The above photo, taken last night around 6:20 pm, is the view from my Swedish friend’s kitchen. Andreas lives in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, a district I like very much. We had gone to see the movie, La La Land. I was bored from beginning to end.

Andreas had booked us a table at Unico, an Argentinian restaurant on the rue Paul Bert. We walked over. I like walking on cold, clear nights.

This is what a Parisian restaurant looks like at 7:30 pm on a Saturday: empty. As a general rule, people eat late in France. But I like being the first to arrive.

Here’s the smiling manager who isn’t Argentinian, but Spanish.

We ordered beefsteaks … well, a chunk of beef, vegetables on the side, and a bottle of wine.

Followed by dessert. The restaurant slowly filled up and by the time we left it was packed.

I guess this is the reason why I don’t eat out much (although it’s lovely to go out and meet and eat with friends.)