One Day in Paris - Shakespeare and Company

What an experience the Shakespeare and Company bookshop was. A queue outside was indicative of its popularity and it had a bohemian air of creativity in every beam. Wandering through the narrowest of passageways there were little alcoves where individuals were either reading aloud or comparing books from the floor to ceiling shelves. The sign leading you upstairs to the library asked for quietness so people could research in the equally as extensive antique books from collections built up over the years. The first shop, not on this site, was closed down and all books put into storage when Nazis arrived one day asking for a copy of a book that had been banned. The negative response was immediately followed by the closing of their doors; they did not re-open until after the liberation.

Upstairs, at the front of the building was a quiet room. Five minutes, I thought, to look out of the window and view Notre Dame whilst writing down some thoughts of the day. As I settled on the bench seat looking through the open window, surrounded by books and taking in the peace that now surrounded me in this bustling city a door opposite burst open.

Announcing herself, with a young girl carrying a tray of afternoon tea crockery following closely behind, was ‘Pamnelys’. “Not my real name but it is what you can call me”, she told us. She then went on to explain the tradition of the Sunday Afternoon Tea Party that had taken place each week for decades.

It was an opportunity for each person present to read our own work, to share experiences and to allow us to express ourselves over a cup of tea. My phone beeped, fortunately on silent: ‘We are downstairs, no hurry’ ‘Caught upstairs in a tea party - 5 mins’ I will never know what was said as I left the room, although we were free to go whenever we pleased. I would have loved to have stayed but I was caught rather by surprise. I signed the book and vowed to myself that I would return with the 2 hours free to fully experience the ‘tea party’. For me Paris is now ‘Rive Gauche’. I will take my children there and get them to take the time to soak in the creativity of so many greats who have wandered those streets, survived poverty, exchanged ideas and helped to create the Paris that can only be truly experienced if you give it the time.

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