A famous Parisian bookshop: Shakespeare and Company

A little nook for children, James and Kirstie browsing in Shakespeare and Company, Paris

Shakespeare and Company is world famous and its a place of wonderful memories for me going back to my 30th birthday. We had arrived in France; settled into our village Marly-le-Roi with our two children of 18 months and 6 weeks old; and I was about to celebrate my 30th birthday. 

30 and living in France in 1986

It was also an opportunity to arrange for a babysitter and go into Paris to have a night out. It was not a simple exercise to move countries with two babies, a foreign language, a new job for Fred, finding a home to rent, when I look back on the experience I am rather proud of what we managed to do and also how well we used our time here to explore France, discover Paris and learn the language.

Our evening out was also the first time that I popped into Shakespeare and Company, the English bookshop in the heart of Paris on the banks of the Seine and opposite Notre Dame. it happened to be which was around the corner from the restaurant we had selected for my 30th. It's a quaint old building, with a rabbit warren of rooms, uneven floors and low wooden beams and has an enviable literary history.

I have always bought children's books when I visit. 

Babar the Elephant for Shawni in 1986, Babar for my much anticipated first grandchild in 2016 while I celebrated my 60th birthday back in Paris.

Back at the bookshop,
buying a book for my first grandchild in 2016

And yesterday, I took Shawni, James and Kirstie into the bookshop - after queuing to get in -its so popular now that they limit the number of people in the store! And of course, Babar again, and this time for Kirstie. She also chose a little Beatrix Potter book. Our highlight though was finding an illustrated pop up Harry Potter book for James, who can now start on the magical world the J K Rowling has created and now lives on into the next generation.

Happy Nan, happy kids who both love books and being read to by Mom and Dad,
and sometimes Nan also gets an opportunity to read to them.

Window quote, Rachel Cusk:

"That is what a book does. 

it's one individual

talking to another individual

and that is its strength"