Cafe de Flore~ Travelin' Tuesday

Cafe de Flore~ A Paris landmark since 1887

and known as a favorite for many 19th and 20th century writers and artists

including Earnest Hemingway, Lawrence Durrel, Truman Capote and Camus

as well as Picasso and Apollinaire.

Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir were known to

take their coffee and croissants here in the mornings

and discuss philosophy over drinks in the evening.

Sartre is said to have written one of his famous quotes here:

"Man is condemned to be free."

Put that in your beret and smoke it!

Writers still sit here and scribble away

and every year the cafe awards a literary prize

known as the Prix de Flore.

I've never written here but I think on my next visit

I'll park myself inside with pen and paper

and a couple of books on Sartre and de Beauvoir.
I've always meant to read more about them.

Where better than the very place they sat, wrote

and chewed on philosophy and croissants?

And until then, I'll have that to look forward to.

Located on the Left Bank

on the corner of St. Germain des Pres and Rue St. Benoit

in the 6th arrondissement,

check out the website for a few inside shots:

http://www.cafedeflore.fr/

172 blvd. St. Germain

Metro: St. Germain des Pres

Open 7am to 1:30am

1.45.48.55.26