Book in a Bar

Hidden on a winding side street of the Cours Mirabeau is a little world of many wonders.

The old wooden door creaks when I enter, causing all eyes in the shop to glance at me, then quickly return to the reason they ventured to this reclusive haunt in the first place. The merchandise is stacked in every crevise, every shelf, every spare space. Although the selection is not that of its more grandiose American counterparts, it still covers a sweeping range of topics-- from travel to Italian cooking to living in Provence. It is my new home away from home, away from home.

What else could I be describing but a bookstore. It is called Book in a Bar. It is so quiet. An immediate peace decends upon me the minute I begin to look through the four shelves that make up the fiction section. It is a popular place for students at my university, wanting to escape from France for just a bit to go somewhere, not familair, but somewhere where the books are in English.

I have firmly etablished my Friday routine, and I might possibly have etablished a Thursday routine, albeit a slightly more expensive one, as I can hardly resist buying a new book with each visit and an accompanying pot of tea. After class on Thurday, I venture over to Book and a Bar and stay until the sky begins to fade and I know I must return home for dinner.

This past Thursday, I enticed Greta, Jill, Karinne, and Haley to accompany me (how could they resist after my rave?). Karinne fell in love after stumbling upon the perfect French cook book for her chef-wannabee sister. Haley fell in love because her beloved town of Williamsburg was prominently featured in a travel book about the USA (it is so bizarre, after pouring over travel books about Europe, to pour over a travel book about America. Oklahoma had exactly two pages.).

Greta told us all about her Italian adventures, as she just returned from break Wednesday. Haley is just being goofy.

The fiction section. Fairly large, right?

My tea was German tea, and tasted of mangos and chocolate. Greta and Karinne had English tea, or caramel and vanilla.

Jill getting ready to hit the street and return home.

I know I'll be back to Book in a Bar next Thursday, and I'll see what Zach thinks of one of my favorite Aix spots.