3 ms·

I live in France and I've never heard of something like that. There's usually a strict distinction between bars and cafés, with cafés being where people take a

by Zababa 5y ago

I live in France and I've never heard of something like that. There's usually a strict distinction between bars and cafés, with cafés being where people take a coffee or an orange juice during the day with friends, and bars where people drink beer during the night with friends, and sometimes meet other people.

noduerme 5y ago
The conversion from cafe in the day to bar/club at night is more common in Spain and Argentina, but there are places around in France. I lived in a couple villages in Auvergne near Clermont-Ferrand and also in Avignon. The places that are cafes in the day will convert at night in these smaller towns. The whole square in Avignon is cafes in day and bars at night. (In Paris or Marseille I didn't really see this - but it's prevalent in Madrid and Buenos Aires).
- Zababa 5y ago
  > In Paris or Marseille I didn't really see this That's probably this then, I've lived in Lyon all my life.
  - noduerme 5y ago
    I wish I had spent more time in Lyon. The countryside around there probably seems boring to you, since you grew up in the city. But coming from America, it's obvious that the smallest village in France is light-years more advanced, more educated, clever and civilized than the country I grew up in. It has its problems of course, but it's paradise compared to most other places I've been. Funny, slightly dark story about Avignon. I became friendly with a guy there who was a good musician but turned out to be a bit of a...right wing type. National Front. There was a cafe on the square that was a gay club at night, and my girlfriend and I used to have coffee there in the day. One day this guy walked by and said "don't you know what this bar is where you're sitting?" I said, "come on, chill out, sit down." He took some convincing. So finally he sat down and I said, "I know you like Le Pen. How do you feel about sitting in front of a gay bar with an Filipina/Mexican and Jew/Argentine? Are you angry we're in your country?" He said, "as long as you're here because you're interested in France, I'm okay." Later, walking through town, he saw a kid urinating on the front step of an apartment. He shouted at the kid and the kid pulled a knife out. This guy tackled him. Still later we took a bus to the station through the banlieu and saw the desolation - she said, "what have they done to their country?" Eh. I shouldn't tell these stories on HN. I guess it taught me that life is complicated and to bring it full circle to the cafe question, your view of the world is very relative to where you grew up, in what time period, and what you expect people to behave like.
    - Zababa 5y ago
      On the contrary, the countryside has a lot of appeal to me. For a few years we lived in a rather isolated house in Dardilly and I have fond memories of them. Not really the same experience as the countryside but I'm really glad I spent some of my youth here and not directly in the city. Thank you for sharing that story, it's thanks to people like you that bring some new perspective I started to love my country for what it is.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

by Zababa 5y ago

noduerme 5y ago

The conversion from cafe in the day to bar/club at night is more common in Spain and Argentina, but there are places around in France. I lived in a couple villages in Auvergne near Clermont-Ferrand and also in Avignon. The places that are cafes in the day will convert at night in these smaller towns. The whole square in Avignon is cafes in day and bars at night. (In Paris or Marseille I didn't really see this - but it's prevalent in Madrid and Buenos Aires).

Zababa 5y ago
> In Paris or Marseille I didn't really see this That's probably this then, I've lived in Lyon all my life.
- noduerme 5y ago
  I wish I had spent more time in Lyon. The countryside around there probably seems boring to you, since you grew up in the city. But coming from America, it's obvious that the smallest village in France is light-years more advanced, more educated, clever and civilized than the country I grew up in. It has its problems of course, but it's paradise compared to most other places I've been. Funny, slightly dark story about Avignon. I became friendly with a guy there who was a good musician but turned out to be a bit of a...right wing type. National Front. There was a cafe on the square that was a gay club at night, and my girlfriend and I used to have coffee there in the day. One day this guy walked by and said "don't you know what this bar is where you're sitting?" I said, "come on, chill out, sit down." He took some convincing. So finally he sat down and I said, "I know you like Le Pen. How do you feel about sitting in front of a gay bar with an Filipina/Mexican and Jew/Argentine? Are you angry we're in your country?" He said, "as long as you're here because you're interested in France, I'm okay." Later, walking through town, he saw a kid urinating on the front step of an apartment. He shouted at the kid and the kid pulled a knife out. This guy tackled him. Still later we took a bus to the station through the banlieu and saw the desolation - she said, "what have they done to their country?" Eh. I shouldn't tell these stories on HN. I guess it taught me that life is complicated and to bring it full circle to the cafe question, your view of the world is very relative to where you grew up, in what time period, and what you expect people to behave like.
  - Zababa 5y ago
    On the contrary, the countryside has a lot of appeal to me. For a few years we lived in a rather isolated house in Dardilly and I have fond memories of them. Not really the same experience as the countryside but I'm really glad I spent some of my youth here and not directly in the city. Thank you for sharing that story, it's thanks to people like you that bring some new perspective I started to love my country for what it is.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]