Summer In Paris

Yesterday evening, Natalie and I had originally intended to go to an opera, but the last minute tickets were pricier than expected. However, there is always something to do in Paris, so we decided to check out Shakespeare & Company, Paris's most famous English language bookstore and the one with the most impressive history. When we came out of the metro at Place St. Michel, we saw a pretty excellent fountain.



There were a lot of people gathered around to watch some kind of street performance, so we took a peek and saw these guys breakdancing/doing capoeira/something.



I haven't talked much about this before, but Paris is jam-packed with street performers of various kinds. There are living statues at Sacre Coeur, dancers in public squares, and musicians in the metro who are more than willing to give you an involuntary concert experience. These musicians range from apparently legal, fairly decent violinists in the metro tunnels to crappy accordion players who board your car on the train, play for a few minutes, and then walk up and down the aisle asking for money. There are also women who carry signs begging for help, saying they are mothers or grandmothers attempting to care for multiple kids.

The most disturbing performance I have witnessed was that of a hunched, elderly woman, dressed all in black. She trundled onto the train wearing no shoes, only these black socks on her stubby feet. With the hunch she barely reached my chest. Once she boarded the train and it started moving, she starting wailing and singing some kind of dirge, holding out a coin purse to everyone around her. It was pretty disturbing.

The most awesomely bad performance I have been subjected to involved an accordion player who only played "Yesterday" and "My Way," over and over again. He had a machine that played most of the music for him, so he only had to do the melody (and perhaps he didn't even play that himself). I was on that train for a long time, so as the guy moved from car to car, I would hear Frank Sinatra echoing in the station whenever we stopped and the doors opened.

Anyway, Shakespeare & Company was AWESOME. It is an adorable store that is absolutely crammed with books. Some are used, some are new, and there are always little nooks and crannies where you can sit and read them. There is a library of sorts on the upper floor and where I found people stashed away in all the corners.



I bought myself a book that I intend to enjoy in a garden this evening. Parisians and I definitely have similar ideas about having fun. Lots of young people here like to get something to eat and drink, sit in a park somewhere, and either read or talk to friends. Works for me!