Since the pandemic the work from home culture in Ireland is very strong and now I don't get as many chances to sit and people watch in the Cafés and lunch spots around Dublin. I miss that hugely as I think it sparked quite a lot of ideas and observations which would lead to something more substantial later on. And while I do not miss the commute itself, I do miss the various happenings on the commute on the way home...
.. when I lived in Paris I don't think I was old/mature enough to spend any significant amount of time in cafés... I was still buzzing around and found my inspiration on long walks and through the camera lens, perhaps no different from the flâneur of old.
I continue to find so much enjoyment and pause for thought in your notes from Paris, Summer.
I've tried writing in cafes for years but always seem to get sidetracked with the people watching, and end up so caffeinated that I'm a little shaky. I do love a good library afternoon, or writing in hotels far from home.
15 years in London as a base, passing under the Channel into France and guided throughout the continent by my Belgian wife, unable to ignore the glaring differences in culture between my homeland and Europe, I have come to the undeniable conclusion that my remaining years would be far more comfortable and inspiring in Europe then the US; how sad.
This brought back so many memories, of visiting Paris when I was a junior in college, in the early 1980s, and then returning in October 2001, right after 9/11 (the Parisians were so nice to me). I still love writing in cafes. Thanks for the beautiful essay.
I love writing in cafes. To do so in Paris would be a dream. Most of my favorites locally have shuttered since Covid. It's sad. I know the one drink, high-tip, multi-hour strategy well.
This was lovely; thank you. Something so deliciously melancholy about cafes and restaurants at night, where beginnings and endings merge together.
To mention - in the latest issue (#20) of the NY Review of Books, Bloomsbury has a full-page ad that spotlights 12 Object Lessons, including “High Heels”. 👠
Very Movable Feast-y, love it. I've been testing cafes in my area and finding they all too loud, can't concentrate. But, still, the appeal of writing in a public area resonates.
Thanks. I loved this. I liked that the waiters didn't encourage you to leave (they drop the first hint by removing your empty cup).
I remember the writer Harland Ellison spending a week sitting at a small desk in the window of a bookshop in the Charing Cross Rd. Whenever I walked past he was always hard at work.
Wonderful writing and super exciting for me because I went there some years ago to take notes for a scene in my novel (published next year) about the surrealists who met on that cafe in the 1030s.
I was right back there as I read your piece and I was comparing the fixtures and fittings I recorded in my notebook back then! I went way before the pandemic and that evening there seemed to be a business event going on with some Japanese men. Your visit had a much better bohemian vibe and would have been perfect to get me in the mood for my novel.
Beautiful, it’s like I’m there when you write. I’d be quiet—when can I book my flight? ✈️ I write at Starbucks near my home. Even though my husband built me this nook! 🤓
A perfect description of the lonely and long recovery from the lockdowns. Do you wish for the cafes to be livelier or are you relieved that writers can work in peace, even if they're only really playing solitaire? A bittersweet time indeed.
Since the pandemic the work from home culture in Ireland is very strong and now I don't get as many chances to sit and people watch in the Cafés and lunch spots around Dublin. I miss that hugely as I think it sparked quite a lot of ideas and observations which would lead to something more substantial later on. And while I do not miss the commute itself, I do miss the various happenings on the commute on the way home...
.. when I lived in Paris I don't think I was old/mature enough to spend any significant amount of time in cafés... I was still buzzing around and found my inspiration on long walks and through the camera lens, perhaps no different from the flâneur of old.
I continue to find so much enjoyment and pause for thought in your notes from Paris, Summer.
Oh to be in Paris, writing ✨
I'm so glad the writers got the cafés back for a while. Just about to write my five things down for the day.
I've tried writing in cafes for years but always seem to get sidetracked with the people watching, and end up so caffeinated that I'm a little shaky. I do love a good library afternoon, or writing in hotels far from home.
"Ghost ships in the night..." ❤️
15 years in London as a base, passing under the Channel into France and guided throughout the continent by my Belgian wife, unable to ignore the glaring differences in culture between my homeland and Europe, I have come to the undeniable conclusion that my remaining years would be far more comfortable and inspiring in Europe then the US; how sad.
This brought back so many memories, of visiting Paris when I was a junior in college, in the early 1980s, and then returning in October 2001, right after 9/11 (the Parisians were so nice to me). I still love writing in cafes. Thanks for the beautiful essay.
I love writing in cafes. To do so in Paris would be a dream. Most of my favorites locally have shuttered since Covid. It's sad. I know the one drink, high-tip, multi-hour strategy well.
This was lovely; thank you. Something so deliciously melancholy about cafes and restaurants at night, where beginnings and endings merge together.
To mention - in the latest issue (#20) of the NY Review of Books, Bloomsbury has a full-page ad that spotlights 12 Object Lessons, including “High Heels”. 👠
Very Movable Feast-y, love it. I've been testing cafes in my area and finding they all too loud, can't concentrate. But, still, the appeal of writing in a public area resonates.
Thanks. I loved this. I liked that the waiters didn't encourage you to leave (they drop the first hint by removing your empty cup).
I remember the writer Harland Ellison spending a week sitting at a small desk in the window of a bookshop in the Charing Cross Rd. Whenever I walked past he was always hard at work.
Perfect.
Wonderful writing and super exciting for me because I went there some years ago to take notes for a scene in my novel (published next year) about the surrealists who met on that cafe in the 1030s.
I was right back there as I read your piece and I was comparing the fixtures and fittings I recorded in my notebook back then! I went way before the pandemic and that evening there seemed to be a business event going on with some Japanese men. Your visit had a much better bohemian vibe and would have been perfect to get me in the mood for my novel.
Thanks for writing so beautifully.
Beautiful, it’s like I’m there when you write. I’d be quiet—when can I book my flight? ✈️ I write at Starbucks near my home. Even though my husband built me this nook! 🤓
A perfect description of the lonely and long recovery from the lockdowns. Do you wish for the cafes to be livelier or are you relieved that writers can work in peace, even if they're only really playing solitaire? A bittersweet time indeed.
I felt like I was there.