Sitting at Café Flore in Paris on a Sunday afternoon, sipping on your tiny glass of jus d'orange, you look up at Sophie with flickers of pain and ambivalence in your eyes: "Just what exactly did we do this past weekend?"  She smiles over her cup of coffee, her tired eyes beam with delight at the memories racing through her head, "Well…" 

*Reverse time warp haze*

Friday:
11:00 a.m.  You've been awake for hours getting ready. For the picnic with Sophie you are in charge of cups (check), blanket (check), and cheese (fail).

11:30 a.m. Heading towards Champs de Mars you take a quick detour onto Rue Cler to fill the voids of your checklist – the perfect market street in Paris' 7th arrondissement. Fruit stands, cheese shops and several boulangeries reap the benefits of your ever-increasing appetite. Cups (check), blanket (check), cheese with a variety of fruit and bread (check!).

Rue Cler; Photo credit: Slightner

12:00 p.m. "Bonjour, Sophie!"

"Bonjour!" *Kiss Kiss*

The wine is poured into discreet plastic cups, the fresh h'ors d'oeuvres placed on their plastic packaging and the conversation flows endlessly on about love, couture and "just how much does it cost tax payers to light the 'City of Lights'?"


1:30 p.m. After a quick jaunt down Saint Germain des Prés (merely window shopping – you swear!), you zoom by the Notre Dame. No one can blame you for acting like a cultural snob once they realize you're B-lining it like a crazy woman with hypoglycemia for the holy grail of ice cream shops – Berthillon.


2:00 p.m. Thirty minutes in line and you finally have your all-natural pistachio ice cream melting all over your hand. Three euros isn't so bad for a double scoop – and it comes with free entertainment from nearby street performers (well, free if you decide to be a selfish jerk).


2:30 p.m. "Heure pour une bière?" Now that your sugar levels have returned to an acceptable standard, you and Sophie relax under the shade of the Notre Dame and enjoy a cold pint at a neighboring patio – Brasserie Esmeralda.


*Several hours and innumerable photographs later*

6:00 p.m. Dinner and drinks at a traditional Parisian wine bar – Le Baron Rouge (where you were tricked into eating duck heart last time). The selection of French wines is astounding, though reasonable prices hard to come by. You see wine kegs offering 'vin à emporter' - wine 'to go' (note to self: bring an empty 1L bottle next time).

8:00 p.m. You browse frivolously through all 150+ cocktails offered at Le Forum – an oak paneled, old-timey businessman bar (you're here for the drinks, not the atmosphere). You settle on a Pimp Martini (seriously) and after several jokes about the bartender wanting 'commission' for the drink, you leave.

9:00 p.m. Boat Cruise Party! Watching monument after monument pass you by as you cruise down the Seine dancing the night away with friends and strangers alike, you eventually realize that it's 4 a.m. and your 'sea legs' have had enough.


Saturday:
12 noon. You haven’t been taking your time getting ready. You only just woke up.

1:00 p.m. Reading at the fountain, occasionally glancing at children attempting to steer their boats at the Jardin des Tuileries, you mentally smile at the authenticity of this moment.


2:00 p.m. "Bonjour, Sophie."

"Bonjour." *Kiss Kiss*

The two of you crash on a nearby bench, using the other as a pillow and just relax as you watch the locals - both human and pigeon - pass you by.

3:00 p.m. "I need a breeze."
 
"Ah! Le grande roue!"
 
"What?"

"The ferris wheel!"

For a breathtaking view of the city for only 4 euros, this is a must!

4:00 p.m. A late lunch on a street side café in the 2nd arrondissement refuels your excitement for the Parisian lifestyle (or perhaps it was the perfect cup of espresso you just drank).

Outdoor patios are common even during the winter months

8:00 p.m. You enjoy a relatively early dinner in hopes of being able to watch the sunset just beyond the Arc de Triumph and Eiffel Tower. This truly rare view is possible at Georges – the rooftop restaurant at the Georges Pompidou Centre.

The Silver Cod is an exceptional dish available here – same with Echire

11:00 p.m. Arriving early at Le Regine, a popular nightclub, you manage to get in without paying the 15 euro cover and have easy access to the bar. You realize it’s going to be yet another long night when you see the line-up of famous DJs spinning tracks and Sophie doesn’t show until 1:00 a.m.


*warp forward to the present*

Back at Café Flore you’ve managed to eat your way through a mushroom omelette, three additional glasses of juice and half of Sophie’s café – all the while thinking to yourself, in the place that inspired Sartre and Hemingway, that these experiences last more than one lifetime. They live on forever with this city.

by Marayna Dickinson
all photos by Marayna Dickinson (except where noted)