A restaurant bites the dust

We probably all know it by now. The Parisian nude restaurant is closing.

Yes. That is a sad thing. Why did they not make it?

Apparently the restaurant is well liked by all who dined there. Unfortunately there weren’t enough of those people, which put the restaurant in a dire, financial spot. The food, as I read in many places, was very good, and the atmosphere in the restaurant was described as very pleasant.

The owners, Mike and Stephane Saada, stated:

“Thank you for having participated in this adventure by coming to dine at O’Naturel. We will only remember the good times, meeting beautiful people and customers who were delighted to share exceptional moments.”

Source: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/paris-nude-restaurant-is-closing

Let’s hope there will be another occasion for a nude restaurant in France. I think that’s important, since France is one of the countries where naturism is huge and growing.

I’m glad to see that the Bunyadi restaurant in London is still open, and that in Bristol, the Greenbank pub has hosted several Naked Dining events.

Let’s hope more restaurants will start seeing the possibilities for nude dining. The way O’Naturel was set up, catering to nude guests only, is perhaps a bit too optimistic. Opening for nude guests a few times per week might have been an economically better idea in that light.

On the other hand, the world of naturism and nudism is facing fierce opposition and that pressure is growing. Establishments like O’Naturel are important because they fight back. It is important to remember that prudishness and the feelings of shame, which are spreading over a world that has made steps into the other direction, can be pushed back. We do need a backbone and some guts for that push. Let’s push!

Lanzarote. My second visit. Part 2.

A nude dinner.

Yup. It happened. I didn’t know it happened every Thursday evening. A restaurant here, the Jardin Tropical, hosts a naturist dinner every week on Thursday. You have to book it in advance so they can set the right amount of tables, the price is nothing but reasonable (I paid €16,90 plus drinks) and the food is very good.

jardintropical_charco

If you’re a vegetarian you can say so when you book your seat and all will be taken care of.

Nude group.

It was an amazing experience to join 19 others for dinner in the nude. That evening there were 20 people which, according to the waitress, was a new record. There was a nice mix of people there. Some from Sweden, some from Germany (there are many Germans in Charco del Palo), British and French, and a few Dutch people like me. Save 1 Swedish man everyone knew English so that made talking with everyone quite easy. Note that some people had ‘interesting’ accents, but that was fine and fun.

nude in the streetIt’s really a fabulous feeling to shower and after drying off you’re ready to go out to dinner. The whole experience of walking around nude here, all through the small town, is one I can’t get enough of, and meeting other nude people out there, in the streets, is a kick. As was this nude dinner I was part of.

Something really funny happened while we were eating: two people came in. Dressed. They had more than a bit of surprise seeing the restaurant loaded with naked folks having a good time! They took it well though. They had something to drink at the bar and then left quickly. I still grin when I think of it.