For the Obamas, date night in Paris at La Fontaine de Mars

[jefferson_dem]

For the Obamas, date night in Paris
Jun-6-09 7:20pm

Ah, Paris. The city of love. And the city of this week's presidential date night.

A week after flying to New York for dinner and a Broadway show, President Barack Obama and first lady, Michelle, dined at a cozy neighborhood bistro just a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower.

The president and first lady were in France to join their counterparts from France, Canada and Britain to commemmorate the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the allied invasion of Normandy in World War II that led to victory in Europe.

La Fontaine de Mars dates back to 1908 and specializes in rustic dishes from France's southwest region of Bordeaux Perigord and the Basque. Foie gras, duck and cassoulet are on the menu, although the White House has not said what the president and first lady chose.

The Obamas shared the restaurant with other diners, and other restaurants on the winding Rue St. Dominique were filled. Police, some in riot gear, lined the street. Crowds pressed behind barriers at the end of the street to glimpse the first couple, and about 100 people gathered there burst into applause as the Obamas left the restaurant. Clusters of people at street corners held up cell phones and cameras to snap pictures.

After dinner and a ride along the quai on the Left Bank of the Seine River, the Obamas returned to the U.S. ambassador's residence, where first daughters Sasha and Malia awaited them.

Earlier in the day, Sasha and Malia joined their parents on a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral, where a children's choir sang and the president lit a candle. They climbed the stairs for a view of the city from the roof of the 12th century Gothic church. The cathedral was closed to the public during the first family's visit.

The first family's motorcade traveled to the cathedral along the Boulevard St. Germain, where hundreds lined the street hoping to see them.

http://www.zimbio.com/Barack+Obama/articles/6198/Obamas+date+night+Paris

[Botany]

1. I loves me some Obamas

"Crowds pressed behind barriers at the end of the street to glimpse the first couple, and about 100 people gathered there burst into applause as the Obamas left the restaurant."

[Lithos]

2. You know

It would be pretty much stupid for the President and his wife, who obviously are still "In Love" (as in Romance), to miss up a chance for a dinner in a quaint nook in a city well known for lovers.

People who complain, well, give them some viagra - they obviously don't get it.

L-

[jefferson_dem]

4. I chuckle when I hear the Repugs whine about date nights.

Watching that gender gap grow and grow. Stupid old limpdicks just don't get it. :)

[Lithos]

7. I sometimes think that they are just jealous

Or perhaps the trophy/stepford wife thing they seem to be attracted to is just anathema to "romance" of equals.

L-

[babylonsister]

18. Not just rethugs. It's unseemly that people go out to eat

according to some. I guess ordering off the menu in the hotel would be more fitting. :eyes:

[sarge43]

19. Nah, too elitist. The candy machine in the lobby.

This will insure that everyone in financial difficulty will be rolling in money by the end of the week.

[sarge43]

10. Yup. They clearly still have the "crazy about you" thing going on.

A perfect way to complete their trip.

Can anyone imagine First Slobs aka George and Laura doing that? "I ain't eatin' any of that Frenchy crap."

[Lithos]

13. I can see Bush saying...

"Where is the Ketchup"...

[Cha]

3. And, just when Jon Stewart asked him to ..

"... Elbowed sharply in the side, husbands felt betrayed by the commander in chief. On “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart reviewed the Obamas’ glamorous foray and screeched, “How do you compete with that?” He warned Mr. Obama, “Take it down a notch, dude!”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8454467

[Lithos]

9. LOL

Jon is very much a cool guy...

This leads me to think this about the pukes who are complaining...

First it's Gay marriage, now it is Obama's marriage

It seems the pukes are just against marriage.

L-

[babylonsister]

5. And look at that restaurant! It looks so cute-no flash there.

I bet the food is great, too.

Yes, French people, he's ours, but we'll share him with you once in awhile. ;)

[Taverner]

6. Go Barack Go!

Trust me, there will be fireworks tonight...

[jefferson_dem]

8. ooohh la la...

Now we know why Michelle's mum came along.

Speaking of fireworks, I love your pic there. Those fellows, especially Bowie and Lou, have rocked my world in ways I can't describe. "Vicious, you hit me with a flower...You do it every hour..."

[Taverner]

14. Those three gave us everything we know today as Rock and Roll

Cheers!

[pink-o]

20. Yup. Everyone from the Sex Pistols to Nirvana to Green Day owe their careers to 'em!

"Alternative" (my fave music these days, because even at 54 I can't leave rock and move to AOR :puke: ) is really just their bastard child, conceived in the 70s back rooms of CBGBs. I can't hear "Rebel, Rebel"--the best guitar riff of all times--without being sent into a tailspin. Just great stuff.

Oh, yeah: and Congrats to Barack and Michelle. Hope dinner was magnifique!

[AllieB]

11. It is a cozy little neighborhood place near the Eiffel Tower in the 7th.

How I miss Paris!

[HopeOverFear]

12. Get your romance on, Obamas

[Trajan]

15. OK already with the date stories ....

I get it: They deeply love each other and rarely miss an opportunity for a romantic interlude
at some elegant restaurant or trendy nightspot ....

I adore this couple, but people ARE going without, and it seems a bit unbecoming to CONSTANTLY beat
the 'Obama's living like royalty' drum in the media ....

I dont expect them to huddle in some embassy compound out of the public eye, and I suppose public
fascination with the first couple will nearly always expose their movements in the public sphere, which
makes it difficult to avoid overexposure during these 'dates' ...

But the date stories in the media have an unseemly 'let them eat cake' flavor that makes me personally uncomfortable ... It is getting rather ostentatious ...

When people are hurting (and they are), it would behoove our President to show some restraint when he makes these choices ....

I dont begrudge any couple who captures a romantic opportunity in the City of Light, but some belt tightening is in order
in the public sphere, and visiting expensive nightspots on even a weekly basis doesnt reflect sensitivity towards the
plight of the downtrodden, who lack maybe not the desire for romance, but a job for which to pay for it, or even the makings
of a decent family meal, or a place to cook such a meal ...

It's starting to go beyond what is reasonable, I believe ....

[bedazzled]

16. thanks - i thought i was the only one who thought like that

don't remember the last time we went out to lunch,
even.

there's a bit of marie antoinette in it, i guess.

[live love laugh]

21. "...the date stories in the media have an unseemly 'let them eat cake' flavor..."

The President (Thank God we don't have Pretzeldent anymore) also has his own life to live. Just because the media follows him around and people follow him wherever he goes and whatever he does, does not mean that he should stop enjoying life. It is not reasonable to expect him to give up every thing because he was elected to office. Who knows when or if he will return to Paris? He should enjoy himself. Life is short. Period.

[jberryhill]

22. "expensive nightspots"?

This is hardly an "expensive nightspot". It is a quite run-of-the-mill bistro of the type with which Paris is littered and ordinary Parisians have dinner regularly.

President Obama does not own an oceanfront estate in Kennenbunkport, a ranch in Crawford, or an estate in San Clemente.





When the Obamas dine out, it is on their own dime.

[Jennicut]

17. Very cool. I hope they had a great time.

My hubby and I try to go out whenever we can. We have two kids and not a ton of money but we try to go out every few months...its good for a marriage! we save up just for date night. Movies or dinner.