I heard that France once drank less coffee because of the shortage of coffee, and immediately saw more people taking a nap. It may seem exaggerated, but it is true that the French love coffee. When the Gulf War broke out in l991, France was also one of the participating countries. Some domestic people worried that the war would affect the supply of daily necessities and rushed to supermarkets to snap up. Even the TV station was shocked by this incident. When the camera was on the customers who were full of "scarce materials", they found that they took the most coffee and sugar. This incident once became a big joke at that time.
It seems that French people pay attention not to the taste, but to the environment and mood. Most of them don't want to drink alone behind closed doors, but just join in the fun outside, even if a small cup costs enough to make a pot at home. They didn't drink it in a hurry, but tasted it slowly, tasted it carefully, read books and newspapers, and talked about it. A "bubble" was a long time. At the science and technology fair, I walked through six or seven exhibition halls, and found a coffee stand in the corner, which was convenient for people from all walks of life to communicate and discuss, and it was packed all day.
French people form this habit of drinking coffee, consciously or unconsciously expressing an elegant charm, a romantic mood and a comfortable feeling of enjoying life. It can be said that this is a traditional and unique coffee culture. For this reason, the places where people stop for coffee in France can be said to be all over the streets, under the shade of trees, beside roads, on the sides of squares, on the banks of rivers, on cruise ships, on balconies facing the street, and even on the Eiffel Tower. The form, style and size are not limited. There are coffee shops, restaurants, halls and rooms, which are attached to buildings and covered by roofs. And the most popular and romantic ones are those open-air cafes, which are almost a portrayal of French life. Many open-air cafes occupy many public places, such as a corner of the square, some sidewalks on the streets, even on the crowded Champs-Elysé es, and the colorful umbrellas have become a unique street view that adorns Paris. It seems that the municipal authorities are particularly tolerant of this. Almost all the chairs in the coffee bar are arranged towards the road, which is obviously a purposeful audience, and the road in front of it is a big stage where the play will never repeat. Look at all kinds of guests, regardless of the noise and traffic in the street, the next cup of sun umbrella is in hand, leisurely and leisurely. You can browse aimlessly with a local newspaper, smoke with a cigarette, and enjoy the colorful streets carefully. Here, there will be bright fashions flashing, intoxicating fragrance floating, colorful girls passing by, and street musicians often bring you wonderful melodies. This situation is intoxicating. It's not hard to see the lovers whispering in the seat hugging and kissing like no one's watching. Others really can't envy so much, because this is in France. If you are lucky, maybe there is a French beauty sitting in the chair next to you, which will add a lot of visual enjoyment to you. Here, Parisian girls who are smoking coffee and reading fashion magazines are regarded as a symbol of fashion.
In addition to those open-air cafes that look up to the sky, there are many magnificent or simple and elegant people in about 17, cafes in France. Especially in Paris, some cafes are legendary places of interest. In the medieval old dynasty, the focus of French cultural life was in the court. In the Enlightenment era of the 18th century, the cultural focus began to shift to various salons, clubs and cafes. Cafe LeProcoPe in Latin quarter, for example, is associated with the French Revolution which affected the whole world more than 2 years ago. Voltaire, Rousseau and Diderot, thinkers of the 18th century European Enlightenment, as well as robespierre, Dandong and Mara, the three heroes of the Great Revolution, are frequent visitors here. At that time, several works of Voltaire, Diderot's world's first encyclopedia were written here, and the symbolic red, white and blue tricolour hat during the Great Revolution also appeared here for the first time. A few years before the revolution broke out, it was always a place where blood was boiling and storms were bred. It is said that Napoleon came here before he made his fortune, and he left a military cap because he owed money for drinking coffee. Later, it was a social place for first-class writers, actors, gentlemen and ladies to get together and talk, including the famous Hugo, Balzac, george sand, Zola, etc., and later the literary publication Prokoff was founded under the name of this cafe. Therefore, the traditional decorations, antique furnishings and various cultural relics preserved in the museum are particularly rich, and the pattern and scenery in the museum do not seem to be "completely new" because of the changes of the times. Customers still like its classicality.
The College Cafe in Montmartre is a symbol of the 19th century Paris University era. There are artists from all directions living around here for a long time. They have built a brilliant era of Paris University with cafes as the center. Opposite St. Germain's Church, there is also a 19th-century-style Les Deux Magots cafe, but its fame rose in the 192s. A group of surrealist writers and painters have been arguing here for a long time, burning the flame of artistic thought, and finally created a De Magg literature prize named after this cafe, which continues to this day. It is said that Hemingway used to drink coffee here in the past to capture creative inspiration. However, a cup of coffee for 4 to 6 francs is sold elsewhere, but it can be sold for 22 francs here. This literary and artistic creation is really valuable. Interestingly, the cafe DeFlore next door is also a famous academic garden, which flourished after the war with more philosophers coming. At that time, Sartre, Simon Bova and others often sat in fixed seats. Because there were always cultural elites at the threshold of these two cafes, there were more and more bookstores, literary coffee shops and restaurants in this area, and later it became the birthplace of French beautiful literature (Belle-Lette).
It can be seen that French coffee culture has a long history, and it is not as simple as eating and drinking. Since the beginning of this century, cafes have often become centers of social activities, clubs for intellectuals to debate issues, and even a typical symbol of French society and culture. There is hardly any French artist who doesn't have relations with cafes, such as writers, musicians and painters. Impressionist painters in the 19th century painted portraits for a living in cafes, and on the other hand chatted with like-minded people here to explore artistic styles, themes, techniques and new methods. And different cafes can form different cultural circles and produce different art schools. Composer Chabrie once spent every night in cafes with poet Vereland and painter Monet. His artistic ideas influenced each other, and his works naturally echoed the trend, reflecting the spiritual outlook of Paris at the end of the 19th century. The painter Van Gogh once lived in the attic of a cafe in France. He had great affection for the cafe, and wrote in his letter before his death: I hope to hold my solo exhibition in this cafe one day. To this day, there are still many cafes in Paris full of strong cultural atmosphere. For example, in the Lighthouse Cafe near the Bastille Square, there are often literati and poets gathered together, and most of them talk about serious philosophical topics. The person in charge is a doctor of philosophy from the Paris School of Political Science, and most of the participants think they are philosophers, which really reflects the French people's ability to talk. Although it may be thousands of miles away from real life, there are many people who are keen on it, including ladies wearing pearl necklaces and housewives who have just come from the vegetable market. There are lawyers in suits and homeless people. The coffee shop is furnished in an old and ordinary way, and the visitors are just seeking-a kind of spiritual food, but drinking coffee is secondary. The strong cultural atmosphere here is like the fragrant mist floating from that coffee cup, which can be smelled and reached, and the clean fashion formed by the party not only affects Paris, but also drives Strasbourg and Toulouse. It is said that the revival of this trend lies in trying to find the consciousness of living with the community and missing the traditional philosophy and culture. People who have become accustomed to affluent and modern life have begun to rethink many lost values of life, and the trend of emphasizing taste, enjoyment, pursuing nature and leisure has gradually become a trend, and the wave of nostalgia has also prevailed in western European society. In the past, the children and grandchildren of those who frequented cafes consciously or unconsciously entered the old-fashioned cafes that were restored according to the traditional style.
A large number of cafes are distributed in the corners of streets and lanes, which are relatively civilian and also have the functions of pubs and snack bars. There is no hierarchy here, no matter lofty or secular, you can sit around for a long time, or talk about things, or read books and newspapers when you have a drink. And friends and relatives, colleagues and classmates are also willing to get together here to talk; People who engage in art and scholarship often argue together; No one else is surprised if you are talking to yourself alone. Everyone is enjoying leisure, no one thinks it is a waste of time, but many people are willing to believe that those profound philosophies and wisdom are often born in this environment. This is a unique little world, where you can pull your coarse cloth shoes, bring your pet dog, smoke cigarettes and, of course, open your suit without a tie. Anyway, help yourself. The characteristics here are casual, active and unrestrained, which is in line with the French character. I don't know whether it is intentional or not, the small round table on the coffee table is usually quite small. When two people sit opposite each other, they often touch their knees. If they are lovers, they just hold their cheeks and make eyes at each other, which makes them more intimate and harmonious. Even if they are not lovers, they have greatly narrowed the distance between the two sides. What is there to say? The origin of coffee is not France, but coffee was first introduced to France in 1657. However, coffee culture has been brought to this almost refined realm by the French nation and has become a spiritual symbol. Indeed, every night we see in Paris and other places, even at night, the passengers in the subway are deserted, and other shops in the street have long been closed, but those scattered cafes are still brightly lit and weddings. Day and night, the French people are always endlessly interpreting their unique coffee culture.