The front window-doors have been opened on this terrific day and there's nothing between me and the fresh air outside. The sky is completely and irrevocably blue; it is as if clouds had never been invented. There are trees all along the streets and everything is wonderful, even the omnipresent noise of traffic. ![]() Though I'm inside the café, I'm sitting underneath an umbrella, a large white one that shades my table and the table next to me, where a man has finished playing with his palm pilot and is now perusing some paper documents of some sort. My chair is black painted metal with a speckled purple seat cushion. My table is square with brown galaxies or moon craters swirling across the top of it. The ashtray is black plastic with the horseshoe-thing picture and my cup and saucer are white. I was kindly given two sugar cubes in a "St. Louis" packet to make my espresso experience that much sweeter. There is an endless parade of humanity in front of me. Behind me, an entire café sits, but I could care less, the whole beautiful world is in front of me. NOTE: A few minutes before I was going to leave, the server informed me that I could not sit in the café for four hours with just an espresso, and that I had to order something else. I asked if it was possible to stay for just ten minutes more and she said no. It was the middle of the afternoon, there were plenty of tables available, and I don't know why they considered me undesirable, but let me tell you, it absolutely ruined my day. |
![]() Copyright © 2002 David Sadegh. Please send your questions or comments to: david@undergroundparis.com |