blissfulidealism

When you walk in to Chamblin’s, you immediately smell that indescribable old-book smell, and likely are overwhelmed by the stacks, piles, and shelves of books large and small.

There are thousands, if not millions, of books in this place. Don’t try to find anything on your own; it will take you hours. The people that work here know the book shelves like the back of their hands, and will be able to direct you in the proper direction almost immediately.

They show me where everything is, and I still spend hours in here. The vast majority of their books are used, but they do buy and sell new copies of some popular books. It’s a great place to go for school-required reading; they usually have all the books you need for dirt cheap. (And sometimes, they already have annotations in them that can may help you out.)

Chamblin’s has been around for as long as I can remember (not that that’s very long, but nonetheless) and it is an excellently run business. Anyone looking for a good, friendly, well-stocked, used bookstore, I would turn them straight toward Chamblin’s Book Mine.

Happy mining!

Geneva quickly became one of the favorite places I’ve visited in Europe. The city is gorgeous, the people are friendly, and the shopping is superb! My mother and I stayed with friends of ours who live in Arschamps, France which is basically on the border of France and Switzerland. He let us borrow his convertible Mercedes, so Mom and I got to drive around the city (and the mountains) which was very enjoyable.

In addition, I went paragliding off a mountain, which was possibly the most incredible thing I’ve ever done in my life.

Geneva offers exciting things and I encourage anyone traveling to Switzerland or the surrounding area to make a long stop here. I actually hope to return for an extended period of time on day.

In the picture, you can see, in the distance, the fountain which is the center (and the heart) of the city (which is built around the water—fascinatingly, all of the buildings that are located on the edge of the water are the same height by code, making for a beautiful, organized line). The photo was taken from our friends’ backyard.

but it certainly wasn’t my favorite place I went in my Europe travels. It smelled (especially the metro system) and the people were so focused, they were often rude. Not to generalize, because there were some very kind Parisians that my mother and I ran into (and I’m sure that there are many more, but as far as those who interact with tourists go, kind welcoming people were few and far between), but for the most part, I was not very impressed with the city as a whole. It was kind of disappointing for me, because Paris is so fantasical and romantic in story books and movies, but I really didn’t find it to be romantic at all, save for the quaint little outdoor cafes that had a lovely view of the lit up Eifel Tower.

After 4 days in Paris, I surmised that one must either spend very little time there (1-2 days) or a lot of time (a week or more) to really enjoy it. With less days, you can do what you want to do and not get overly frustrated with the complicated metro system. With a week or more, you’ve got the metro system figured out and can enjoy yourself independently. :)