As we make our way back to the bus, we are always intrigued by the book sellers along the Seine.  The bouquinistes (booksellers) go back to the Middle Ages and are unique to Paris.  The story has it, a boat carrying loads of books sank near Notre-Dame Cathedral.  The sailors swam ashore taking with they as many books as they could and sold them to the passers by to make up for the wages they had lost.   This may be French lore, but it makes a good story.

Today they sell books, posters, paintings, historical maps and more.  We bought 4 classic posters, a 1615 map of Paris, a Renoir,  a Degas, and a Toulouse Lautrec.