PLACE & PARTY - A Weekend in Paris

Hello everyone,

jeez, for sooooo long had I heard sooooo many good things about social dancing in Paris ... Of course I had wanted to go and see for myself. Last I had been to Paris in 2004 for 6 days but with a salsa congress included so that I had not much chance to check out the social dancing / clubs. I had been at Les Etoiles and La Coupole, both of which are not anymore within the bunch of 'happening' salsa locations.

Naturally a weekend of 4 nights does not allow to check out all salsa places as there are many in Paris. I was following the guidelines and bits of info I had collected via salsa friends and salsa websites. I was aiming for "Balajo", the outdoor dancing at the Seine, "Barrio Latino" and "O'Sullivan". I would have liked to stay longer, but my vacation time is running out!

I choose to travel by plane this time. With swiss air from Berlin-Tegel via Zurich to Paris-Charles de Gaulle. Then instead of the expensive RER B I took the bus 350 right to the same spot: Gare du Nord. From there with RER E (Magenta) to Bondy. That is where my great host Karl has his home. We had met long time ago when we both lived in London. He lives now in Paris again and I live nowhere/everywhere, but salsa still connects us. I was surprised and taken by his great hospitality - merci Karl! :-)
Instead of having to potter around Paris alone in order to find my 'salsa hunt' venues, I was so lucky as to go together with Karl and though I was very scared to ride his bike it was very convenient.

Thursday night took off with the 'Salsa en les quais' at the Seine. Wow, what a nice spot! The floor is of smooth, polished stones and very easy to dance on, the music cuban (the good stuff though) and the scenery marvelous. I warmed up with some good cuban moves and bumped already in some salsa acquaintances and made some new ones. Then Karl gave me a ride to 'Balajo' and I continued there until the wee hours of Friday.

Everyone listen up: the music in Paris!!! Nice, nice, nice! The mambos and cha cha's alone were making the nights, but being in Paris the bonus were Zouk and Kompas. Both being totally absent in the German, UK & US salsa clubs ... unfortunately! It adds such a nice flavor to a night and as my friend Steve puts it "cleanses the palate" in between. ;-)

Friday night saw me once again at 'Salsa en les quais' but at a slightly moved spot. The floor there was great too but the walls enclosing it made the floor too crowed for great dancing. But who cares ... if one is at one of the most beautiful spots of town, with great music and lots of vibe? Again, I had a good time there and when the music switched off at midnight, Karl and a bunch of his friends took me to the Grand Palais. I think the place is usually a museum or a theater, however in one of its halls they had a cuban salsa party going on. Wicked location with ceilings as high as a 5 storey building!

Saturday, like most major cities, didn't boast a great salsa night. Therefore, instead of going for a third time to the outdoor dancing at the Seine, Karl and me just chilled. A friend came to visit, we cooked, ate, climbed into the plum tree behind the house and picked the fruits, lounged around, slept, surfed the net, I walked the dog, etc ... a very lazy Saturday.

With Sunday my major 'hunt' day came up. The plan sounded impressive: 3pm to 7:30pm = Barrio Latino, 7:30pm - 10pm = salsabor party in La Villette, 10pm - 3am = O'Sullivan, meaning 10 hours of dancing?!?
But of course plans never work out quite as they are supposed to work out and I didn't expect it to do so on this particular day either. Therefore we arrived at Barrio Latino at 4pm and the music finished around 7pm. Then a bunch of us dancers walked off to 'Le Paradis du Fruit' and we ended up chatting, eating ice cream and drinking smoothies until it was time to make our way to O'Sullivan. We were inside and on the dance floor by around 11pm and stayed until ca. 2am. If I am not mistaken, that adds up to approx. 6 hours of dancing for Sunday and I have to say I didn't even feel it. It felt much less and the whole day really felt very relaxed. Probably because of all that ice cream and lounging at the Cafe.

And that was it! I wanted to go to Paris to dance! I went to Paris to dance! I had a great time and will go back asap!

Bisou e au revoir!

Stef
the dancing nomad



Side Observations:

1) the French keyboard is not easy on travelers used to US/UK/DE keyboards

2) many French people still do not speak any English

3) Charles de Gaulle airport does not have toilets in the area of the boarding gates, meaning you either go before going through security or wait until inside the airplane; otherwise you better have a huge nappy in you hand luggage ;-)

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