The famous stamp (Tamala Malerk)
Hop on the ICE train from Kaiserslautern and in 2.5 hours you can find yourself exploring Paris, France. One of my go-to stops is “Shakespeare and Company,” which is located across from the Notre Dame cathedral.
When one hears the words “Shakespeare and Company” they might assume that they are spending the afternoon watching some theater in the park. However, Shakespeare and Company just happens to be my favorite English-language independent bookstore in Paris. It has a rich history and is a cool way to get a souvenir from Paris that isn’t a coffee cup, beret or plastic Eiffel Tower (or, for a writer who wishes to remain anonymous, to get a cool souvenir in addition to these).
Exterior of Shakespeare and Company (Tamala Malerk)
In 1919, an American, Sylvia Beach, opened the first Shakespeare and Company bookstore as a haven for readers and writers alike. It was closed during World War II and then re-opened by George Whitman and has existed in its modern iteration since 1951. Over 30,000 writers have stayed at the bookstore throughout the years including ones you may recognize: Ethan Hawke, Geoffrey Rush and Kate Grenville. Ernest Hemingway himself meandered in one day in 1921 and quickly became a friend of the store when he chatted with Beach, bought books (which many could not after World War I) and recounted the bookstore as his “favorite” in his memoir, “A Moveable Feast.”
Unfortunately, due to construction, the store is not currently hosting “Tumbleweeds,” which was the affectionate name given to the writers and artists who have resided there in exchange for reading a book a day, helping out in the shop for a couple of hours and writing a single-page autobiography for George Whitman’s archives. However, you can reach out to info@shakespeareandcompany.com to find out when you can stay yourself.
As I meandered around the small building that houses so much history and books, I could feel the warmth that had welcomed so many literary lovers who came before me. There were multiple floors of shelves filled to the brim with books, comfy reading nooks and a curious cat that just walks and naps as they see fit. There was even a bed for weary writers needing a place to rest after a hard day of writing. I paused for a moment and looked at the cot (with the cat chilling in the middle) and just pondered about the inspiration brought to the writers fortunate enough to have laid their head there.
I have loved books for as long as I can remember. Whenever I visit a new country I make it a point to get a book (or two) in the local language as a cool memento. I’ve collected Sailor Moon manga in French, “A Court of Thorns and Roses” in Dutch, and “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” in both Luxembourgish and Scottish (yes, there is a Scottish dialect version). While these make for great souvenirs, it was nice to purchase a book in English in Paris that I can actually read without issue, and still doubles as a neat souvenir.
Today, Shakespeare and Company occupies two different buildings. The main building, which I wrote about, hosts new books, a library and a small museum. The second features secondhand and antique books. If you want to dive right into your new purchases, you can not only sit in the reading nooks, but also check out the nearby Shakespeare and Company café so you can fuel up with coffee and pastries for an afternoon of reading.
Door of Shakespeare and Company (Tamala Malerk)
Despite being an independent bookstore, this is quite a popular stop for bookworms and other tourists, so do not be surprised if there is a line to get in. Thankfully, there was not when I visited, but if you go during popular hours, you could run into a wait. Others who did have to wait in line noted that the line was very quick, and they were not rushed out of the store once inside.
Both the bookstore and café are open seven days a week, just waiting for you to find your own literary revelations and explorations.
