I took this top picture back on February 2nd, when the weather in Paris was cold.

I had compiled an assortment of pictures of the various cafés, bistros and brasseries in Paris and would like to share some here.

This particular bistro offered cozy camel colored lap blankets.  How nice is that!  You will note the heat lamps shown here just

tucked under the red awning, which are common almost everywhere promising to keep the patrons warm and toasty as they sit outside.  The blankets were certainly a nice touch.  I’ve never seen that before.

In the third picture on the left here the little tables are numbered in black and white.

Shown next is a typical sunny afternoon at Les Duex Magots located at Place Saint-

Germain des Prés.  It is a famous café which was once known as a favorite meeting place for young artists and writers including Ernest Hemingway and is still very popular today.

The French  love to sit outdoors and treat the local cafés as if they are an extension of their living room as do other Europeans.  It is just wonderful to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee and enjoy a dessert outside where

you can people watch.  You can enjoy a glass of wine, talk with a patron at the next table or just read and relax and its great to have your lunch or dinner outside as well.

One day when we were near Notre Dame Cathedral we strolled a few different streets we had never visited before.  We came upon this little restaurant painted in red with the topiary planted in the tall pot along with other plants.

This is a close up of the sign.  I can’t even imagine  how beautiful this must look when the green ivy blooms and hangs in the front.  Judging by the size of the vines here, it must be very, very old.    This is a little inn and restaurant and has been since 1594.  Imagine 1594, how amazing is that!  This is the type of little place I just long to paint.  It is  very charmingly French and I just love all the plants lined up in front near the blackboard.