We had originally intended to go back to Versailles yesterday, to tour the Palace and the Stables (last time we were there, we spent all our time wandering through the truly enormous gardens). After a series of minor, schedule-delaying events, we ultimately scrapped our plans and just spent a quiet day around our neighborhood.
That evening, we went for dinner at a restaurant that's become one of our favorites, just because it makes us laugh: Buffalo Grill. Any guilt we might have felt about avoiding the more "French" choices is assuaged by the fact that we have an absolutely fantastic time whenever we're there, laughing at the music (what was being played on country radio two years ago) and decor (every "Western-theme" stereotype you can think of) while enjoying the view (over one of Paris' better-known plazas, Republique) and the food (the steaks, burgers, and ribs are all pretty credible).
Today was a really lovely fall day in Paris -- the near-constant drizzle broke, it was only pleasantly cool, and there was just enough of a breeze to twirl the falling leaves prettily in the air.
We started our day by attending church at the American Church in Paris, as we've been doing for the past several weeks. ACP is an interdenominational Christian fellowship, with a mainly-but-not-exclusively Anglophone congregation. By sticking around for the coffee hour after the service, we're starting to recognize some faces and develop a few friendships. We're also trying to take an active role in some of the church activities -- I'm joining the knitting circle, and we're both going to help with bake for next week's Christmas bazaar. (I can't believe the holidays -- and exams! -- are coming so quickly!)
After church, we wandered down to another Paris institution: the Shakespeare & Co. bookshop. The shop was opened in 1951 by George Whitman, an American serviceman who stayed in France after World War II was concluded. The tiny and perpetually-crowded ground floor is filled with an amazing collection of used and new English-language books. Upstairs, you can find the shopowner's original collection of books from 1951: not for sale, but free for you to sit and peruse for as long as you like. Nestled among the shelves and stacks of books are a few beds: apparently, young writers are invited to come to Paris and exchange part-time work in the bookshop for a free place to stay. We came home with several more books to fill our "spare" time (read: the last few minutes before sleeping), each of them proudly bearing a Shakespeare & Co. stamp on the title page.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment