When you daydream about Paris, whatever sparkling, romantic images you conjure are probably not too far off the mark. It is, after all, know as the City of Lights and the City of Love.
The Eiffel Tower can be seen from almost everywhere and is a constant reminder that you are in Paris). The streets are lined with cafés, the tables and chairs arranged so you can sit next to your companions and look out on the people passing by. The smell of baguettes wafts in the streets in the early morning. And when the sun gets lower in the sky, burnishing the buildings with its glow, people fill the cafés, drinking wine, smoking cigarettes, and talking, while their hands gesture in the air to make a point. It is, in many ways, _just_ like the movies.
In this episode, we talk about some of our favorite experiences visiting Paris and how it really does live up to its dreamy reputation. Then we discuss the books that transported us there: an insightful memoir about one lively (and typically Parisian) street, an illustrated novel about the magic of everyday life, a fictional biography of Madame Tussaud, a modern crime novel with a snappy heroine, and a confection of a story that centers around an exceptional bottle of wine.
Books we talk about include:
Vintage 1954 by Antoine Laurain
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
The Godmother by Hannelore Cayre
The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs by Elaine Sciolino
Little by Edward Carey

For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes at http://strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts/2020-08-24-paris.
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