A surprise @ Shakespeare and Co.

Spring 2011...... 4 young ladies and 2 moms toured Paris in 8 days/7 nights. Shakespeare and Co. was just one of the areas that we were to visit. The location is across the street from the Notre-Dame Cathedral. We were advised to buy a book and request the Shakespeare stamp for the inside of the book.

Before going to Paris.....
I looked the Co. up online and noticed they also buy books. They can't give an estimate online before seeing the book, obviously, the condition of the book is important for resale. I thought this would be fun to try so I scoured the house for some books. I was not willing to part with any of my Lois Lenski books so the next best thing was to find one at a yard sale or thrift shop.

During a Feb. trip to Keystone Heights a friend and I stopped to eat lunch near Micanopy, Fl at the Yearling Restaurant. This is very near the home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. This legendary author spent years in Fl writing about the people she met and the land around Cross Creek. My mother taught school for 42 years in Polk Co. One of her favorite books was the Yearling. After reading it throughout the year, the highlight of the last day of school was to show the movie " The Yearling" to her 5th grade students. We have visited the farm on several occasions. If you live near Gainesville, Fl, it is a great place to visit. Anyway, during our lunch time I asked the waitress about the books on the shelves in the next room.

In the restaurant, this painted picture depicts the yearling and the lad.

Stamps anyone?

a view of a dried up cross creek before the spring rains...

The rustic look is celebrated....

The authors home place is still available for tours...

After lunch I purchased a copy of a Mark Twain book and took it with me to Paris.

Long story short...here we are in the bookstore in Paris...

So get the picture???This bookstore is slammed with books and usually people....

Above you see how full the shelves and staircase are....our fire marshal in America would not allow any obstructions of this nature....but I was thinking....as I was standing at the counter waiting for the gentleman to talk to the manager about my book....how in the world am I ever going to pick out a book I want from here. I didn't want just any book. I wanted something special. Something that is memorable.

I looked just to my left. Behind the counter the books filled the shelves to the ceiling. About shoulder level, my eye caught a glimpse of a familiar book. On closer examination...I couldn't believe what I saw.....a book from Cross Creek? A cookbook, no less....that I had seen in Florida for around  $185??? As I pulled it off the shelf....I was thinking.....is it on hold? It was directly behind the cash register....The young man returned and gave me 5 euros for my book. When I asked if I could purchase Cross Creek...he sold it to me for 5 euros...approx $7.50! Thank you LORD.!! I do not believe in coincidences....this was on purpose! What a neat blessing!

I could hardly contain myself.....joy....

I didn't even get a chance to go upstairs....there were so many more places to go on our list....

So there you have it....a complete unexpected blessing.....right smack dab in the middle of Paris

Kilometer Zero.....

Cross Creek Cookery......vintage Florida at it's finest....found in Paris!

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