Thursday, March 26, 2009

Café Limonade


It's my last day down under. Pretty soon I'm going to give up pubs and go back to little cafés, around the corner ;) This one says "Café Limonade" on its awning. Limonade was imported to France by the Italians during the 17th century and the places that would sell it became known as "Limonadiers" and would also sell liquors. Towards the end of the 17th century coffee became more popular than limonade and soon awnings would show Café or Café-Limonade. This one, called le Café Brébant, does not originate from the 17th century; it's a brand new place that was decorated the old fashioned way on purpose.

49 comments:

  1. Soon these chairs will all be filled with folks sipping limonade in the summer sun. Great shot!

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  2. I love the colours in this and by the time ou get back it will be terrace time in Paris again!

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  3. I drank something in Bordeaux that's a combo of limonade and white wine -- even better, I think.

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  4. Even though Eric is staying with me, here in Adelaide, it's very hard to cheat to win the GF !!

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  5. Awesome photo! The colors, the elongated shape, the lights, wow! Those chairs sure are locked up good and tight.

    Great history lesson on limonade, Eric. Made me thirsty!

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  6. I always love enlarging your pictures, Eric. This one captures a charming moment of conversation. I'm having a cup of coffee right now that suddenly isn't as tasty as a limonade would be.

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  7. I love the history lesson!

    Now for the big question. On the airplane, I was asked by a Brit for lemonade. I said we don't carry it. Much later, I found out that lemonade means 7up or Sprite in the UK.
    Still Lemonade, in the UK, is what we refer to as lemonade in the US( water, sugar and lemon juice).

    So, am I to assume the Italians brought over the water, sugar lemon juice drink?

    I have also seen Italians add Sprite to wine. Do the French do that, too?

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  8. Well if I can't afford a Paris apartment with a terrace, at least I can always have a drink at a pretty Parisian cafe like this. Petrea thanks for the reminder to enlarge the photo - check out the reflection of the woman with the bouffant hairdo that flips up at the ends.

    Alexa I hope you put pretty criss-crossy stripes on your GF crown. (I decided not to try for a hat trick today.) And M.Benaut we would have been VERY suspect if you had gotten GF.

    Have a safe and easy trip home Eric!

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  9. Have a safe trip home, Eric! I would love to sit and sip lemonade there. Love the colorful chair backs!! (Although my favorite, I would have to say, would be pink lemonade.)

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  10. Just what I suspected... other than these 2 up on that terrace, everybody else is at work!







    ;)

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  11. PHX, can't answer your question about the wine because I honestly don't know what they do these days.

    But I can tell you that lemonade in France is like 7 Up or Sprite, NOT at all the same thing as the US. I forgot last time and had a nasty surprise when they brought it to me! ;)

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  12. Ah HA! I figured if the Brits were like that, why would the continent be any different, but until Eric's photo, I never thought about it. Thanks Tomate.

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  13. Oh! wonderful post and picture!
    I do believe I've found the inspiration for my next handpainted sign!
    thankyou Eric!

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  14. love this photo - had many a drink at this cafe watching the world go by.

    Safe journey back home

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  15. It's kind of strange that lemonade would be popular when it was first brought over to France in the 17th century, especially during the wintry months, isn't it?

    I was thinking hot coffee should have caught on much earlier in a country where the temperature seldom exceeds 25C. Hmm...

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  16. Such pretty chairs Eric and I love the name. I don't think I've ever been to this particular cafe but we do have a cafe society in our other main street, the one we were too late to see in the city.

    We've just said good bye and I feel like there is something missing in the house. I do hope you come down under to visit us again one day. It was such an enormous pleasure having you to stay. xxxxxxxxxxx

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  17. So, am I to assume the Italians brought over the water, sugar lemon juice drink?

    Just add alcoohol to this recipe and you have brazilians bringing over the Caipirinha!

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  18. Great photo of a Paris café. On Sunday I was thinking about sitting outside to sip some wine. A lovely thought. However, it has been too cold. It snowed today. This damn winter simply will not go away. I had sushi instead. I am dreaming of the Bernini and Borromini and Michaelangelo works in Rome. And San Marcos in Venice. And my favorite fountain in Paris, the Medici fountain in le Jardin de Luxembourg. "Un verre de vin, rouge, s'il vous plait. Vin de maison, ce bon."

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  19. would this have been brought to Paris as limoncello? i love limoncello.

    its cool to see all the faces when you enlarge the photo as Petrea and Katie pointed out. i must say, that even though i think this looks like a fun cafe, i still prefer the old "original" cafes...maybe because here in so. cal. we try and make things look old and charming and don't seem to able to pull it off...is that bad to say?

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  20. I think maybe if you order lemonade here in the States, what you get is chemicals. If you want real lemonade in Paris, you need to order a "citron pressé: Last time I did, at a café on the Place d'Abbesses, I got DIY lemonade: fresh lemon juice, a pitcher of water, and a bowl of sugar.

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  21. Katie, Eric told me that he was posting at 9:34 AM here in Adelaide, but insider trading couldn't beat Alexa and Michael.

    Thanks everyone for calling in.

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  22. I dig these colors. Hey Eric, safe travels back to Paris town! The weather looks refreshing too. ;-)

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  23. Have a safe trip home Eric, and not too exhausting I hope.

    You'll find spring is well on its way in Paris, and hopefully that will bring a smile on your suntanned face.

    The limonade vs. lemonade debate is an interesting one. If you want to drink a lemonade in Paris, you'd better ask for "une citronnade" or "un jus de citron" (lemon is Citron in French, remember?). You'll be served the squeezed lemon juice at the bottom of the glass - the water (in a jug) and sugar will come separately so you can mix water, juice and sugar to suit your taste. A great experience!

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  24. PS - Eric I just LOVED your private terrace lunch photo yesterday. And I visited the link - top loft apartments indeed!

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  25. I wll have a citron presse, please... old fashion way with the syrup instead sugar sachets...

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  26. Beautiful photo, I love the colours of these chairs.
    Great history.

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  27. Nicely framed photo Eric. Looks like a poster advertising this place - I think you deserve a free limonade next time you visit there!

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  28. I learnt something today, thank you Eric! I really like the frame of your picture, and these colours smell srping!

    PHX, same story happened to me at the pub, an Irish asked me for Ginger Ale; to me it was just lemonade si I gave him 7up. Horror! Not the same at all, he wanted Canada Dry...Honestly, what is the difference?!
    About the wine and lemonade, well I don't know people doing that here...

    If you want a real lemonade in Paris you have to ask un citron pressé as people said before. Or you'll find yourself with a 7up or Sprite.

    I remember in India, I ordered Fresh Lemon Soda, which was gas water, lemon juice and sugar. It seems that each country has its own appellation!

    Mr and Mme Benaut, so he's in the plane? Are you sure about that?! I'm sure he tried to miss his flight. ;)

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  29. That's so cute; PDP is always here to put a smile on my face. I love it :)
    Café Limonade is a strange association! I can't picture both!!!
    Wish you a very nice trip back and good luck with the jetlag...
    Bisous.

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  30. Mmmmh, ça sent l'écurie ! ;o)

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  31. I'm with Rose and Guille on their preference for un citron presse. However, part of the fun in traveling is trying out new culinary delights that either disgust one's palate or tickle it (LOL). TallGMan...there mi amigo--I've set myself up for one of your zingers. ;-) Run with it! LOL

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  32. Brand new? This place is at least two years old now - an age on the Grands Boulevards where bars seem to change hands every six months or so!

    An interesting history lesson though!

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  33. Guille, to add to the confusion, if you asked for 'ginger' in a Glasgow pub, you would receive lemonade!
    This goes back many years when lemonade had a ginger coloured dye added to avoid confusion with other clear liquids which you might not want to drink.

    As children we used to read American comics (Dell etc.) and were always fascinated by advertisements for things that were not available in the UK at that time, such as Hershey bars and 7Up. (For some time I actually thought it was called 'ZUP'!)
    It was a bit of a let-down years later to discover that the exotic 7Up was just lemonade by another name.

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  34. I wish I could come by and have some Limonade or a cafe there!

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  35. What's in a name? That which we call a rose
    By any other name would smell as sweet.
    By any other name, lemonade will still taste sweet and sour.

    (Forgot to sign my earlier comment about Bernini and Borromini and Michaelangelo.)

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  36. Drummond, nice story! So, "ginger" is sometimes limonade, sometimes not? I'm confused...So if a Scottish asks for a "ginger", I've to serve him limonade, but if an Irish asks for the same thing, he wants a Canada Dry?! God, I'll never be a good barmaid. LOL

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  37. Guille: Don't worry about it, we Colonists (Americans) don't understand the British, either. They don't understand us. I'd say, when they order one of those things, ask them what they want.

    (Beu deu geu deu, n'est-ce pas?)

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  38. Yes Jeff, as the saying goes -'Two nations divided by a common language'

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  39. So this is what that means. My Spanish chauffeur (as if!) refused to stop in front of that place even though I expressly ordered him to do so. He thought it was French for “Limo Nada.”

    Coltrane: We have a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy here. It is really none of our business what you have in there tickling your palate or pal-ette, eh?

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  40. Guille "7up. Horror! Not the same at all, he wanted Canada Dry...Honestly, what is the difference?! " you know, some people argue for hours about the differences between Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Couldn't tell you what the technical difference is, but don't give me a Pepsi if I want a Coke, lol (that's because pepsi really s..cks I think). ;)

    By the way, it's "carbonated water" I think, not gas water, because gas is something completely different, it's something you either put in your car or ... (pull my finger) ;) well, there are other meanings, too but when I first read "gas water" I had to laugh ! :-D

    OK, j'ai l'esprit mal placé, d'accord, et remarque la traduction "de l'eau qui pète" c'est pas mal non plus, peut-etre que tu pourrais lancer ta propre boisson à l'eau qui pète! ;)

    I'm just messing with you ;)

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  41. Paris city of romance. If you want to drink my way there was a lemonade. Greetings to everyone.

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  42. coltrane -- you lob the ball, TG catches it & tosses it deftly back! I love it.

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  43. I thought so too, Alexa, but now I think Tomate is the one to beat today with "l'eau qui pète!"

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  44. Guille, I'm sure you're an excellent barmaid! When I'm in Paris I usually have to drink Coke with my Jamesons because Canada Dry is hard to come by. There is nothing quite like Canada Dry though. Strange though it is, the Schweppes Ginger Ale just isn't quite the same.

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  45. What sucks, Tomate? ;) I would say that would be Coke, not Pepsi! But Sprite, 7Up, Canada Dry, Lemonade would be a close 2nd, 3rd, etc.

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  46. Well, it's a matter of personal taste I suppose. You know...

    Coke v. Pepsi
    MAC's v. PC's
    Republicans v. Democrats

    It all depends who you ask. Personally, I find Pepsi a little hard to swallow, no offense ;)

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  47. Ginger ale differs by brand, Sue, and it is the same with tonic water. Schwepp's tonic water for a gin and tonic is mandatory, Canada Dry tonic is not good. Personal taste, I'm sure. I won't even get started on gin. (Actually, getting me started on gin typically means I'll be useless for the next few days!) There are many who like gin or vodka in lemonade, so that gets us back to... (See how well that worked?)

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  48. Tomate: LOL. You win! But I still won't drink Coke!

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