From Paris to Key West

Re-discovering Hemingway and expanding my love for all things vintage

I have come full circle: from Paris to Key West, walking in the steps of Ernest Hemingway. I did not intentionally seek out Hemingway’s old haunts, but am delighted at the fun coincidence. In 2018 I had just spent six weeks in Le Berry, where icons such as George Sand and Chopin lived. I took a little extra time to explore pockets of Paris I had yet to discover, and the historic Shakespeare and Company librarie was near the top of my list for its ties to the Lost Generation and the roaring 20s.

Obscure Paris: Shakespeare and Company bookshop

Vanity Fair calls it, “Perhaps the most famous independent bookstore in the world”. If you’re not familiar with the little place, Shakespeare and Company was the local hangout spot for Lost Generation writers like Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, and James Joyce. It was owned by American expatriate Sylvia Beach in the ‘20s and ‘30s before closing during the Nazi occupation.

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”

--Ernest Hemingway

The original Shakespeare and Company bookshop was at 12 Rue de l’Odéon in Paris, and George Whitman reopened it in the ‘50s at 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, and became a home away from home for authors such as Ray Bradbury and Henry Miller.

The bookshop overlooks La Seine, and is just a short walk from Cathédrale de Notre-Dame and La Sainte-Chapelle.

My brief exploration of Key West

This past April, as I prepared for a little birthday getaway in Key West, a friend sent me an excellent three-part documentary series on the life of Hemingway (by PBS), where I learned about his deep ties to the island.

Hemingway Arrives in Key West

Hemingway fell in love with Key West in April 1928, and the house he lived in during the 1930s at 907 Whitehead Street is now a National Historic Landmark. The quaint property has large, winding gardens, the first in-ground pool on the island, dozens of 6-toed cats, and a gorgeous wrap-around balcony with a view of the lighthouse.

"It's as if an imagination is intermingling salt water with desert, sea with plain, creatures of the deep with creatures of the bush."

--Ernest Hemingway

Nearby Places to Visit

A short walk from the house is Sloppy Joe’s Bar, Blue Haven Restaurant, and Papa’s Pilar Distillery, named for Hemingway’s boat.

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