old family blog

Shakespeare & Co.

After lunch in the Jardin de Luxenbourg, we headed over to the fountain. In the fountain swam about a dozen mallard ducks and in the middle near the water spraying up was a little house with little decks for the ducks to jump up on and they could go into the house as well. We finally found a spot to sit down and enjoy the clear sky and the late afternoon sun. Everyone was facing the sun so we joined in the soak it up! We have seen several tanning salons on the right bank. I am sure this good weather is eating into their profit margin.

We hung out at the fountain for a good 2 hours. Clem stated reading his new book and the Guardian we found at a restaurant. I decided to pull out my sketchbook and give it a whirl. I started sketching Clem a little, which was starting to look good until I attempted to shade it. I am very rusty at sketching. I think this is the first time in over 7 years since I’ve picked up the pencil. After about an hour of drawing, I pulled out my laptop and worked some more on our blog entries.

This man stopped in front of us with his son in his stroller – it was too cute how he just sat in his stroller for a good 15 minutes just staring right at us. One would think this was a little creepy but check out the photo I took of him – it was too adorable. As we made our way out of the Jardin, we came across this amazing fountain. I got two great shots of it, you can see people sitting on chairs around the fountain – shield from the sun and enjoying the peace and quiet. Then out of nowhere another little boy, blond hair and all came running up behind us and screamed BOO! I laughed, I was laughing more because he had a plaid shirt and plaid jumper on and some how it was working! LOL

We finally started heading back over to the right bank and then home. While walking through the left bank, we walked the outskirts of the Latin Quarter. It was like we were in Union Square in SF. Junk shops selling cheap products and fast food restaurants. We also noticed the abundance of Greek restaurants in the area as well. There was nothing worth stopping for until we hit the river. As we are about to cross the bridge to Notre Dame, out of the corner of my eye I see the Shakespeare & Company bookstore. We walked over and started taking a couple pictures and then checked out their selection.

I asked one of the ladies working there if the had seen a certain book I had been search for in the last couple of years. (A limited edition of Alice & Wonderland with drawings by Salvador Dali.) She looked at me and says; “No we haven’t”, now mind you this store is over 200 years old and everyone working there is younger than me! Hmmmm.

Clem and I walked across the bridge to Notre Dame again. We wanted to light two candles for my brother and his wife and the twins…of coarse we light them under Joan of Arc. After we light the candles we headed back out onto the square and made our way back to the apartment. We were getting tired pretty quickly this evening. Not sure, but I was feeling a little under the weather.

On the way home we made a little pit stop. I was not about to spend 2 weeks in Paris and not find Alexander McQueen’s atelier. After wondering around the Marais for a while, we finally came to no.6 rue de Braque. As most modern designers today they ateliers are unmarked and hidden from the world. I was gitty like a little boy when we finally found it. The lights were on up in the studio and huge dark green doors were closed. It was an amazing moment. I should have knocked and asked for a cup of sugar. LOL

As we made our way back to the apartment, we stopped at some local shops and got some bread, ham and cheeses. We headed up to the apartment and started eating off and on. Eric came home and we sat and chatted for a while. He shared with us how no one really goes to the Latin Quarter anymore. It’s become the fisherman’s wharf of Paris. A huge tourist trap! So we scratched it off our to do list since we only have a couple more days left in Paris. Maybe next time, although Eric says we can die happy not visiting it ever!

I headed to bed early while the boys stayed up late catching up and of coarse talking politics. Eric has been writing a number of stories on Chirac and some well-known officials in Paris. If you’re ever interested in reading some of his work, go to the Newsweek site and search for Eric Pape. Night night!

posted by turlie @ 9:21 AM