Shakespeare & Co.

So, it's been a while since I've put up anything too exciting on the blog - because I've mainly been hanging out with friends - movie nights, cinema, eating together: the kind of thing that no one needs to see posted on the internet. But, I've neglected to post about a whole other aspect to my life in Paris which has recently taken root, grown and blossomed. 

Outside the Shop

Right at the beginning of my blog [here] I posted about The Shakespeare & Company, after having been there twice before on trips to Paris. The first time I went to the shop, it was as a tourist, and I treated it as such. I enjoyed looking around, but it bothered me to find that in the old typewriter upstairs there was no ribbon, and I began to imagine that the whole shop operated as a sham, not a "socialist utopia masquerading as a bookshop" as Whitman, the founder liked to quip, but rather the other way round. On my third visit I was still wavering over the genuineness of the shop, but I soon realised there is a depth to The Shakespeare and Company that confirmed its authenticity in my eye.

 

In the studio upstairs.

As opposed to other French bookshops I've been to, which are understandably businesses with books to sell & money to be made, the bookshop really is a project of the heart. It's a living, beating hub which embraces current authors as much as keeping old traditions alive: the bookshop still welcomes "Tumbleweed" authors who live in the shop above in exchange for helping out for 2 hours a day in the shop. They've recently taken to busking outside on the banks of the Seine, so the front of the shop is filled with guitar music and at the back, the tinkling of piano keys drifts down from customers who are invited to play the upright piano upstairs. The admiration and affection that all who work for the bookshop is real, and for me that overrides everything.

Flowers in the park outside the bookshop. Virginia Woolf painted on the window upstairs.

And now, I've joined the ranks. The shop has an internship/volunteer system: 4 hours of unpaid work a week is your ticket into the centre of this rabbit warren of a shop. It might sound like a raw deal, and in certain ways it is. You really have to enjoy being in the shop, to be the kind of person who might have spent 4 hours amongst books in any case. The bit I like is getting to know all the interesting people from all over the world who work there: the staff, Tumbles and other volunteers. I like getting to talk to the customers for whom The Shakespeare & Company is a dream-come-true, who leave notes and photos around the speckled mirror upstairs or slipped into books. I like being able to go up into George Whitman's old apartment, which has apparently remained almost unchanged over the passage of time. And the other day I was asked to take the shop's resident dog Colette for a walk, with an old belt hastily fashioned into a leash. This very much sums up the syncopated rhythm of the bookshop life. 

You aren't allowed pictures in the bookshop, so here's one I nicked off the internet :)

I really do think that everyone comes away from The Shakespeare & Company with their own story to tell, and George Whitman's statement that the shop is a "novel in three words" is something I can side with. It's not for everyone, but I'm loving my time helping out there so far!

À Bientôt !
x

Musée du Quai Branly

 

One of Paris' lesser known attractions, the Musee du Quai Branly is found on the edge of the Seine, tucked away in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. A large garden separates the unabashedly modern architecture from the river, so you have a bit of a journey through nature before even making it to the building.

Une des attractions moins connue à Paris, le Musée du Quai Branly se trouve au bord de la Seine, sous l'ombre de la Tour Eiffel. Un grand jardin sépare l'architecture très moderne de la rivière, donc on doit faire un petit voyage dans la nature avant même d'entrer dans le bâtiment.

Once inside, you wind your way through the continents: Africa, Australasia, Asia and more are marked out on the floor by different coloured sections. The museum is dimly lit, making you feel a bit like an intrepid explorer making their own discoveries. 

Une fois dans le bâtiment, on se retrouve tout d'un coup dans les différents "continents" : l'Afrique, l'Australie et l'Asie sont marqués sur le sol avec des couleurs différents. Le musée est un peu faiblement éclairé, et du coup on se sent un peu comme un explorateur intrépide qui fait ses premières découvertes.

Travel Journels

Totems

 

Traditional Clothing

The museum is a little expensive, and some wings don't seem to be finished - but I imagine in the summer it would be a lovely place to go and sit in the gardens and wile away the time. Plus, the hot chocolate in their cafe is second only to Angelina's - and  in a mug of twice the size, it comes in at a whole €3.00 cheaper. You can thank me later.

Les billets du musée sont un peu cher, et quelques ailes ne semblent pas d'être complètes - mais j'imagine que pendant l'été ce serait très agréable d'y aller, pour se détendre dans le jardin et passer le temps. En plus, le chocolat chaud dans leur café c'est le meilleur que j'ai goûté à Paris, après seulement celui chez Angelina - et dans une tasse de deux fois plus grande, il coûte €3,00 moins cher. Vous pouvez me remercier plus tard ;)

À Bientôt !

x

  

"Yes, I live in Paris...since today"

I can't believe I'm finally here. Months of anticipation, my Mum stalking the wrong street on Google Street View and listening to Franceinfo.fr - have all come to this! I now live in Paris. Or as I told the lady in the Metro station - "Yes, I live in Paris, since today". 

Coming to terms with the move via a handy visual aid

My neighbourhood and landlady are thankfully lovely - surrounded by A LOT of Italian bistros (traditional..) and government buildings with a reassuring number of official looking uniformed French people dotted outside impressive gates. We must have walked for miles and succeeded in doing none of our tasks such as getting a mobile phone contract or setting up a bank. French bureaucracy stands firm against aching legs, pitifully incorrect French and baleful looks as we were told to come back tomorrow with all the official documentation. We did however, discover some very lovely things:

The Sorbonne University

A free chalk wall by the Seine

Les Invalides - round the corner!

I'm exhausted but I'm happy & so thankful. The sun peeped through the clouds, I spoke French, I was spoken back to in French. And I'm excited to try lots of new things over the next few weeks - like this 'Gatsby Evening' at the Shakespeare and Company Bookshop by Notre-Dame!

Can't wait to get some sleep!

À bientôt !

x