Dreaming of Paris

In my search for a used bookstore, I woke up dreaming of Paris. My husband and I recently spent a week in Paris during spring. I was surprised to see so many bookstores, especially so many with rare and used books. Most of them were in the Rive Gauche and St. Germain de Pres area where La Sorbonne is located. It is my favorite part of the city.

Below is a small bookshop aptly named after Shakespeare near the university.

The Seine River outdoor booksellers conjure up romantic images of the past, especially their depiction in impressionist art. The antique and ornate book covers invite you to peer into the green, metal boxes and leaf through the books.

I could spend hours strolling through the booksellers on the river banks just perusing through their collections. Unfortunately, we were on a tight budget and our purchases from these booksellers were mostly gifts for our friends and relatives, like the biography of Victor Hugo we bought for a friend.

Another great spot in Paris to just relax and read a book is Le Jardin de Luxembourg. In the gardens, you'll find students engaged in discourse, lovers embraced on the grass, children playing precariously too close to fountains, and many people just sitting and reading a book. My favorite thing to do when we travel is to get lost in the city with a good guide book full of facts and history of the city. After much walking and sightseeing, we like to sit down just to read all we can about the city. That's me below at the gardens doing just that.