Welcome back to Book Break.
We are off on an adventure today.
It is far too early in the morning for this, but we're on the Eurostar!
We're going to Paris, and we're off to see all the literary sights this city has to offer.
But first, coffee.
So any book-lover who comes to Paris has to start by visiting the iconic Shakespeare and
Company.
This amazing bookshop you probably recognise from all of the instagrams that any of your
friends who ever went to Paris took.
It's an English language bookshop, and it was founded here in 1951.
But it actually wasn't the first bookshop with the name Shakespeare and Company.
That one was founded in 1919 by an American named Sylvia Beach, and it was a gathering
place for expats from Hemingway to James Joyce.
But it had to close down during German occupation of France in World War 2, and it was never
able to reopen.
So this bookshop changed its name in honour of Sylvia Beach, and it officially took the
name Shakespeare and Company, pretty perfectly, on Shakespeare's 400th birthday.
So here we are in the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Whether you've read The Hunchback of Notre Dame, or just seen the Disney movie a million
times, as we all have, it is just as amazing to actually see this cathedral in real life.
It is so huge and amazing.
And Victor Hugo was actually inspired to write this book because of his passion for the Gothic
architecture here.
When he saw that parts of the cathedral were being replaced by more modern parts, he wrote
this book all about his love for the original architecture.
So that explains why there are so many long descriptive passages in this book.
It was all to save the cathedral.
And if you're a fan of Victor Hugo, whether Hunchback is your favourite, or if you prefer
Les Mis, you must take a visit to the Victor Hugo museum.
This is set up in the apartments where he used to live when he was in Paris.
And parts of the rooms are decorated just as it would have been when he lived there,
and the rest is filled with amazing artwork from the time period.
Like this is Victor Hugo's actual writing desk.
I can't guarantee he wrote either of those pieces of work here, but he might have!
So all that sightseeing's been thirsty work, so we're going to pop in now into Les Deux
Magots for some coffee and cake.
Now Les Deux Magots was first made famous by super-famous guests Jean-Paul Sartre and
Simone de Beauvoir.
And Julia Child used to eat here, so that's a good sign that you know the food's got to
be good.
So this completely majestic building behind me is the Paris City Hall.
And the square that is stands on might look harmless now, but it actually has a really
dark history.
So during the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution, this was called the Place de Greve,
and it was actually the site for some particularly cruel and gruesome public executions.
I'm talking heads on spikes.
So that's what you can picture next time you read The Scarlet Pimpernel
And down here is Place de la Concorde, which is where the slightly more humane guillotine
was installed.
And of course, famously, it's where Marie Antoinette was executed.
And it's all documented in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
And this book is deeply critical of the French aristocracy, and their abuse of power, but
it's also very critical of the Reign of Terror.
So this the Place Colette, which is named after the legendary French author Colette,
probably best known as the author of Gigi.
But she did first have success not under her own name.
She published four autobiographical novels about a character called Claudine, which was
originally published under her husband's name.
And apparently when she first told him that she wanted the credit for her own work, he
just locked her in her room and refused to let her out until she produced more pages
for him.
And that's what inspired the movie Colette starring Keira Knightley.
She did eventually get the credit for her own work, as she should, so we have a book
here that finally has her own name to the complete Claudine book.
And it was Colette's daughter who suggested that this square be named after her.
And now for some lunch.
Now it's not always easy to find veggie food in Paris, but we did find this delicious,
and very high-tech (look at their menu!) veggie-vegan pizza place.
And if you can't come to Paris without getting the Phantom of the Opera theme tune stuck
in your head, then you must come here to the Paris Opera House.
Which in the book is seemingly haunted by the Phantom of the Opera, or the Angel of
Music.
And even on his death bed, Gaston Leroux allegedly claimed that the Phantom of the Opera was
actually real.
Now this is a really cool place to visit because this address was where Gertrude Stein lived
with her partner Alice Toklas.
And the two of them used to host the most amazing Saturday night gatherings, with guests
such as Matisse, Picasso, Hemingway, and F.Scott Fitzgerald.
Now that is a party I'd like to go to!
This rather striking building behind me is the Saint-Sulpice, which you may recognise
from The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, and it's the sight of a rather important clue.
We could not resist stopping at La Cure Gourmande, which is home to the most delicious biscuits
in the whole of Paris.
Now a top tip for book-lovers, get yourself a day pass to the American Library in Paris.
It's the largest English-language lending library on the European continent, and even
Ernest Hemingway was once a member.
So Paris has obviously inspired a ton of classic literature, but it's not just a historical
city.
It's still inspiring so much art and literature today.
And one of my favourite modern books set in Paris is I Love You Too Much by Alicia Drake.
Which is a really sad, melancholy story about a boy living round here in the wealthy neighbourhood
round the Jardin du Luxembourg, with these rather neglectful parents, who are very self-absorbed.
Until one day, he sees something that he wasn't supposed to see.
And Alicia Drake has written about how she was really inspired walking around this neighbourhood
by the difference between the wealth that you see round here, and also the sadness and
the loneliness.
And walking around this park now, I can really see how it inspired her.
It really does feel like just stepping into the mood of her novel.
So Paris is continuing to inspire people today, but that's quite enough sightseeing for one
day.
We're in Paris! Let's go for a drink.
So we're having our drinks here in Harry's New York Bar, which has been visited by just
so many famous people.
From Humphrey Bogart, who was here on his honeymoon with Lauren Bacall, to Rita Hayworth,
to Ian Fleming, who apparently learned the stirred not shaken martini from Harry here
at the bar.
So Elle and I are going to finish the rest of our drinks, and then head out for the rest
of our night in Paris.
But do hit that subscribe button below for new videos every Thursday.
And of course, hit that like button if you liked this video, and comment below if you
are now planning your own trip to Paris.
See you next time!