Bonjour Paris -- day 5

I feel an addiction coming on... OK, so I'll admit it (with my cheeks red with shame): I'm addicted to crepes! Today was my fifth day in Paris and it started off with some long overdue bookshopping. I went to the rue Rivoli, to the Galignani and WH Smith bookstores. I especially loved Galignani, who have a large English section and lovely artbooks (well, they would, wouldn't they, they're a short walk over from the Louvre) and a great wooden interior. The WH Smith was different from its British counterparts, much more civilized. If you're in Paris and looking for British and American magazines, WH Smith is your store. Both stores carry a selection of books about cooking, the WH Smith branch has a slightly bigger assortment.

A quick stop in the Louvre shopping mall for a crepe avec pommes cannelle (crepe with cinnamon apples, yummie!), and then off to the Louvre once more, where this time I plucked up the nerve to battle the crowds in front of the Mona Lisa.

After the Louvre I walked over to the site of the old Bibliotheque Nationale and had a quick peek inside (marvelous reading room, reminded me of the old British Library reading room) and a browse round the store to satisfy that other addiction of books about books.

Last stop for the day was grocery shopping at rue Montorgeuil. So far the weather had been on my side today, but the last time I visited rue Montorgeuil, it poured, so I was afraid that the raingods just don't like me going there. I was wrong. It held til I reached the front door of my apartment! I bought some olive oil as a gift for the friend who donated her two Louvre tickets to me at Oliviers & Co. As an aside, I don't know why every time I passed one of their stores, I don't see anyone inside... I kinda like their stores.

Tomorrow's the last day in Paris, which I'll spend in the Marais (which is close to where I'm staying in the 3rd arrondissement).

Practical information:
Galignani
224 rue Rivoli
75001 Paris
1st arrondissement

WH Smith
248 rue Rivoli
75001 Paris
1st arrondissement

Oliviers & Co
(branch I went to)
90 rue Montorgeuil
Paris
http://www.oliviersandco.com