Entre Les Murs

North, South, East and Left

Yesterday AL and I climbed Montmartre to poke around the old Bohemian neighbourhood to the West.  It took less time than I expected, because it's really quite compact - and the area didn't offer the galleries and antiquarian book stores I had imagined, but was mostly residential.  Businesses were rather pedestrian and touristy shops.  But it is quaint in the best possible sense, and it has a charming sense of age and individuality.


With time to kill before dinner, we found a movie just off the Boulevard St. Germain.  Called Bye Bye Blackbird, it was a British/German/Luxembourg production.  The story was set behind the scenes of a turn of the (previous) century circus, revolving around two trapeze artists.  It was a small film in a way, and because of that and its spare poetic tone, it's not the kind of film that gets released in North American theatres; but I would nonetheless recommend it for those who enjoy films that leave a little to the audience's imagination.

Janet and her colleague, MM, met us for dinner on Rue Oberkampf, a lively neighbourhood that we've visited before.  On the last occasion, we had drinks at a bar whose name I couldn't remember afterwards, and then went across the street to a terrific restaurant called Chez Justine.  We had something of the same thing in mind this time, but didn't make it across the street, opting instead to eat at what we now know to be the Café Charbon.  MM, a native Parisian, advised us that the two establishments are the most renowned in the area.  It's nice to know that my years spent on The Search For the Perfect Restaurant have left me with finely-honed instincts for a night out.

posted 14.10.06