Shakespeare and Company: My New Favorite Hangout

Bonjour to all! These past 2 days have been all about the charming English bookstore Shakespeare and Company. Before arriving to Paris, I knew that I had to visit the store because I had seen it featured on Travel Channel and also on one of my favorite shows: The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Well, on Wednesday, I finally was able to visit (and even sat in the same chair that Craig Ferguson sat in when filming one of his Parisian episodes!). The store was even more enchanting than I had expected. When you first walk in, there's a wishing well in the center of the floor.

And the top floor is even more interesting. There's a small children's literature section where visitors from different places have written notes about their visits. There's also a small piano room, where anyone can play or just observe. Wednesday night, my friends and I met a few young people from France and Lebanon who were playing piano, and we all agreed that we would return Thursday night to hear them play more music. And on Thursday night, we met even more people from countries like Israel, Argentina, and Brazil. It was seriously cool. Random people would walk in after hearing the piano playing and would offer to sing after. Absolutely everyone who sang or played piano was ridiculously talented. Being able to meet so many talented and interesting people from all over the world was indescribable. This is the kind of experience that you want to have when you travel.

And, what's even better is that the 12 of us are trying to hang out again to listen to more music! A few of the people that we met study at a conservatory in Paris, and they told us about one of their performances coming up. It's so neat to make so many different connections in a few nights! Couldn't be happier. The bookstore was everything that I hoped it would be. Now, I'm sure that my final project for my French class will be focused on the store and how it contributes to the cultural and intellectual atmosphere of Paris. I've visited Shakespeare and Company twice in the past 2 days, and I will definitely be returning.