Life is a Cabaret

Bonsoir,

So I finally did it, I finally went to see a Parisian cabaret! After much debating of where to go (based mainly on finances), the boyfriend and I opted for Le Carrousel de Paris. The small cabaret is located down the street from the Moulin Rouge, by metro Blanche, surrounded by less touristy shops such as strip clubs and a fair few prostitutes. This is after all the sex district of Paris. Le Carrousel de Paris boasts that its stage was once home to the talents of Josephine Baker and Edith Piaf, which is pretty savvy. For those of you that don't know, Josephine Baker was the first African American woman to achieve international fame and star in a motion picture in the 20th century.

The place is pretty small indeed, hosting of about 100 to 150 guests, but this added to its charm as it meant that we were fairly close to the stage. Also to be noted is that it was small but not claustrophobic and there was some elbow room at the dinner table. Dinner consisted of a starter, main and dessert (including foie gras) and unlimited red wine, with a finish of a glass of champagne each. The waiting staff were all unfailingly friendly, and to our surprise the guests were almost all French, which added to the night's authenticity.

The food wasn't bad at all, for the price that we paid I was expecting something rather bad but it was fine. The show itself was amptly entertaining: there was a magician, a shadow-puppet meister (who actually, thanks to brilliant use of music and props was pretty good), beautiful female dancers, one dubious male dancer, and a somewhat ridiculous elderly man as the host which explains why they ply you with alcohol beforehand, as well as a gorgeous talented singer who opened up with the classic "Diamonds are a girl's best friend". The dancers were simply exquisite, both in appearance and moves. If this sounds like a good evening to you, I can only recommend paying the very reasonable 45 euros per person.

I've done so many other amazing things this week, but I will break them up into posts to make it easier.

A bientot xxx