I'm Back ... with some posts from Paris

Well, it's been a long time since I posted anything.  No excuses ... I just lost my book review mojo.  I guess I needed a break.

Then life took over - my office closed - which meant it had to be packed up and although in many ways it was my choice to become unemployed I needed a little time to lick my wounds.  But - I have a plan I'm going to put into effect and I was looking forward to the vacation planned and booked before the proverbial sh** hit the fan.  Come on - let's face it, is there a better place than Paris to lick your wounds and get life back on track?  I think not!

I hadn't had a proper holiday in many years and my daughters and I have been planning to go to Paris for a long time.  This year all the stars aligned and we took the trip.  What a trip it was!  We laughed, we cried, we ate and drank too much but very well.  And we walked ... and walked ... and walked.  I don't think there was a part of Paris we left unexplored.  I was quite proud that my old bones were able to keep up with my two beautiful and VERY fit daughters.  My only regret was not taking along my FitBit ... then again it could have been just as well ... the poor thing might have melted in my pocket, we walked so much.  It was wonderful.  We did two organized walking tours (Shout-out to Sandemans New Europe Tours - highly recommended!!) and then we wandered but never aimlessly thanks to my youngest daughter's directional prowess (thanks Nicole - my favorite vacation organizer).  We took a couple of random turns every once in a while which led to marvelous unplanned discoveries such as the Bastille Market.  There a very handsome young man shucked oysters for us then served us wine in the empty oyster shells because (according to him) "in France, when we eat - we drink!"  Who was I to argue with local customs?

The point of all this?  During our wanderings we passed so many great little book shops tucked away into the corners of St. Germaine, the Latin Quarter and along the side streets we explored.  Of course a blog post started to form in my head (exciting for me since I hadn't posted anything in so long) and I started snapping pictures.

 

 

A few of the shops deserve an individual mention because they were so interesting.  San Francisco Books Co. is one of those shops.  Tucked into the middle Rue Monsieur Le Prince, the outside of the bookstore is painted bright red, somewhat reminiscent of San Francisco trolley cars.  How could we resist going in?  Asking the owner the price of various unique items we found it was quite apparent that he was not a native Parisian.  He kindly explained that he was born in the Midwestern U.S. and then lived in San Francisco for about 25 years before relocating to Paris and opening his bookshop.  The store is charming with black and white tile floors and, literally, wall to wall, floor to ceiling bookshelves absolutely crammed with books.  There were so many treasures it was difficult to decide where to look first.  I could have left the store with a bag full of books but had to remain mindful of the fact that anything purchased had to be hauled along on the second leg of our trip (London) and then back home to Canada.  Sadly, I purchased nary a book but my oldest daughter found a book on graffiti art and a few vintage postcards that proved too hard to resist buying as a gifts for a friends.  San Francisco Book Co. is definitely worthy of a travel shout-out and a visit if you find yourself wandering the Left Bank in Paris.