A little bookshop in Annecy (since 1731)

1) Camille Claudel, scultprice, 1864 - 9143, 2) Librairie Le Vieil Annecy, 3) record player in the middle of the store, playing classical music.

You know that scene in Pretty Woman when Julia Roberts goes into the fancy boutique in Beverly Hills and is dismissed by the rude staff? That’s how I imagined it going when I entered this bookshop.

Librairie Le Vieil Annecy has been open, more or less, since 1731. They only sell French books, so I assumed I’d be shooed out the door as soon as they smelled the American on me.

But that didn’t happen! The manager, Mr. Pierre, was so kind and generous with his time and knowledge of books - a true booklover at heart. He let me browse for an hour - and when I became fixated on a painting on the wall, he gave me an art history lesson on the life and times of Camille Claudel.

I enjoyed our conversation so much I might just become his penpal.