Month: October 2024

The dodo? At 103, mom decided learning to play the piano would be a nice challenge to add into her life. My brother, Mike, found a guy on Facebook marketplace and took her to look at a small selection of pianos. The next day, said piano was delivered.  I dug into my old piano bench…

Why so crowded in off season? Is there even an off season anymore? From Google’s Search Labs | AI Overview. “Major tourist areas are increasingly crowded during the “off-season” due to a combination of factors including the rise of remote work, increased accessibility through low-cost airlines, the impact of social media promoting popular destinations, and…

Tonight we headed for French cuisine right down the street at Le Robinet d’Or Restaurant & Bar Canal Saint Martin. I had roasted Camembert with honey to start and creamy risotto with scallops for my main. Delicious. Grubb had cassoulet of scallops in cream to start and flambéed kidneys with roasted potatoes as his main.  Served…

Why is it that seeing things in a swarm of jostling, packed-in crowds is so enervating? Versailles was no less crowded than the Louvre and far different from the last time I visited.  As I scanned the crowds, it was clear very few people seemed to be stopping to enjoy the many palatial rooms. As we…

After following countless Sortie signs leading us down endless corridors lined with casino-style shopping outlets, we escaped the monumental confines of the Louvre and had a café brunch of eggs Florentine before heading into the Tuileries park… …along with a stream of people half of whom, in my opinion, should have been in school.  Green metal…

It was a quick metro ride from where we’re staying to the Louvre.  It was easy finding the entrance to the museum—just follow the swarming humanity.  The Louvre is laid out like a large limestone palace enclosing a large courtyard.  I expected touring this monstrosity to be taxing when it came to attention span because there’s too much…

Jam packed day along with jam packed streets. We began the day at the Musée du Louvre  (Grubb will post about that, um, “experience”), twiddled through the Jardin des Tuileries, strolled the Champs-Élysées, eyed the Arc de Triomphe, hopped a metro to the National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture (being a spur of the moment choice,…

Yesterday, after our smooth arrival, we walked the streets for a few hours, perusing menus at various cafes until our eyes crossed and vision blurred. When we were at the end of our energy rope, we dottered inside a Senegalese eatery collapsing on a couple of metal folding chairs.  Our friendly waiter explained the options. Thieb…

Sunny Paris in the mid-sixties is quite spectacular.  No one seems to be eating indoors if they can help it.  People are splayed out over the grass in the parks, sitting on the benches along canal walkways, meandering among the pigeons in the squares.   We are staying in an Airbnb on the Fauberg Saint Martin in the…

Before I get totally immersed in Paris…a few days before our flight, we celebrated my mother’s 103rd birthday with a few family and friends. More happy birthday wishes mom! She is pretty darned amazing. The birthday gal in white.

Post by Ella Smooth flight with a 1/2 empty plane, touch down at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport, 5 minutes in Border Control. It’s all automated: scan your passport, take a photo…does the photo match the passport? Yes? Done. We meet up with Ehtisham from “Welcome Pickups”  to get a ride from the airport to our…

Here we are in Paris at the start of another travel adventure. Perhaps not as exotic or mysterious as our Argentina trip a few months ago, but still, it will be fun. Below is our route. Other than Paris, we intend to stay in the southern coastal region as we gradually make our way to…