Why here?

I have been in Paris a couple of times already, the first time I was on a budget and I just wanted to visit all I could, so cafes and restaurants were out of the plan, the second and third time was a quick view of the most famous things, for my family to see, and now for the fourth time, I wanted to take my time, sit calmly and I only had a mission for that day and it was to see the Notre-Dame Cathedral, that it was not open all the other times I visit, so finally I had the opportunity to visit this landmark, so I pack a backpack, take the bus and get there, I didn’t have much plans, but to relax, I took a really early bus, so I was able to do a lot, not only visit the cathedral, but also sit in a cafe with the Eiffel Tower view, that a lot of europeans say is nothing, is just a metal monument, but for me, it is much more than that, I was studying Architecture back in my country, and I actually had to study this monument in class, and write an essay about it, and dream that one day I’ll be sitting in a nice cafe with that view, and I did, that day, the 9th of September, I walk to the cafe from the metro, it was really early, but I made sure to arrive 30 min after the opening time.

I work in hospitality, I made openings, and I know how stressful it can be, so I didn’t want to stand next to the cafe rushing anyone, so I made my trip longer, so I give time to let the people in the cafe open without problems.

Starting with the left foot

I arrived, it was 7:30 am, but they were still opening, it was a bit weird, nobody looked happy, they were putting the chairs down in the terrace, where I wanted to sit, so I stood for a moment, before I approach this lady that worked there and ask her if I can take seat in the tables that were ready, but she just said “inside only”, the tone was the worse part, I was really tired for the trip, and I just needed a coffee, so I just went inside, I thought “I’ll just order an expresso or a tea, while they open the terrace, and then I’ll go seat there”, I was looking around, saw this sir, dress so elegant and having a tea and a croissant, when the waiter came, I ask her if I can have the same as that guy, she looked upset and looked at me like I was wrong in something, she said “you want black tea?”, I was starting to get angry, and I say “can I have an expresso then?”, and she said “is that all?”, and me “for now yes, thank you”, she left, it’s been a while from that interaction, but I can remember every detail, and I don’t really have a good memory, but sadly, this I remember.

She brought the espresso without saying anything, like she was in a rush, I was able to say a quick “thank you”. The place only had maybe 3 tables at the moment, there was one person at the bar, and maybe 3 people on staff, so, there was not “rush”, so I took my book while drinking my coffee, trying to be out of reality for a moment.

I was reading Crimson Lake, maybe I start writing reviews about books too, but this one in particular was one of my favourites, is a novel, is about crime, its about a missing girl, that survived a brutal attack and they blame the wrong guy, beautifully written, it kept me in suspense all the time.

Finally the terrace and the view

But coming back to this experience… I usually don’t rate the bad places I go, because I prefer just to rate the good one, not to waste energy in that kind of stuff, but I had to warn people, I was just trying to have a nice time. After a moment I saw people starting to sit in the terrace, and I was like “this is my moment”, so I took the last sip of my coffee, look around for the waiter, to let her know, I was moving there, when I saw her I took my stuff and try to approach, when she started screaming, “I’ll go to your seat, wait”, I try to talk and she repeated the same thing, until I just say “I’ll seat outside”, and walk out, select my table, just in front of the Eiffel Tower, it was one of my dreams, so again, relax took my book and continue reading, after like 10 min or more, nobody came to my table, I was waiting, it was a nice day, I was thirsty and hungry, again I looked around and nothing, I tried to wave at her, she looked at me but didn’t react, then maybe after 30 min she finally came.

“What you want?” I was so tired of her behaviour, I said “I’ll have this tea (pointing at the menu cart) and a croissant, and also the bill please”, I was not waiting for her again, so she just left again, without confirming my order or anything.

I was reading so I lost track of time, the moment she came back I looked at my watch, and it had passed 30 more min, for one side, it was good cause I had the time to read, for the other, terrible service, the place was not even full, and it was a tea… she also brought the POS machine, but then she said “Oh I forgot the sugar and milk”, I laughed, “don’t bother, I don’t do sugar, thank you”, so an expresso, a tea and a croissant cost me 20 euros, I just paid, thanked her, and she left, I had enough with any interaction with her, so I just tried to enjoy my tea while I had this beautiful view and a great book

So to be fair, I knew it was gonna be busy, its a nice view and you know “supply and demand”, so I wont judge how expensive it was, only the service right? I don’t think I have to write more about it, terrible service, being a server myself, I know everyone has bad days, but that the most important part of a server, we are not robots but we are serving, to people that come with their own problems and go outside to relax and feel good, and they pay for it, sometimes is not only the food, so you give your best to smile even if is hard, but maybe thats just me.

If you wanna visit the place this is the google maps Link