Day 13: At ease, the Quartier Latin with books

Finally, a day with nothing on the agenda. So we spent it at leisure.

We strolled down to Shakespeare & Co., the famous English-language bookstore. We browsed, and bought some books. When we were done it threatened rain, so we took our books back to the hotel to keep them dry. While we were there, we checked into our flights for the next day. For a few brief moments, while we were safely inside, it rained very heavily.

When the rain let up, we went out for lunch. Then we walked along the Seine. The skies cleared a bit. And for the first time during our visit, we saw the bouquinistes open for business. So we stopped and picked up a few more books each. In particular, I bought Marie a novel by Gustave Flaubert, something she saw and wanted. (This was in addition to the books she bought for herself.) Fine, but it was a second-hand book, maybe €5—so what? Ah, but. The very first gift I ever bought for Marie, back when she was a freshman in college and I was a sophomore, was a French copy of Madame Bovary. Today's gift, a different novel also by Flaubert, and also in French, thus echoed that one. Marie found it incredibly romantic.

From the bouquinistes, we wandered to the Pont Neuf, and walked down the stairs to the Square du Vert-Galant. We ambled straight out to the tip of the square to take pictures (to what should be the prow of the Île de la Cité, except that it's pointing downstream). Then we meandered back up the stairs and over to the Place Dauphine, where we sat on a park bench and watched another couple play with their dog. 

After a while we wandered along an irregular path back to our hotel, so we could pack for the morning. The weather started raining in earnest. When it let up briefly, we went out one last time—not for dinner (we were both still full from our late lunch), but just for wine. And then back to our hotel to bed.