I know this is true for a lot of people but maybe some don't want to admit it or others still don't get it, so I'll rephrase, As I get older, regrets come!
Now I'll just refer to one of my big regrets, something I haven't done in a long time but which, fortunately, can still be fixed.
I am thinking here of books, of their beauty, of their enormous usefulness in our intellectual and cultural development. My regret is that after having full access to the internet I gave up reading! So much information coming not only from text, but also from images, photos, and videos, has replaced simply reading books.
On the other hand, the decades of reading and the joy brought by a good book have remained forever in my memory and are a permanent nostalgia.
A brief visit to a bookstore reminded me of the times when there was no greater pleasure than holding a book in my hand.
Carturesti Bookshop in Bucharest, Old Town.
Old Town is exactly what it means, the old part of the city, an island where old streets and buildings have survived, such as the court, the oldest, built around 1400 but most are from the 18th and 19th centuries. This area of the city has been partially restored and is still being worked on and is the main tourist attraction of the city, both because of the architecture of the buildings and because of the large number of terraces, bars, and restaurants. It is also one of the few exclusively pedestrian areas in the city.
On this street there is a building, among the few completely completed ones, that appeals to me in a special way and is related to my regrets expressed above.
It's called Carturesti! In Romanian "carte" means book, so Carturesti has the meaning of "leaf through a book". I think you understand that this is about a bookstore. One of the nicest in town, I think the nicest!
The street where the bookstore is located is called Lipscani. In the past, this area was a commercial one, since the 18th century. I know this building from the 1960's when it was a big cloth shop. After the revolution in Romania and the beginning of the restoration of the area, it was transformed into a bookshop. Carturesti.
With a basement and four levels and a large open space in the middle, the layout of this bookstore has a style that takes me a bit towards Gaudi (forgive the comparison).
The books are arranged on shelves, like in balconies, and you can search for your favorite books but also observe what's going on around you, with visibility everywhere.
The interior design is tastefully done and specifically for you to enjoy with a book in hand. Because books are the reason most people are there, mine too.
I can't say I kill myself to go shopping, just out of necessity, to the market or supermarket, for food. Otherwise, I don't really like it, but here, at the books, I would stay all day. To admire and smell the books, a smell that instantly brings back memories of my adolescence and youth, when the supreme intellectual pleasure was reading.
I could go on and on about these books but I think if you see them for yourself, it's easier to understand what they offer.
I, being a poor English speaker, always preferred books with lots of pictures so that my reading effort would be less.
Fortunately, there are also books in Romanian, for easier reading.
It is so enjoyable in this house of books that visitors range from the youngest ages to those like me.
Of course, there are not only books here. It's a shop that wants to sell and make a profit, I must say the prices are not exactly low. Importantly, everyone who comes in finds something to go home with, but most of the time to give a gift to a loved one.
I really enjoyed spending an hour at Carturesti. I have to make a disclosure... I didn't buy anything. Because at home I have so many unread books that I don't have time to read anymore.
I'll let the gentleman in the picture read for me too, I see he has the same problems with his eyesight as I do, maybe it's just me and I can't tell!
Because spring is coming it is mandatory to leave a flower at the end, #alwaysaflower, as our good host Denise says!
