Aux Trois Mailletz
So, my anniversary with my gay husband has brought back many fond memories of Paris! One of the best, was the brief evening we spent at Aux Trios Mailletz! K had read about the little jazz bar before we left for Paris and when he emailed the below description, I knew we had to go there!
"There is a Piano Bar next to Saint Julien le Pauvre on 56 rue Galande, it is called les Trois Mailletz, apparently old French for the three hammers. The story is that when they were building Notre Dame, just across the Seine, the workers would come there to drink at the end of the day. I don't know if this is true but it is a wonderful place. We've probably gone there 30 times or more over the last 10 years. The same piano player is usually there and she can play anything from Gershwin, to Mozart, Edith Piaf standards and other classic French music as will as American Jazz (she is phenomenal). She always has her folder of music, opens it up and voila, out come the most wonderful music. There is an old lady that comes in every night with her little dog, she always wears the same old fur coat and sits at the same table. Everyone seems to know her. She looks as though she might have had a slight stroke. The other visitor are just as animated and it's almost as much fun watching the people as listening to the wonderful music. Occasionally they have opera singers perform."
On the evening of March 6th, K and I dined at a famous cafe called "Les Deux Magots". On the "Boulevard St-Germain" it is one of the most famous spots in Paris. Ernest Hemingway and other famous writers would frequent this leftbank favorite to write, argue and probably drink the fabulous hot chocolate! That is why we went, to taste le chocolat chaud. It honestly was unlike anything I had ever had before - served in beautiful little white pitchers, the aroma warmed up my soul. And so it should have at 6 euros a mug (for those of you who didn't work in a currency exchange, about 10 dollars - wow, did I pay that much for hot chocolate!). Afterwards, as the night was young, K and I decided to head to Aux Trois Mailletz, to soak up some jazz and maybe even see the woman in the fur coat.
So, we started walking. And walking. And walking. I think to myself, "man, we are walking away from the river". But, since I had been wrong about directions earlier in the day, I kept my mouth shut. Just after we passed a man urinating onto a washroom stall, I mentioned my thoughts to K. "But, aren't we walking towards the Seine?". "No, K, no we are not". So, we turned 180 degree and head for Aux Trois Mailletz once again! When we finally made it, about 90 minutes after we left Les Deux Magots, the place was hoping! There was only standing room left at the bar, which we snatched up. I also snatched up a 8 euro bottle of Badoit, Turkish spring water I had been drinking my entire Parisianne stay as I had a lung infection. A little pricey, but not as bad as K congac. Beside, there was no cover right?
I had never been in a place quite like Aux Trois Mailletz. By the bar, was an upright piano being beautifully played by a woman. She played everything, including American standards like "My Way". The best part was that the entire bar was singing. Loud, fabulously drunk Frenchmen were slurring through the English words while holding glasses of bright green alcohol, possibly absinthe. I felt like I was in the Moulin Rouge. And then it happened, the little old lady in the fur coat with her little dog, walked in, kissing everyone she knew and sat at a table which had been left for her right by the piano. K and I soaked up this site for almost an hour and then K had a suggestion...."There is music playing down stairs, why don't we check it out". Okay, sounds like fun. So we descended down the worn stone stairs, indented by use since medieval time, into a cave. A real medieval cellar. The host asked us to check our things (at 2 euro a piece including my scarf) and we are seated in the pit against the wall with 50 other people listening to a loud Latin band. Of the 50 people, 40 of them were smoking. The North American Tourist were not. As the band got going, dancers came and frolicked on the table! It was an unbelievable site. Some German tourist were them seated next to us and also got into the groove. Being down with the plague, the smoke got to me about half way through the second act. I told K and we asked for the cheque much to the strange look of our waitress. After ten minutes, it never came, so we headed out to the entrance. Kevin looked frazzled as he looked at the bill. "I need extra money" he said to me! I got a look at the bill, 110 euros? What did K drink? What did K eat? And then it hit us!!!!! There was a cover. A 44 euro per person cover! You are supposed to stay all night and listen to bands until 4 o'clock in the morning! K talked to the owner of the bar who asked why we were leaving so early. "Madame est malade." The generous owner gave K a voucher for free admission and a couple of drinks for another night. We left Aux Trois Mailletz shocked and dazed and a little lighter in our money belts! I nearly peed myself from laughter as we walked home. What a great night at Aux Trois Mailletz.
We left Paris, never making it back to our little jazz club! But it is still there, and I am sure tonight, loud Frenchmen are singing American songs while sipping on a potent green fluid! And the little old lady in the fur coat, she is there tonight as well, sitting next to the piano, puffing on long cigarettes. As for our voucher, K has it tucked safely away for another trip, to the best night spot in the city of lights, Aux Trois Mailletz!
"There is a Piano Bar next to Saint Julien le Pauvre on 56 rue Galande, it is called les Trois Mailletz, apparently old French for the three hammers. The story is that when they were building Notre Dame, just across the Seine, the workers would come there to drink at the end of the day. I don't know if this is true but it is a wonderful place. We've probably gone there 30 times or more over the last 10 years. The same piano player is usually there and she can play anything from Gershwin, to Mozart, Edith Piaf standards and other classic French music as will as American Jazz (she is phenomenal). She always has her folder of music, opens it up and voila, out come the most wonderful music. There is an old lady that comes in every night with her little dog, she always wears the same old fur coat and sits at the same table. Everyone seems to know her. She looks as though she might have had a slight stroke. The other visitor are just as animated and it's almost as much fun watching the people as listening to the wonderful music. Occasionally they have opera singers perform."
On the evening of March 6th, K and I dined at a famous cafe called "Les Deux Magots". On the "Boulevard St-Germain" it is one of the most famous spots in Paris. Ernest Hemingway and other famous writers would frequent this leftbank favorite to write, argue and probably drink the fabulous hot chocolate! That is why we went, to taste le chocolat chaud. It honestly was unlike anything I had ever had before - served in beautiful little white pitchers, the aroma warmed up my soul. And so it should have at 6 euros a mug (for those of you who didn't work in a currency exchange, about 10 dollars - wow, did I pay that much for hot chocolate!). Afterwards, as the night was young, K and I decided to head to Aux Trois Mailletz, to soak up some jazz and maybe even see the woman in the fur coat.
So, we started walking. And walking. And walking. I think to myself, "man, we are walking away from the river". But, since I had been wrong about directions earlier in the day, I kept my mouth shut. Just after we passed a man urinating onto a washroom stall, I mentioned my thoughts to K. "But, aren't we walking towards the Seine?". "No, K, no we are not". So, we turned 180 degree and head for Aux Trois Mailletz once again! When we finally made it, about 90 minutes after we left Les Deux Magots, the place was hoping! There was only standing room left at the bar, which we snatched up. I also snatched up a 8 euro bottle of Badoit, Turkish spring water I had been drinking my entire Parisianne stay as I had a lung infection. A little pricey, but not as bad as K congac. Beside, there was no cover right?
I had never been in a place quite like Aux Trois Mailletz. By the bar, was an upright piano being beautifully played by a woman. She played everything, including American standards like "My Way". The best part was that the entire bar was singing. Loud, fabulously drunk Frenchmen were slurring through the English words while holding glasses of bright green alcohol, possibly absinthe. I felt like I was in the Moulin Rouge. And then it happened, the little old lady in the fur coat with her little dog, walked in, kissing everyone she knew and sat at a table which had been left for her right by the piano. K and I soaked up this site for almost an hour and then K had a suggestion...."There is music playing down stairs, why don't we check it out". Okay, sounds like fun. So we descended down the worn stone stairs, indented by use since medieval time, into a cave. A real medieval cellar. The host asked us to check our things (at 2 euro a piece including my scarf) and we are seated in the pit against the wall with 50 other people listening to a loud Latin band. Of the 50 people, 40 of them were smoking. The North American Tourist were not. As the band got going, dancers came and frolicked on the table! It was an unbelievable site. Some German tourist were them seated next to us and also got into the groove. Being down with the plague, the smoke got to me about half way through the second act. I told K and we asked for the cheque much to the strange look of our waitress. After ten minutes, it never came, so we headed out to the entrance. Kevin looked frazzled as he looked at the bill. "I need extra money" he said to me! I got a look at the bill, 110 euros? What did K drink? What did K eat? And then it hit us!!!!! There was a cover. A 44 euro per person cover! You are supposed to stay all night and listen to bands until 4 o'clock in the morning! K talked to the owner of the bar who asked why we were leaving so early. "Madame est malade." The generous owner gave K a voucher for free admission and a couple of drinks for another night. We left Aux Trois Mailletz shocked and dazed and a little lighter in our money belts! I nearly peed myself from laughter as we walked home. What a great night at Aux Trois Mailletz.
We left Paris, never making it back to our little jazz club! But it is still there, and I am sure tonight, loud Frenchmen are singing American songs while sipping on a potent green fluid! And the little old lady in the fur coat, she is there tonight as well, sitting next to the piano, puffing on long cigarettes. As for our voucher, K has it tucked safely away for another trip, to the best night spot in the city of lights, Aux Trois Mailletz!
posted by Cascadia at 9:23 PM
2 Comments:
Great Story!
Paris is very close to my heart too, although I was much younger the last time I was there. My mother, who went to school for a couple years in her 20s in Paris showed me all of her favourite haunts. She took me up to the top of Sacre-Coeur and showed me where she had her last kiss in Paris before the Russian government in Czechoslovakia had ordered her to leave. What a magical place, Paris... and I know what you mean about the chocolat chaud!
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