Shakespeare and friends.

Today was pretty much the first day since I've been here that I haven't had anything to do. Not to say that there wasn't anything to do, just that I didn't have any pressing plans or engagements. A day all to myself...awesome.

I slept in late and the laid in bed for a long time waking up. Eventually I met up with Laura at the Forum des Halles and we stopped at La Croissanterie and had a hot cocoa and an eclair and explored the FNAC for a little while. Next time I go there I'll have to buy a book, since I'll be done with my current one soon. We eventually dragged ourselves out (I could spend a whole day there, easily) and met up with Alex at Fontaine Saint-Michel. Then we walked up Boulevard Saint-Michel and stopped in a little bookstore for a bit, and then continued to Luxembourg Garden. We sat around and talked for awhile (long enough for me to get a little bit sunburned; oops!) and then Laura left and we met up with Valentina and had lunch at Quick, which is a French hamburger joint. It was good, nothing special. I felt really bad though, because I had such a hard time understanding the woman at the counter...even when she started speaking English. Oh well.

Then Alex and I went to Shakespeare and Company, which has to be the best bookstore in the universe. To quote Wikipedia:

Shakespeare and Company is an independent bookstore located in the 5th arrondissement, in Paris's Left Bank. Shakespeare and Company serves as both a bookstore and a reading library, specializing in English-language literature. The bookstore also houses young writers, known as "tumbleweeds, who earn their keep by working in the shop for a couple of hours each day...It was located at 12 rue de l'Odéon and was open from 1919 to 1941. During this era, the store was considered to be a center of Anglo/American literary culture in Paris. The shop was often visited by artists of the "Lost Generation" such as Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, George Antheil, Man Ray, and James Joyce.

It is seriously an awesome place. There are two floors and both are jam packed with books; new books, used books, all kinds of books. There are also books spilling out onto the sidewalk in front on tables and shelves. I wandered around inside for awhile, but the first thing that jumped out at me before I even went in was a 4 Euro used copy of "Gone with the Wind", which I bought, finding it very appropriate after watching the movie in French last week. When I bought it, the girl stamped the inside cover to say that I bought it at Shakespeare and Company, which I find incredibly awesome.

After that I came home, and spent the next few hours resting my feet and making this blog. At 8:30 I met up again with Laura and Alex and Valentina, and we went and had dinner in the Latin Quarter at a little restaurant with a funny waiter and delicious food. I had onion soup, duck, and crème brûlée; Alex tried escargots for the first time.

When we finished dinner we wandered around the streets for a bit, listening to the different people playing music on the sidewalks. Then we went to the Pont des Arts, which is a bridge over the Seine. We saw the Eiffel Tower sparkle at 11:00, and then we walked across the bridge, which was completely covered in people, mostly around our age, having picnics and drinking wine and playing music and hanging out. It was really, really neat...I want to go back some night with a picnic dinner.

Around 11:30 Laura and I decided to come home so we wouldn't have to ride the metro alone super late at night. Now I'm getting ready to go to sleep, and I'm really excited that I get to sleep in again!

I feel like I have many observations to write about, regarding my experiences and what I've seen...but I think I'll have to save them until another time when I'm more awake. Probably tomorrow! :)