Things continue to be
fantastique but also very soggy L
On Thursday, Marie, Clare, and I went for lunch in the 8th
arrondissement (the city’s main business district). I got off at Charles-de-Gaule
Etoile right in front of the Arche de Triomphe. Although lunch with my favourite
ladies here was lovely, I found the area lacking in charm (the small chunk I
saw anyway). The last of the independent retailers there have been bought out,
so it’s all expensive restaurants offset by a handful of overpriced souvenir
shops. Next time I go back, I’ll likely be paying a little visit to les Avenue des Champs-Élysées (a.k.a. the most
beautiful Ave. in the world). Window shopping at its finest!
Saturday I met Marie in the
Latin Quarter at the fountain outside of the St-Michel metro. I love the area –
it is simultaneously charming and lively; enjoyed by locals and tourists alike.
As luck would have it, “our people” were taking part in a massive protest
against the shooting and burning of live animals as part of preparations for
Eurofoot 2012. To learn more and/or to sign the petition, click here.
After a delicious Lebanese lunch, we went to a gem of a bookstore called Shakespeare and Company. While technically not the original (which opened in 1919,
closed in 1941 during German occupation, and was an important place for the likes of Hemingway and Joyce) it functions as a sanctuary for writers, aspiring
writers, and artists and has done so since its opening in 1951. To learn more,
please visit the Shakespeare and Company website.
Packed like sardines alongside other curious-minded
bookworms from across the globe, I made my way along the bushels of books – some
with inscriptions from decades past, others written by contemporary left-wing
theorists whose work you might be hard pressed to find elsewhere. Each nook and
dusty cranny appeared all the more magical and mysterious bathed in the dim
light of antique chandeliers and skirted by creaky old floors. I felt a
newfound sense of strength as a writer, knowing from the best and the brightest
to the most bashful of beginners, we all do the same thing when we translate
the thoughts, feelings, or ideas in our heads onto paper (or typewriters,
computers, or iPads).
Last (but not least - I loved this) we visited the Pont des Arts, which is teeming with sleek, often colourful “love
locks.” Each one containins the names, messages, and/or wishes of lovers who threw
the key into the Seine as a sign of their eternal love. It was fascinating and
fun to imagine the people who those locks belong to and where they are now. Are Ben & James still together? Did Marita get sick leaving Jose a lonely widower? How many children do Fanny and Matthew now have?
It’s getting late now and I’d like to check out the Musée d'art et d'histoire du judaïsme just down the street
before it closes. I hope that’s enough to keep you satiated and I promise to check back
in again soon...
Biz,
E
J'adore...
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