One Fine Day

“You can’t escape the past in Paris, and yet what’s so wonderful about it is that the past and present intermingle so intangibly that it doesn’t seem to burden.”
– Allen Ginsberg

I have no class on Mondays and love having three day weekends! There is so much to see in Paris and having an extra day gives me the time to do everything that I want. Yesterday I went on a French Revolution walking tour of Paris. Since I am an enthusiastic learner and history nerd, I found this tour very interesting and our young guide, Scott, was very entertaining and made the day really fun for everyone. The tour not only pointed out the sites in Paris that were involved in the revolution, but Scott also taught us about the history of France leading up to the revolution, and its effect on modern-day France.

One common misconception about the French Revolution is where it began. The storming of the Bastille prison is the event that most people associate with the beginning of the revolution, probably because the French call their independence day, Bastille Day, which is celebrated on July 14. However, the Revolution technically began across the river at Les Invalides, a military hospital commissioned by Louis XIV. Not only were wounded soldiers treated here, but their families were invited to come and stay at the hospital as well. An armory was built underneath the hospital, holding weapons and war supplies. The revolutionaries first came to Les Invalides on July 14, 1789, and stormed the hospital to take the weapons from the armory for their uprising. However, they discovered very few weapons and no gunpowder. They took what was left and continued on to storm the Bastille, in search of gunpowder and to release the prisoners.  

After the tour, later in the evening, I made a trip to the independent bookstore, Shakespeare & Company, to attend a book reading by Helen Constantine, featuring her new book, Paris Metro Tales. Shakespeare & Company serves as both a bookstore and a reading library, specializing in English-language literature. Writers and artists of the "Lost Generation," such as Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein spent a great deal of time at Shakespeare & Company. Paris Metro Tales is a collection of twenty-two short stories by famous French writers of the past, and never-before-translated writers of our own time. Some of the stories take place in the metro itself, but most are stories 'above ground.' Coincidentally, one of the stories that Helen read is a favorite of mine from the book, Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre by Julien Green. I had a great time being surrounded by books and passionate readers. I even had the chance to meet Helen and have her sign my book. A day filled with history and books....It was Nerd Heaven!