Historical quest, of sorts.

Because of a certain someone (cough Dave cough), I read quite a bit of Hemingway this past summer. Or tried to at least. Of course my favorite was certainly The Moveable Feast, due, no doubt, to the subject matter (Hemingway recounts a bunch of memoirs from his time in Paris).

Prominently featured is a bookstore frequented by American expats of the interwar period, called "Shakespeare and Company." I've been meaning to hunt for it, but it rather slipped my mind until yesterday. It was located at 12 Rue de L'Odéon during the period in question, but has since relocated to the 5th arrondissement - so I went hunting for the old building, and for the new one.

Now, in spite of my investigation, a question remains. I know that in the copies of The Moveable Feast they include some black and white photos, one of which is in front of the bookstore, so you'll have to check for yourself. When I got to number 12, there was this part of the building, which to me looks the most promising and bookstore-like.



But there was also this plaque over the area immediately next door (although I must explain that I think both are part of number 12, so therein lies my uncertainty). It says that "In 1922, in this house, Sylvia Beach published Ulysses, by James Joyce."



Here's the zoomed out version. So if it isn't the blue thing in the first picture, perhaps they've just since redone the facade of the building, and I can't really expect something from the middle of last century to look the same ... oh wait, yes I can [in France].



Next I hunted down the new Shakespeare and Company. It's on Rue de la Bûcherie, a small street more or less at the end of Rue Saint Jacques (across from Notre Dâme; next to Le Petit Pont, as a matter of fact). It's what I would turn my bedroom into if anyone would let me -- just books, EVERYWHERE. Packed with them. Unfortunately, it was also packed with people, which made me want out, fast. Wish I could investigate it without all the other people! But I'm also not really planning to buy any books in English, since I can do that for far less cost when I get home. They specialize in English language books, happened upon an old-looking copy of The Beggar's Opera and T.S. Eliot in the poetry corner!



Proceeded to go wandering along Rue Réaumur in search of Auchan, which is evidently a huge grocery store. Couldn't find it, but instead discovered a neat street, and the overhead sign said something about "Montorgeuil." Didn't get to explore too much since I was meeting Giacinta shortly after I came across it, but I'll definitely have to go back. I don't think I've ever been there before.

I met Giacinta at St Eustache, the large church that's practically within the old Les Halles open market. It no longer is an open market, but rather houses an underground shopping mall that is HUGE. I forgot that with no school this week, going to the mall around 3pm means that you're in for a host of teeny boppers, no matter what language they're speaking. We were trying to get to the François Truffault Bibliothèque du Cinéma, but we forgot that Paris museums and such (anything run by the Mairie de Paris) are closed on Mondays, while national things (like the Louvre) are closed on Tuesdays. So we wandered instead.



I love the way things glow when the sun is shining on them but they're up against some ominous looking clouds in the background.



Could anybody explain what this is? It almost seems like a clock, or a sun dial, but the numerals seem all out of whack, and I don't see anything that could cast a shadow ... I don't really have any idea what it is. Perhaps it's for marking something else.