Prologue

Elisa searched high and low for a place with a special sort of energy, the space of a generation bursting with ideas. A place filled with friendship, twists of fate, unexpected plots, improbable encounters, unique visions and generosity....

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I - The News-Bookstore
of The Place Des Abbesses

Just as she prepared coffee every morning without drinking it, for the simple pleasure of its fragrance, Elisa also had the habit of going down to Abbesses to buy the morning paper.

She rarely read it, but the kindness of the shop owner started her day off on the right note...

II - Coquelicot

Here, you can get a soft-boiled egg and strips of toast to dip in it for just euros 2.50. It’s like stepping into your childhood kitchen. The coffee and hot chocolate come in big steaming bowls and, even in the dining area on the first floor, you are surrounded by the delicious smell of baking bread.

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III - Le vrai Paris

This café, had become one of the go-to places of Abbesses, a terribly trendy spot next door to Le Sancerre. Elisa met locals of all ages here.

... This was the very spot where she realised that the Montmartre locals were actually interested in who she was...

IV - Le village

Elisa stopped in to hear Clara* sing. Although an improbable concert venue, this little café was a favourite amongst the Montmartre community and was always packed.

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V - Le Relais de la Butte

Elisa ordered a pretty bad café au lait for euros 3.70 and an even less appetising croissant for euros 2.10. The flippant waiter pointed out that she had woken up too late for breakfast. How could anyone live a refined lifestyle without being able to have breakfast at one’s convenience? ...

VI - Perry Ah Why

On the Butte, there are a few haute couture jewels known only to the happy few. One of these places is Perry Ah Why, located at 4 Rue Androuet.

Ah Why is the designer’s real surname, pronounced phonetically in Hawaiian. Perry’s Asian origins are hinted at by his beautiful skin tone and round brown eyes...

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VII - Le Clairon des Chasseurs

To clear up the situation with her squatter, Elisa suggested that they go for a coffee. And this is where Ertann took her.

As they walked past the cafés of the Place du Tertre, Ertann muttered with his deep baritone Kurdish voice: “Let’s go somewhere else. They’re fascists here... Here, they’re assholes... Over there, they rob you blind...

VIII - The Petanque Grounds

A former waste ground next to the Moulin de la Galette was bequeathed to the town hall of the 18th arrondissement by a generous Montmartre resident on the condition that the piece of land – that promoters tried in vain to purchase – would be reserved for games of petanque for his fellow petanque aficionados and their Montmartre friends.

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IX - La Bohème du Tertre

That morning, Elisa was walking down the Rue Gabrielle to choose the café where she would have her traditional croissant and café au lait (after her dose of noni juice and green tea in the morning at home).

X - Monsieur Petitchoux

They were almost neighbours. From her balconies, Elisa had an open view of Monsieur Petitchoux’s terrace.

Monsieur Petitchoux was a legend in Montmartre. He was the only person to have chosen a pink stretch limo as his sole means of transportation.

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XI - Le Baroudeur

Place des Abbesses. After barely setting foot in Le Baroudeur, before she could even order her café au lait, a tall black man sat down at Elisa’s table and asked if he could give her a present. Elisa assumed he must be a little high or had at least knocked back a few, but she didn’t stop him from joining her...

XII - Marie Bocquet, Fromagère

Being an English émigré, Elisa knew nothing about cheese. Like children, she preferred smooth and creamy whipped fromage blanc with raspberry purée. In other words, she was an amateur when it came to this key subject of French culture.

She may not have liked cheese, but she loved the cheese-maker, Marie-Bocquet,

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XIII - Modi et Utrillo

Elisa was convinced that she had come face to face with the reincarnation of two of her favourite painters: Modigliani and Utrillo. The two boys were inseparable and always hung out at the Place Jean-Baptiste Clément, where Modigliani lived his last life at...

XIV - Le Ceni's

Elisa brought her father here. He had insisted on going to a tourist café. Elisa had never been here, but had seen a few portraitists inside. She imagined that the owner was a generous person who supported the local artists.

The café was empty, but inviting: dark woodwork, bistro chairs and tables, a zinc bar and a lovely barmaid.

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XV - Géraldine Valluet - Orfèvre

Emeralds, rubies, sapphires, amethysts, lapis lazuli, moonstones… Géraldine Valluet’s world floats on the surface of noble materials.

Géraldine’s jewellery is subtle, shimmering with refined elegance...

XVI - Jacky Gaudin, Boucher

Elisa ate meat so rarely that she might have been mistaken for a vegetarian, which was not the case. She loved to watch people eat when they took visible pleasure in their meal. Just watching them was meal enough for Elisa.

When her friend Jym, a native of the Auvergne region who had moved to England, arrived in Montmartre...

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XVII - Roudy

The first time she met Roudy, she was on her way to lunch at the home of a friend, Dr. Lillibou. Roudy was sitting on the sidewalk bleeding. On my way to see a doctor, I meet a wounded man, mused Elisa, Destiny’s child.

At first, Roudy refused to get into her car as he didn’t want his blood to stain the carpet...

XVIII - Nathalie et Christian Durand
          Charcutier Traiteur

Christian Durand has a diploma in Brawn (fromage de tête), a diploma in Black Pudding, a diploma in Chicken Liver Pâté and a diploma in Liver Pâté.

Elisa had never known that you could get a diploma in all these subjects and...

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XIX - Le Musée de Montmartre

The legendary house at 12 Rue Cortot, where Renoir painted “Le Bal du Moulin de la Galette” and “La Balançoire”, was home to Suzanne Valladon, her son Maurice Utrillo and Suzanne’s lover André Utter, but also Francisque Poulbot, the painter and benefactor of the children of Montmartre, and Raoul Dufy...

XX - Tom Gé

Nurtured with Breton poetry, Tom started playing piano at the tender age of 3, as if his tactile memory had kept intact his past life as a virtuoso concert performer.

He had dedicated one of his first poems to Elisa. She instantly realised that she had discovered one of the poets who would touch the hearts of future generations, after leaving a heritage of treasures behind him for centuries.

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