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All over Paris coffee lovers who've been cut off from their local cafés can be spotted meandering semi-conscious in search of a decent cup. But it's not just coffee they're craving, otherwise they would stay home and brew their own. No, these are the displaced, whose cafés were abruptly shuttered, thus cruelly shutting down a lifestyle, a French lifestyle, of savoring time, with coffee as the backdrop.
But thankfully, with each confinement many cafés, boulangeries, pâtisseries and small shops that weren't in the business of selling drinks-to-go have risen to the task. No one is complaining about the once annoying noisiness of espresso machines, now a welcome sound. Or pointing at tourists carrying drinks while walking around, until now a very un-French habitude.
Parisians are finding these stop-and-go places set up to sell coffee their sole reprieve. Sometimes there will be pastries, sandwiches and crêpes. And if they happen to live in a neighborhood where many know each other, such as Montmartre, these quick coffee stops will provide a welcome excuse to speed socialize and catch up on local gossip - which makes taking a walk something to look forward to. - BPJ
Note:
- The latest curfew begins each evening at 6 p.m. and ends at 6 a.m.
(exceptions: if you have a dog to walk, a signed attestation to justify why you are out, or a need to step outside for a smoke)
- If nature calls toilettes will be off limits
Above: a coffee roaster shop makes use of its burlap coffee bags to show they now have coffee to go
Below: freezing weather doesn't deter this man in flip flops, T-shirt, and shorts; a café-turned-hot-drinks-street-food vendor w/plenty of hand gel on a side table
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