rue Saint Benoit. At the time, I believe our room was about $50 a night, and now at that time of the year the cost is close to 300€ a night, but the hotel has been updated and refurbished. I have a friend who stayed at the Crystal frequently in the 1950s and early 1960s and he told me many jazz musicians stayed there.
We would go to the Café de Flore every morning for breakfast and after we ventured to the newly opened and controversial Pompidou Museum, our first visit to Hermes, a pastry stop at Fauchon every day at 4pm- no matter what, walking in the Tuileries, shopped till we dropped, buying a pair of very expensive, woven shoes designed by Stephane Kelian, and dining at Le Train Bleu.
Here’s a story I am reposting that wrote a few months ago about our funny experience at Café de Flore.
My First Time at Café de Flore
My first visit to Paris was in June of 1976, and I couldn’t wait to return. I met Vincent in 1977, and he had never been to Paris or Europe. In July of 1978, we took a grand tour of Europe and we went to London, Paris, Rome, Florence, and Venice.
When we arrived in Paris, we stayed in a small, inexpensive hotel, The Crystal, on rue Saint Benoit, just a few doors down from Café de Flore, in the heart of Saint Germain des Pres. At that time, Saint Germain was the hip and happening area of Paris, much like the Marais is today.
My brother had recommended the hotel, and he also said we must have breakfast at Café de Flore.
So the next morning, we went to Café de Flore, and sat outside on the classic wicker, café chairs. The warm and sunny day was perfect weather for Vincent to experience his first visit to a Paris café and my first visit to the legendary Café de Flore.
In the early 1970s, when my parents visited Paris for the first time, I remember when they returned home, my father raved about how wonderful the Paris cafes were because you could stay there all day and no one would bother you, but exclaimed “ Could you believe it, they charge almost a dollar for a teeny cup of coffee, with no refill” ( a big cup of coffee in New York at the time was 15 cents.) Keeping that in mind, we carefully budgeted for cafes and restaurants.
After we sat down, we noticed a basket full of croissants on the table and we thought it was odd, but then we naively thought, Wow, isn’t that nice of them to offer free croissants. We loved the café au lait, served in the oversized cups resembling bowls with the green Café de Flore logo on them, and the sensation of steamy foam and hot milk on our lips, so much so, we each ordered two cups.
At that time, Café de Flore was not as touristy as it is now, so we marveled at the chic and well- dressed Parisians sipping their morning café and reading the newspaper. We also thought how cool it was that people could bring their dogs to the café.
Two-hours, four café au laits, and six croissants later, we finally asked for l’addition, one of the only French words we knew besides merci and solde.
The waiter scrawled a bunch of almost undecipherable numbers on a piece of paper and handed it to me. After squinting at it for a long time, I figured what his French hieroglyphics numerically translated to in French francs. Now remember, there was no pocket calculators in 1978, so when I got the bill, I took out my little notebook, and converted the francs to dollars by hand, and the total was about $16. I thought this was wrong, as how could four coffees be so expensive. Finally, I sheepishly, asked the waiter to explain the bill, and with a few big body and hand gestures, and a combination of French and broken English, he pointed to four cups of coffee and six croissants.
Flabbergasted and sticker shocked, I paid the bill and realized we blew our lunch budget for the day, so instead of having lunch at a Parisian bistro, all we could afford was fromage and jambon on baguette, which in the end, was perfect and delicious.
So, the lesson to be learned here is that not only is there no such thing as a free lunch, there’s no such thing as a free croissant at Café de Flore.
I don't remember the croissants being that big in 1978
From 1981- three years later
Please watch my latest A Bite of Paris video, Honey Tasting at Famille Mary, where I taste a bunch of yummy flavored honey's.
Click here to watch or link below.