Sunday turned out to be the most marvelous of days. It all began with a picture-taking stroll around Le Marais with Lorena, after she had so very kindly given me two rolls of 36 exposure film. I loaded my Canon FTb hungrily, after having not used it since September. Film is crazy expensive here. We walked through St. Paul, me snapping away, until we arrived at Republique. With Lorena on the hunt for the metro, we found the Marche des Enfants Rouges, which I've been meaning to get to forever (a phrase I find myself using more often than I'd like to admit).
After bidding Lorena farewell, I got a bus to St. Germain and strolled through the sixieme to St. Sulpice, a beautiful church surrounded by a lovely square with a huge fountain complete with fleeing pigeons and poetic looking people sitting around its edge.
After walking along Boulevard St. Germain and snapping some pics of Cafe de Flore and wishing I was a French socialite, I settled on churros and took a half an hour bus to the Bois de Vincennes, a beautiful wood in eastern Paris where I like to go to de-citify my brain and breathe in some earthy, oxygenated air. I found Lac Daumesnil and sat beneath a cherry blossom tree, whereupon I dove into The Bell Jar and felt quite at ease.
Upon arriving back in my apartment, I made myself an actual meal of spinach curry (not completely from scratch but hey, it's better than noodles), and skyped with my bff back home, during which we debated the merits of a toaster versus a skillet set versus a knife set and I was very, very happy.
Today, I ventured to Poissoniers to drop off my film at Negatif+, a photo shop which develops film and gives you a CD and prints for 14 euros. Not as good as walmart, but better than FNAC no doubt. They won't be ready until tomorrow evening right when I have to pick P up from school. Of course. I must be getting more accustomed to the inconvenience of this country because the 30 odd hour delay didn't vex me as much as it would have in September. But god, walmart is going to be nice to return to. Seriously people, walmart is a very underrated entity.
Armed with my more convenient digital camera, I took the metro from Gare du Nord to St. Michel, where I found Abbey Bookshop.
Okay. So. Abbey Bookshop is basically my Canadian Shakespeare and Company. It is a tiny, ramshackle bookstore tucked away on Rue de la Parcheminerie. I didn't notice it at first, its entry covered in books spilling from cardboard boxes, a Canadian flag floating in the breeze above the doorway. But oh, how lovely it was. I will let the photos speak for themselves, but all you need to know is that it's run by a Canadian, it's lovely and narrow and filled to the brim with every kind of book you could wish for (in English), and it serves free coffee which is rumored to be infused with maple syrup. I found a Lonely Planet travel guide to British Coumbia and broke into a wide grin as I scanned the section on Vancouver. Man, I am excited to be home in three months.
After leaving the shop, I strolled through the quartier latin to arrive back at St. Sulpice.
 |
| A lovely little church by the shop |
I spent the rest of my afternoon reading more Sylvia in Place St. Sulpice as the lazy afternoon sun beat down on my shoulder. I leaned against the fountain, the book I had bought from Shakespeare and Co. back in September propped against my knees as I glanced up to people-watch from time to time.
There was a thunderstorm when I got home.
It was a good weekend.
Film photos to come soon (tomorrow hopefully).
Love always, miss you all.
Coral
No comments:
Post a Comment