A rainy day on Rue Mouffetard

Le Mouff'tot Mouff'tard, Paris

The most memorable travel experiences are rarely planned. Happy accidents and serendipity seem to play a much larger role. Walking in Paris’s Latin Quarter during a Spring downpour, we were quickly soaked, and looking for a place to have a glass of wine and dry off a bit. While there’s no shortage of interesting bars to pop into, a certain one called out to us. It was just a hole in the wall, but as we peered in the window we noticed that it was jam-packed with people who were singing and dancing up a storm. It looked like fun, so we stepped in and quickly grabbed the last unoccupied table.

We soon realized that we were in a very special place. It turns out that a group of older Parisians (60’s, 70’s) meet here at Mouff’tot Mouff’tard on Sundays to sing popular and traditional songs, play music together and dance the afternoon away. The singers were very talented, and despite our protests that we really couldn’t sing, they convinced us to perform a sing-along to (of all things) Three Blind Mice. It did not go well – so we mutually agreed to leave the singing to the experts. Instead we relaxed, listened to the music, and even enjoyed a tango or two with a couple of finely attired gentleman before we were on our way.