The Outdoor Cafe

The Outdoor Cafe

By Jay

We find ourselves wondering what it is that draws us to foreign countries, wanting to leave the familiarity of the good old U.S. and our friends and family. It certainly can't be difficult languages and currencies, confusing transportation systems or unfamiliar food. It must be something that is uniquely enjoyable and difficult to find at home. One of these things might be the outdoor or sidewalk cafe.

The outdoor cafe is an institution in many countries we visit; one of the most intriguing things that we love and look for in our travels. These places are fun to be in and to watch. People gather here in a relaxed mood or engaged with others. Coffee, Cappuccino, Wine; with snacks or cheese or other accompaniments attract the pallet, people make up the rest of the experience. It is a small price of admission to a live theatre.

Most outdoor cafes would have a difficult time with the strict regulations imposed on eating and drinking establishments and traffic standards in the U.S. It is quite common here to be seated curbside with cars and motorbikes whizzing by your elbow. In many cases a restaurant or cafe will have tables that are on opposite sides of the street with waiters negotiating the traffic carrying trays of drinks and food. Adjacent establishments will often distinguish their territory with different colored chairs, tables and umbrellas. Most will have a chalked menu on a sandwich board or attached to a post or wall. In some heavy tourist area they may have menu displays in multiple languages. This is rare in France but we do see menus with pictures occasionally. It pays to have a modicum of understanding of a country's customs and preferences when ordering food or drink. What you read or interpret on a sign or menu may or may not be even close to your actual experience and the more close that the item matches a literal meaning in the U.S. is cause to be especially careful. We had a most unpleasant "Cheeseburger" in Paris on our last visit there. It was more like Steak tartare smothered with a gooey harsh cheese and mayo...served cold. French fries, in almost any country will come close to a familiar texture, shape and flavor, but don't count on it. We have had some pretty ugly imitations.

One thing that we notice in Europe, France in particular, are the number of people smoking. This can be a distraction (along with the dog poop) especially when people are smoking at an adjacent table. It is particularly disturbing to see the young people smoking and imagining their future health problems.

Relaxing in an outdoor cafe may be the penultimate form of voyeurism. We hear quiet, thoughtful conversations and because we do not understand the language we can only speculate as to the relationship between the couples or group of people we see sharing a table. In France it seems to be O.K. for public displays of affection; not so in many other countries. Viva la France!

We sometimes see very animated discussions and by the tone and expressions it is difficult to determine if there is anguish, conflict or something else going on between the participants. They, at least,  take their time about it; in fact people in France seem to relish free time and you can read much about the workforce in France and their propensity for long periods of non-work. Another "Viva la france!"