"You're going on a grand adventure," my dad tells me. It is. It is a grand adventure, but I started to get the feeling that I used up all the bravery I had in just coming here. The actual adventure part is more difficult.
It's just so safe and familiar in my apartment! And I can't get lost in my neighborhood anymore! Hey, I found the Eiffel Tower didn't I! But the Metro is scary!
Excuses, excuses. So today I decided to be brave. I decided to actually leave the 7th Arrondissement and do a little exploring. Obviously, the first thing I wanted to do was go to Shakespeare and Company. This is the little English bookstore that looks like it was decorated according to designs laid out in my diary. I'd been here once before and have been dreaming of it since.
On entering, you walk into a small room crowded by books. The lighting is low, warm. Awkwardly arranged bookcases divide the shop into little sections to wander in and out of, and lending it a whimsical, labyrinthine feel, like a literary fun-house. At the back, to the right, there is a staircase leading to a reading room, as well as rare books and young adult fiction. I love the randomness of that. A note stuck to the wall advises me that there's a piano to play if I wish, but I can already hear the music floating back down to me. The reading room is furnished by repurposed church pews and theater seats. A book of 19th century magazines rests on a stand in a corner. I take a seat. Yep, this is home.
When I'd finally tired of heaven, I looked across the street at Notre Dame. Lovely. I snapped a picture and set about wandering the Latin Quarter's narrow cobbled streets, finally stopping at a cafe to sit with my book and a cafe creme.
It's lovely to be in Paris. Even alone.
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