American Diane Rios recalls a remarkable sojourn in Paris, staying at the legendary Shakespeare & Co. bookshop and partying with the owner, the late George Whitman and his then 7 year old daughter Sylvie. Janine Marsh tells the story...
Diane Rios, 48, lives in Portland, Oregon, US… but she hasn’t always. In 1987 she spent a year in France on an exchange program through the University of Oregon and had the adventure of a life time including a sleep over at the iconic Shakespeare & Co. book shop in Paris. Diane says “once you've been to France, it never leaves you and calls your name for the rest of your life”.
Diane manages a clothing boutique's website and has a deep love of literature. At the age of 21 in 1987 as a French Major at the University of Oregon, she was accepted on an exchange programme to Poitiers, capital of the Vienne Department in Poitou Charentes.
“I had always dreamed of living in France, since I was a small child being raised by hippies in Eugene. I worked hard and got accepted to the program and had one of the most meaningful years of my life. In Poitiers I was lucky enough to get a studio apartment by myself in the oldest part of town, right along the "Place de Pilori" where there was, oddly enough, a small replica of the Statue of Liberty, that was in place of the pilori, or stocks from long ago. My apartment was so cheerful, with a big window, a small courtyard, and orange checked curtains. I went to classes at the Universite, and after six months became pretty fluent in the language. I worked on the "vendange” (wine harvest) at a chateau in the Loire and spent three weeks cutting grapes in the fields, sleeping in the attic of the chateau and eating some of the best food I have ever had. Even in the fields they brought out tubs and tubs of sausage, cheese, bread, chocolate, wine, lemonade and fruit. It was a finger-feast in the fields of France every day!“
When there was a break in schooling and on many weekends Diane went to Paris with friends.
On one occasion she and her friend Lisa visited the bookstore Shakespeare & Co. Even then it was a legendary book shop and Diane had heard that the owner, George Whitman, sometimes let students and writers stay there in return for work.